And The (Off)Season Starts With a Bang

Andy Reid met with the Chiefs today, after an immediate termination by Philly at the season's end. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, “the Chiefs were trying to close a deal.” Reid did not travel to Arizona later to meet with Cardinals personnel as scheduled. Mortensen continued to explain that he was “ going to be surprised if Andy Reid was not the Chiefs coach.” This sounds like inspiring news, but Chiefs fans have now learned to respond to any kind of change with cynical analysis. So, let's analyze. Here's a very unscientific list of Pro's and Con's, ordered only by which came to mind first.

PROS-

1. He's a winner- maybe not a Super Bowl winner, but a consistently successful coach with 10 postseason victories and a four-year streak of winning his division with the Eagles.
2. He's willing to embrace the league as it stands right now. The NFL is a passing league now, and the teams winning playoff games understand this. So does Andy Reid.
3. Mortensen also explained that Reid should be more willing to sign with KC than with Arizona because Clark Hunt would allow him to build the team from the ground up and take more control. Any decision to take power of out Scott Pioli's hands makes me happy.

CONS-

1. For the same reasons Reid appreciates this pass-happy era in football, he may fail to appreciate this team's most talented member. Jamaal Charles' skills  absolutely cannot be wasted. With a strong-armed, competent quarterback, Andy Reid loves to pass the ball all day. Hopefully, he knows better than to ignore the most effective tool in the new toolbox.
2. Andy Reid hitched his wagon to Michael Vick, for better or worse. If Vick is looking for a job in the coming weeks, will Andy feel obliged to make a case for him to Clark Hunt? Are Chiefs fans ready to truly accept Michael Vick, both as a franchise quarterback and as a man? Are you tired of me asking questions yet? Are you sure?

The Chiefs have picked a terrible time to be so terrible. They have the number one overall draft pick locked up, they desperately need a quarterback, and this is the worst QB draft class in years. They spent money and time and sweat on a powerhouse running game, while the rest of the league accepted rushing in its new, limited role, and embraced the now all-important pass-attack. Now, Kansas City has to quickly choose a new head coach from a list full of special teams and college coaches. The organization is dancing on the razor's edge here- if they make the wrong choice, the franchise sinks further into the abyss, but if they hesitate, they're only wasting time and frustrating fans, while competent men sign contracts elsewhere. Working out a deal with a nearly-annual playoff contender is SO far from the worst thing that could happen.

If Mr. Hunt makes the right decision and hires Andy Reid while he has the chance, I'll be right back here to excitedly see what comes next.

If he doesn't, we'll go back to the drawing board together.

UPDATE: According to ESPN, the deal is all but done. "The major decisions have been discussed and agreed upon," apparently. Stephen A Smith's already telling the world how stupid it is. Let the discussion begin.