Highlights

TODD HALEY: “I realize that probably there are going to be a lot of questions about a player of ours. At this time, we’re looking into a couple of situations and I will not have further comment on that.

“I will say that how our players conduct themselves with the media and through the media is very important to me as the head coach and to the Chiefs as an organization. That being said, again I appreciate your curiosity and desire to get information. That’s where I’ll leave that situation and get back to football which, right now, we’re 1-2 in the second quarter of the season.

“Very disappointing performance across the board for us. As I said after the game, I felt it was our best week of practice. I know that myself, staff and players all had high expectations for having a chance to win a game. That was not the result. Thankfully, we have a bye week and will have a chance to get a lot of good work done here in the next two weeks not only for Jacksonville but to get this team better.”

Q: Do you have any theories for why the practices didn’t translate into a better performance?

HALEY: “I don’t know if I have a theory. I don’t think there was a player on the team after we got off the field Friday that didn’t think we were going to have anything but a great chance to win the game. I think when the game didn’t start out positively or quickly went south it kind of caught some guys off guard and really threw some people off. That’s the closest I can come to a theory. We didn’t execute in all phases and you’re not going to have a chance to win if you don’t.”

Q: What’s your bye week plans practice-wise to turn things around?

HALEY: “I’m happy that it is the bye week because this is a much needed week for us to work on some things. We’ve got a load of things to work on obviously, but we’re going to do some self-scouting of ourselves – specifically offensively some of the minus plays and how we prevent those from occurring, when they’re happening, is it a scheme that we’re putting players in a poor position to succeed, is it certain players? Defensively, we’ve got figure out a way to prevent the big play because this is a recurring theme. It’s something that has to change. That’s the plan as far as studying and we’ll practice against each other in areas that we want to work on.”

Q: Last night Larry Johnson’s agent acknowledged his comment and that his comments sounded like he was taking a shot either at you or promoting his father. Today in an audio he made some [remark] and on the Internet said same. Can you address your general principles on what you do if a player talks about his coach in such a way?

HALEY: “Again, I’m not going to go into that any further because we are looking into the situation. I will reiterate again how our players conduct themselves with and through the media in a public setting is very important to us as an organization.”

Q: Can you explain what you mean when you say, “looking into it.”

HALEY: “We are gathering facts, so to speak.”

Q: Do you feel you have the full unquestioned faith of the players in the locker room?

HALEY: “When you have at 1-5 your best week of practice I think that’s a pretty encouraging sign. I feel very good about the progress this team is making. It was not reflected in our performance yesterday and that’s the disappointing part.

“I’m very encouraged with the effort that was given on the field yesterday in all areas. I don’t think effort was an issue. I think that’s evidenced by a couple of goal-line stands. If you watched the tape when there was an interception and you see 300-pound linemen diving to try to knock a guy out of bounds on the one-yard line, I think those are encouraging signs that we’ve got some guys who care and are working to get better.

“Could we have more wins? I’d definitely not like to be sitting here at 1-6. But this is a process and losing is not going to be accepted and we’re going to get back to work tomorrow and get this team better.”

Q: Very generally and not specific to this situation, what are your general thoughts on Twitter and guys posting things like this and expressing themselves in a public forum?

HALEY: “Like I said in training camp, I’m confused. I understand text messages, the other I really don’t understand and that’s the honest to goodness truth. I’ve never looked at it or seen it. I ask the question every time the word comes up: what exactly is it?

“I understand this is a new age and there are a lot of different ways to communicate but I’m really worried about one thing and that’s trying to get this team going. That is my number one job and all that I really care about outside of the Man upstairs and my family.”

Q: Will you try to educate yourself on what it is or give the guys an idea what might or might not be okay?

HALEY: “I don’t know about educating myself. I think I’ll stick to what I said: how our men conduct themselves and how they represent the Chiefs is very important to me personally and to I know our owner and our general manager. That’s what is most important: how the Kansas City Chiefs represent themselves in the city of Kansas City and in the country.”

Q: Have you ever questioned yourself or your coaching ability because you didn’t play the game?

HALEY: “No. These are kind of old Sunday-afternoon-in-the-offseason-stories that you’re asking. I’m very proud of what I’ve done to get to where I am. I’m very proud of my results as a position coach, as a coordinator. Right now, am I proud of my head coaching record? No. But I intend to do everything I can to change that.”

Q: Has a player ever questioned your ability as a coach because you didn’t play?

HALEY: “Have not, no. I make it pretty clear that I’m here to coach. Thankfully, I don’t have to go out there to play.”

Q: Is that a hurdle you have to overcome?

HALEY: “I’m very proud of the route that I took to get to where I am right now. I’m very proud to have grown up around, in my opinion, one of the best football people there is and to be around the teams and players that I was around on a daily basis. I think that has given me great insight as I have progressed in the coaching field as what good and great is supposed to look like.”

Q: Because of the success and the route you took would you be offended if someone questioned your coaching ability just because you didn’t play the game?

HALEY: “Never. Never be offended.”

Q: Has there ever been a time when you wished you had played that you had to work hard to get otherwise?

HALEY: “We’re digressing greatly here fellows, by the way, because we are 1-6 and we’re trying to figure out a way to get this team better. I think I’m here for a reason. I think I’ve earned what I’ve done in the NFL through hard work and through execution and results. As I’ve said, if playing is a pre-requisite for being a great coach you can eliminate some names. I’m here to coach. I’m not here to play and that’s the bottom line.”

Q: You’ve talked here how difficult it is to get 53 guys to become a team. You talk about the good practice on Friday and it doesn’t show up on the field. Is that just another sign that this is not just a cohesive team yet?

HALEY: “Without a doubt. That’s a sign that this is a process. I knew coming into this there were a lot of broke players and broke parts of the team that had to get fixed one way or the other. That’s why this job was open. That’s why I had this great phenomenal opportunity that I relish every day when I turn onto Coal Mine Road and can see Arrowhead up over the trees, or drive in on Sunday and see all the people out there getting excited for a game. But I knew coming in there was a lot broke and a big part of my job is to fix it and it’s what I intend to do.”

Q: When you watch the tape after the game, are you happy with the play-calling?

HALEY: “No, anytime we lose I’m not happy with the play-calling. I’m just like anybody else. There are always things you feel you could do personally to have done to be better. It’s something I have to learn from and understand the players that we have. You have to understand as a coach and a play-caller what your players’ strengths are and what abilities they have and how you can best utilize them or best put them in a position to succeed. If we lose the way we did yesterday and I’m the head coach of course I’m very disappointed in my performance.”

Q: Hypothetical situation: one of your players says something negative about you or a member of your coaching staff in a public forum. Does that give you less of a chance to win? Does it hurt the team or do we make too much of a deal about it?

HALEY: “I’ve made it clear it’s impossible for me to do hypotheticals. I understand the question but for me to hypothetically respond…”

Q: But the room is more full than ever because we know [twitter] happened and we know you have to deal with it. Does this incident hurt your chance to win?

HALEY: “I appreciate that you are trying to find answers to this but at this time I just can’t go into it.”

Q: What’s Rudy Niswanger’s injury situation?

HALEY: “Rudy is having his knee looked at as we speak and we will know more about that injury later. It’s a significant injury of some sort but, hopefully, less significant than we initially thought.”

Q: Meaning he probably won’t play at Jacksonville?

HALEY: “I can’t guarantee that but it didn’t look great initially.”

Q: So Wade Smith is your center now?

HALEY: “I would say when we go on the field tomorrow, but we are getting back together as a staff and we have some center potential. We’ve got to talk through some of those things. Andy Alleman has played center and we have a practice squad player who has played a lot of center. We have some center options, Wade being one of them.

Q: How did Barry Richardson play yesterday?

HALEY: “I was encouraged by how Barry came in and played. You know the result and he was one of the players out there that was part of that. But overall, it was something to build on for Barry. Going back to the pre-season we were kind of encouraged and it was kind of a letdown in the pre-season game but he’s been working hard and he got an opportunity. We brought him up for a reason if something did happen and unfortunately it did. But he got in and didn’t look out of place.”

Q: How has he handled his odyssey?

HALEY: “Those are all encouraging signs. He’s a young developing player who’s got some potential and that’s what the practice squad is for. We want guys there that are developing players, players that we feel like we can develop. We don’t want just practice bodies. He had a tremendous off-season, lost a bunch of weight, got a lot stronger, had high hopes, then kind of had a rough pre-season against some tough competition. But he’s shown he’s a battler and those are guys who can usually withstand the ups and downs a little bit. They find a way to hang around.”

Q: Is he more comfortable at left or right tackle?

HALEY: “I don’t know that he’s more comfortable at left but I will say that the reason we brought Barry up was that he was our best swing tackle if something happened.”

Q: What’s Branden Albert’s status?

HALEY: “He was actually real close to playing last week. It went right down to Saturday and Sunday. We worked him out extra after the walkthrough on Saturday and then Sunday we had some more conversation about it. Hopefully, he’ll be back this week practicing and then a full week of practice for Jacksonville.”

Q: Have you considered giving Jamaal Charles more of a running role given you haven’t had a rushing touchdown yet this year?

HALEY: “I’ll say this about Jamaal: I think Jamaal’s starting to get it. He didn’t have a perfect day yesterday but Jamaal is kind of growing on me. I think he’s got a little more fight in him than I probably initially thought. I would see Jamaal continuing to get better. He had a chance to make a real big play in the game yesterday that we didn’t connect on which would have been a huge play at the time and kind of got us back into the game. We’ve kind of been incorporating him more and more into the game. Again, I like the direction Jamaal is heading and he obviously has some big play ability or we wouldn’t have him in some of those spots. He had two real nice carries in the game.”

Q: What about Kolby Smith’s progress?

HALEY: “The clock started on him last week. He got through the week good. I think this is good timing for him that we have this week and then two more weeks before we have to make the decision. I think the time of him coming back works out well for us and for him. He’ll continue to shake some of that rust off. I think Kolby Smith looks like a running back and I like the way he works and the way he acts. So, I’m kind of excited.”

Q: If there was a time that it was best for someone else to be the play-caller and coordinator, would Mo Carthon be a guy you’d look at first?

HALEY: “Definitely. I think I’ve said this about Mo: he was the most important guy to me. We’ve worked together a bunch of years and I have the utmost respect for Mo Carthon and I truly believe that Mo should be a head coach in the league before it’s all over. He commands that type of respect and he’s a football guy. I’m grateful and thankful that I have him around.”

Q: In the Chargers locker room yesterday one player said that your guys were trying hard and saw how you played on goal line and it wasn’t about effort. But I asked someone else off the record and he said, ‘don’t you guys get it? They don’t have the horses?’ Is there some truth to that? Are you over-matched against some teams in the league?

HALEY: “Not in my mind. I think that coaching is about getting your players to figure out a way to beat theirs and utilizing your players to the best of their ability. Our job is to win games. It’s a very bottom-line business that way.

“Like I said, after the week of practice that we had I fully expected to go out there and have a competitive game against the San Diego Chargers who I think are a very good team and have a lot of talent. That’s where we’re at and why I’m excited we have three or four days this week to try to get this team better. Results don’t say this but I think we’re making progress.”

Q: How do you approach the bye?

HALEY: “I was looking forward to the bye regardless because the circumstances that we’re in as a team, most specifically offensively, we needed the time. We need time without having to game plan or get ready for an opponent to just work on us. I wish to heck we had won the game and were getting ready to work on us. But we didn’t so we’re getting ready to work on us.”

Q: Are you happy with your team’s mental condition?

HALEY: “Well, I think regardless we’ve obviously got a long ways to go. But I’m encouraged with the direction the team is going. If in week six or seven you can have your best week of practice that’s usually in my experience as a coach a good sign. If we weren’t 1-5 going into that week, I’d be even more encouraged.”

Q: How much improvement has the team seen since you earlier said it was broken?

HALEY: “I’m not trying to sound like an idiot. We’re 1-6. You are what you are but at the same time I think there’s been progress made, that there is more and more guys that are starting to get it and understand. It will only help us as we go forward.”

Q: You said you got the look on the fourth down that you went for that you wanted. When the play call went in was it going to be a quarterback sneak?

HALEY: “It’s what we call an alert. Without giving anything away, there is the potential for not snapping the ball and taking the play and punting it.”