Staying Patient

Mar 26, 2008, 2:17:17 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

Herm Edwards will never read these words.

The Chiefs head coach doesn’t do the Internet. Surfing in Herm’s world is done with a long board and an ocean.

He also doesn’t read the papers or listen to sports talk radio. He might see a sports report on the local news once a week, if he’s home in time and still awake.

But in an organization as big as the Chiefs, there are a lot of people who fill Edwards in on what’s being said about the team, its players and even its head coach. And after being part of the league for the better part of the last 30 years, Edwards also has a pretty good sixth sense about issues and the reaction that comes from fans and the media.

That’s why he’s not surprised when it’s mentioned that some fans are very upset that the NFL free agency swap meet is almost a month old and the Chiefs have not been active.

“I guess they didn’t believe it when we said at the end of the season we were going to rebuild through the draft,” said Edwards, a smile crossing his face. “All we’ve done is what we said we would do.”

During the team’s end of season press gathering, both Edwards and Carl Peterson said the rebuilding of the team’s roster would be concentrated in the draft. They would not rule out free agents, but they would be judicious in who they signed and how much money they spent.

The idea was to build for the long run, thus relying on draft choices, rather than veteran free agents.

And since the first of January, that’s what the Chiefs have done. They did not rush willy-nilly into the free agent market and throw around millions in guaranteed dollars, like say the New York Jets or San Francisco 49ers. They started free agency with three different lists of players: those they were very interested in talking with, those that were of some interest and the rest. Edwards called them the A, B and C lists.

“Those guys on our A-List never got here,” Edwards said, without naming players like center Jeff Faine and kicker Josh Brown. “They were signed before we had a chance to talk with them.”

Before long, the A-List was gone. There were some guys on the B-List that were of interest. Take center Justin Hartwig, who was available after the Carolina Panthers released him. Hartwig played his college football at the University of Kansas, spent four years with Tennessee and then signed as a free agent three years ago with Carolina.

Obviously the Chiefs have spots to fill on their offensive line in ‘08. When Hartwig became available, they brought him to Kansas City. He left after a day and went on and signed in Pittsburgh. The Chiefs passed on the opportunity for several reasons. Hartwig will be 30 years old this fall. He wanted a multi-year contract with some guaranteed money. And on top of all that, he couldn’t pass the Chiefs physical because of a sports hernia that will likely require surgery.

That’s just one small story in the landscape of NFL free agency, but it provides a view into the decisions that must be made on a player-by-player basis.

“People think this plan is just starting, but it really started two years ago,” Edwards said. “The team I took over was built through free agency as much as through the draft. It was a different approach, but it left this team as one of the oldest in the NFL.

“We had to go in a different direction. We went after some free agents, but because of money they never got here.

“When that happens, you have to move on. The best thing we did was we did not panic.”

On the offensive line specifically, there have been a number of young blockers who changed teams: Justin Smiley went from San Francisco to Miami; Jacob Bell went from Tennessee to St. Louis; Jake Scott went from Indianapolis to Tennessee. All were players with four years of experience, with multiple seasons of starting in the NFL and all would be 27 years old during the ‘08 season.

“Those guys did not all fit in with what we want to do on offense,” Edwards said. “That’s when you get in trouble in free agency. You decide you must sign a player at a position and you panic and sign somebody. You bring him in and try to make him fit what you are going to do and maybe he doesn’t fit.

“We looked at all that going in. We only wanted players that fit with our plans.” Does the player fit and what’s his age were the top questions the Chiefs asked when evaluating free agents this year.

“Age is important, especially when you have a young football team like we are going to have,” Edwards said. “It’s very important. Will the guy fit in? Who is he?”

Staying the course is not always so easy for NFL general managers and especially head coaches. After two seasons, Edwards has a 13-20 record as the leader of the Chiefs. For his short-term future, it might have been better for the Edwards if the Chiefs had signed a half-dozen or so veterans that could have been plugged into the starting lineup. That approach might have gotten he Chiefs back to a winning record and contention for a spot in the playoffs.

That’s not what Edwards is working towards. His view is long term, especially for a coach. It’s down the road to three or four years from now, when he sees a home-grown roster built on draft picks, a team that’s capable of competing not just for a post-season berth but a championship.

“To get this done, two things have to happen,” Edwards said. “Ownership has to be on board and the coach has to be on board. That’s what we have here. The Hunts are onboard with this. They want this. I want this. Carl wants this. Bill (Kuharich, VP of Player Personnel) wants this. So we are going to be OK.

“Ultimately to keep my job, we’ve got to win. I know how the system works. I think by doing it this way we will win more and for a longer period of time than patching it with free agents who don’t fit.”

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

---

A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.