Chiefs fans may be alarmed to know that, around the league, the division-winning coach of their team occupies one of the hottest seats in the league.
Never mind the pressure on guys like Gary Kubiak, Jack Del Rio, Tony Sparano, and/or Tom Coughlin to take the Texans, Jaguars, Dolphins, and/or Giants to the postseason, Adam Schefter of ESPN said on Sunday NFL Countdown that Todd Haley is the coach who needs to win the most right now.
With the next two games at Detroit and at San Diego, winning may not happen soon for Haley and the Chiefs.
Schefter said that most people around the league think that that’s the “most volatile situation” right now in the NFL, and that tensions reared their head “behind closed doors” during the offseason.
As Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star pointed out last week, Haley’s contract runs through 2012, which means that he’ll likely get an extension -- or a pink slip -- at the end of the 2011 season, if not sooner.
On that note, Schefter pointed to the presence of former Patriots defensive coordinator and former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel on the Chiefs staff. If G.M. Scott Pioli decides that the time has come for a change, it would be an easy swap of Haley for Crennel, whom many think didn’t get a fair shot in Cleveland because of G.M. Phil Savage’s arguably mismanagement of the roster and salary cap.