Monday Mainstay: The Waiting Game

There is some activity swarming in and out of various NFL franchises today, and perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs are somewhere in that swirling mix. Perhaps. The pessimist in me, however, doubts it. Rumors suggest that Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt is traveling around, interviewing folks, thinning down his broad list of general manager candidates. Other clubs appear to be moving faster, which, on the surface, appears to put the Chiefs behind in the race for improvement. I'd like to think that's not true. I'd like to think that Hunt will make an impressive hire just like the Glass family did with the Dayton Moore on the other side of the Truman Sports Complex. I'm nervous, though, that the opposite might be true. A few details after the jump.

Among today's head coach firings, two are no surprise.

1) The Cleveland Browns, who have also fired General Manager Phil Savage, announced that Head Coach Romeo Crennel would not be retained. Crennel, over the course of four seasons, went 24-40, a winning percentage of .375.

2) In Detroit, Rod Marinelli has been relieved of his duties. Over three seasons, Marinelli went 10-38, which translates to .208. An 0-16 season never helps that.

3) And the most surprising is the fact that, Eric Mangini's been fired in New York. Through three campaigns, he went 23-26 for .469, which includes one playoff loss.

We've examined winning percentages of Herman Edwards compared to other Chiefs' coaches in franchise history, and we know that, at the time of that post, Herm ranked seventh of 10 in Chiefs history. Having concluded yesterday's season, Edwards' winning percentage in Kansas City has fallen to .312, dropping him to eighth, and leaving him only ahead of Frank Gansz and Tom Bettis.

Now, let's compare Edwards' "success" to those who've been fired today:

1) Mangini with the Jets: .469
2) Crennel with the Browns: .375
3) Edwards with the Chiefs: .312
4) Marinelli with the Lions: .208

So, Edwards has edged out Rod Marinelli, a coach who spent time under general manager Matt Millen, arguably the worst GM in NFL history, and his club just produced the first winless season ever. The Lions have, more or less, been a joke for as long as I can remember, save for a few Barry Sanders seasons.

The point, though, is that the Jets have decided that Edwards' successor in New York, a guy with over 150 percentage points in winning, is not good enough to be given a fourth year. Romeo Crennel, a coach with also a better winning percentage with his most recent team, has been fired, and that club canned his boss too.

There, then, is Herman Edwards' accomplishment: being better than Rod Marinelli and the Detroit Lions under similar tenures.

The Chiefs need to get a move on. The Patriots have given the Browns permission to speak with Scott Pioli, and Bill Cowher has declined Cleveland's offer.

I don't know who the right guy(s) for the job is/are. I do know that I hope Mr. Hunt is moving swiftly, as it appears his NFL counterparts are not wasting anytime.