Tradition Tuesday: Coaches On the Hot Seat

On Tuesdays here at the House of Georges, we like to deliver a little something called "Tradition Tuesday." The aim of the feature is to keep the oft-heated rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos alive and healthy on a week-by-week basis. For those new to the series, Cecil and Old No. 7 were begotten in the heinous hues of orange and blue, while I was created in likenesses of red and gold. The "Tradition" part refers to our annual pilgrimages to the respective venues of our foes, where we battle the ever-unforgiving elements of Mother Nature, hope our yearlong prayers to Father Time have been heard, and gently remind our beloved wives which games they are allowed to attend with us (Editor's Note: This being the free country that it is, the units of spousage are of course free to attend any and all football contests throughout each and every season; the ones delegated as "the boys' games," however, remain off limits. See pages 49-53 of your "Nuptials Manual" for further information. This gig is going on its eighth, and perhaps most interesting campaign. Details after the jump.

It's no secret that the 2007 seasons for both clubs were painful and disappointing. Two thousand eight demands high expectations from the soothsayers of these squads. Or else. Well, not really. Ultimately, Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt has delicately said that the playoff contendability of this year's Chiefs will likely weigh heavy on the contract negotiations of a certain kingly general manager, while in Denver, Pat Bowlen still isn't sure whether or not he owns the Broncos; it's possible Shanahan could've secretly taken over the proprietary role, but no one's positive. Either way, improvement in the standings is at the top of the priority list for both the Chiefs and the Broncos, lest heads be rolled. Unless you're former Bronco Javon Walker, in which case, your head already has been. And unless you're Travis Henry, in which case, your head was rolled so suddenly, you're reaching out to other celebrity figures in the same boat.

Nevertheless, we all know that the owners fork out the dollars and hire the front office staffs, and the front office staffs assemble coaching teams, and in some mystical sense of unity the collaborations procure personnel in the hopes of winning championships. In the blue-and-orange corner, hailing from Oak Park, Illinois, Michael Edward Shanahan enters his 15th year as a NFL head coach. He has compiled a 138-90 record, three division titles, and two Super Bowl wins in his tenure. Out of the red-and-gold corner comes Herman Lee Edwards, a New Jersey native with 52 wins and 60 losses in his illustrious seven years as Head Bloach. Along the way, he has netted one division title, and four playoff appearances.

In 1999, the season immediately following John Elway's retirement, Coach Shanahan's Broncos mustered a 6-10 start, the worst of his pro head coaching career. Since then, he has guided Denver to 77-61 overall record. The first time Herm Edwards went 4-12, he was out of that job at season's end, the New York Jets front office having decided that playing to win the game only four times was insufficient. Edwards is coming off his second season of duplicate numbers, a miracle-laden playoff berth in between making his debut in Kansas City seem semi-acceptable. Strangely, Shanahan averages a divisional-finishing-spot average of 2.3, while Edwards isn't too far behind with a 2.6. Factors of interest in that statistical category include the following: Two of Shanahan's coaching years were with Oakland, where he fell one game shy of .500 one year, and parted ways with Al Davis' club only four games into the next. While leading the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets, Edwards-led teams never finished better than 10-6, but had to compete with the rising dynasty of the Patriots twice a year in each of those seasons. I post neither statement as an excuse of any sort, simply interest.

Looking forward, it has been theorized within this very House that the Jay Cutler Experiment could be Shanahan's last hurrah as the main man in the mile-high city. That is, if Cutler turns out to be the quarterback he's expected to become, Shanahan could be driving the Bronco chariot until they run out of Lombardi trophies to hand him, or until he smokes/tans himself into bottom-of-the-bag potato chip dust, whichever happens first. Should the trials of Young No. 6 go sour, Shanahan could be urged to step down, or promoted to the front office, or offered to have his mansion paid for so that he may run for office, however it happens out there.

(Note: In Kansas City, things go down differently. When it's time to part ways with our Chiefs coaches, we tend to only know how to do things one way, the classy way. As Chiefs fans, we would never can a guy who might lead a team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. If we did, though, we would certainly never replace that guy with somebody that's frighteningly underqualified to coach at the professional level. Were we to make such a mistake, we would almost never fire him and replace him with his special teams coordinator. In the event of such a mistake, I know the Chiefs would never employ an only-great-in-the-regular-season, waitress-banging, bespectacled man, or fire that guy and promote his defensive coordinator only to fire that DC via the Internet and bring in a sextegenarian, and listen to him retire. Again.)

And in Kansas City, Edwards could very well, much to the chagrin of many Chiefs fans, have a looser leash. This year will be the big test for Brodie Croyle. Many say it has already happened, said exam returned with many a red mark. Edwards got the defense respectably turned around in the last two seasons, and he's had some ups and downs at the quarterback and running back positions. Perhaps the Chiefs have developed a fleck of a receiving corps to whom Croyle can throw, and perhaps his protection won't look like a drunken attempt at musical linemen. It's possible that Kansas City could win more than six games, and give ownership reason to extend the regime of Edwards. I said possible, not probable.

What's also possible is that, for the first time since the mid 80s, the Kansas City Chiefs are looking at not selling out this season's home contests, all but guaranteeing a local television blackout for December games. In the past couple of years, local networks have scooped up the remnants, knowing that costs will underweigh the great ratings return. This year, an inside source says it's not looking so good. Be it the once-lauded greatest home-field advantage, or the perennial playoff team, Chiefs fans want change, and they want it now. I imagine the same can be said in the high country, which translates to the one commonality between Kansas City fans and aficionados of Bronco: winning.

Well, that and embarrassing the Raiders, maiming the Chargers, pissing on the Colts, and trying to kill Tom Brady. But mostly winning.