http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/977828-p2.html
Chiefs go about their business as GM hunt goes on
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Whether it’s Scott Pioli or someone else, the next Chiefs general manager might have to wait a while before he’s in his new job.
Interim president/general manager Denny Thum, who is assisting chairman Clark Hunt in the selection process, said Hunt hopes to hire a general manager before the Super Bowl, which is Feb. 1.
Hunt has interviewed Pioli, New England’s vice president for player personnel, and others. Hunt could interview as many as 10 candidates before he’s finished.
In the meantime, the Chiefs are going about business as usual. They recently signed several players, including quarterback Ingle Martin on Monday, to fill out the bottom of their roster.
The Chiefs have started preparing for free-agency, which begins in late February, and the April draft. They will have the third pick, their highest selection since choosing Nebraska defensive end Neil Smith with the second choice in 1988.
The uncertainty, which includes a most tenuous future for Herm Edwards and his coaching staff, makes these processes difficult.
“That’s for sure,” Thum said. “As far as specific direction with free-agency and the draft, until we hire a general manager, what we’re trying to do is cover all the bases.
“But our preparation hasn’t stopped. (Vice president) Bill Kuharich and his staff are getting ready for the draft. All of our scouts have left for the East-West practices and will go straight on to the Senior Bowl practices next week. (Pro personnel director) Ray Farmer is continuing to evaluate the waiver wire. Things are still going on. We’re moving forward.”
Thum joined the Chiefs 25 years ago as an accountant. He eventually worked his way to executive vice president with responsibilities for most of the business functions, including management of the salary cap and negotiation of player contracts.
He is the leading candidate to become Chiefs president, who will handle the business affairs. The general manager will oversee the football operation.
No matter the general manager, Thum indicated the Chiefs will be more active this year in free-agency. They gutted their roster after last season, and the few free agents signed by the Chiefs were low-impact starters or backups.
“We hope to continue to draft well,” Thum said. “But then you also hope to have some (veteran) players you can bring in that can fill specific roles and add a little more leadership on the football field. When you have a team as young as ours and you start looking around for answers on the field and everybody is about the same age as you, that makes it difficult.”
Thum met recently with Kuharich, Farmer, Edwards and coordinators Chan Gailey and Gunther Cunningham to evaluate the roster. He said he was affected by the strong improvement of many of the rookies as the season progressed.
He mentioned by name offensive lineman Branden Albert and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr and Maurice Leggett — but not the Chiefs’ top draft pick, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.
“A lot of young players made a lot of growth throughout the season,” he said. “If you look at the first part of the season to the second half of the season, offensively we did some things better. Defensively, we still had some issues, but there were certain players that stepped up and played better.”
“It was very insightful. We still know there are areas we need to fill, but the coaching staff gave a good evaluation. It gives me a good feel as we start to look toward free-agency as far as areas of need. This is something that when the new GM is hired, I’ll be able to share with him.”
Edwards and the assistant coaches have been in limbo since the season ended on Dec. 28 with a 16-6 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati. Hunt said the Chiefs would decide whether to retain Edwards and the staff once the general manager is hired.
Edwards is not free to make any staff changes, and the assistants were, at least until recently, not free to look for other jobs. But the Chiefs granted Houston’s request to interview secondary coach David Gibbs.
It’s unclear whether the Gibbs interview represents a policy change that allows Chiefs coaches to look for other jobs or whether it’s a one-shot deal. Gibbs has ties to the Texans. He once worked in Denver with head coach Gary Kubiak. His father, Alex, is a Houston assistant coach.
Either way, Edwards and the assistant coaches are still employed by the Chiefs.
Asked whether being placed in such a situation for a prolonged period was fair to Edwards and the other coaches, Thum said, “I would hope when we hire the new general manager, we can go through the evaluation process as quickly as possible.”
