Whitlock: On second thought, forget about Gruden coaching Chiefs

[Tribal Warfare]

On second thought, forget about Gruden coaching Chiefs
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

It took all day and phone conversations with a former Tampa Bay quarterback and Warren Sapp, but I’m over my Jon Gruden love affair.

It was brief but passionate. From the moment the Buccaneers announced they were dumping Coach Chuckie, I wanted Gruden patrolling Arrowhead sidelines as passionately as I once wanted Jeff George slinging passes in red and gold.

Gruden is a winner. He overcame Al Davis’ senility and turned the Raiders into a Super Bowl-caliber team. Gruden then skipped down to Tampa, passed Brad Johnson off as a starting quarterback and led Tony Dungy’s Bucs to a Super Bowl title.

Gruden is two for two. He shows up and playoff victories follow. Plus, he’s a superstar, a big-time personality, an entertainer worth the price of admission. Gruden is Tuna Lite, the Baby Parcells.

Honestly, Gruden would make my life a joy. There would be an endless supply of things to write about if Gruden replaced Carl Peterson as king of Kansas City.

But I’m over it … I think.

“He would do a fine job in Kansas City,” Sapp told me. “Why not? The thing that would really be exciting for Gruden in KC is that he’d have a strong-armed young quarterback to work with. Hell, Tyler Thigpen damn near saved Herm Edwards’ job.”

This is where I had to tell Warren to slow his roll.

Tyler Thigpen is not Kansas City’s quarterback of the future. The Chiefs need to draft and develop a franchise quarterback.

“Well, Gruden has never groomed a young quarterback,” Sapp acknowledged. “He’s turned some into head cases.”

Exactly. The former Buccaneer QB I talked to on Saturday made the same point. His contention was that Gruden is a perfect fit for a veteran team, not a young rebuilding club.

“Gruden would be great for Dallas,” the former QB said.

Gruden might also work for the Jets and Brett Favre.

I’m over it. And I’m preparing for the remote possibility that Herm Edwards will be retained.

Seriously, what’s the holdup? The Senior Bowl heats up on Monday. Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo just took the head-coaching job with the Rams. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the new coach of the Broncos. Spagnuolo and McDaniels were supposed to be on Scott Pioli’s short list for Kansas City.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is now on the clock. I fully expect to hear about a new contract extension for Ferentz at Iowa any day now.

If the Chiefs were looking for an excuse to hold onto Edwards for another year, Clark Hunt certainly has it. All of Pioli’s coaching friends have landed gigs. The Chiefs might as well wait to enter the Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan sweepstakes next year.

Well, there are rumors that Shanahan doesn’t plan to sit out a year. A Denver radio station even reported that the Chiefs were interested in hiring Shanahan.

I’m against Shanahan unless John Elway is part of the package.

Is Shanahan a good coach? No question. But he’s not Belichick, Parcells, Holmgren or even Gruden.

Shanahan is the guy who was smart enough to put a couple of offensive pieces around Elway. Dan Reeves wasn’t smart enough to do it, so Elway could only carry Reeves to the Super Bowl. Elway won two Super Bowls for Shanahan.

And please don’t hand me the garbage that running back Terrell Davis won those titles. You just don’t understand football if you fail to recognize what a unique, once-in-a-lifetime talent Elway was. He’s the best to ever play the game.

Shanahan has done little in the decade since Elway walked away.

If there is an Elway available at the No. 3 pick, then I say sign Shanahan.

If not, the Chiefs need to look somewhere else for their next coach. Which means there might not be a “next” coach this offseason.

I’ve decided not to blame Clark Hunt if Edwards is retained. It will be an indication that Kansas City’s new GM lacks confidence. He wants a year to figure things out before he attaches his name to any major decisions.

It’s difficult for me to be too hard on Pioli, either. I woke up Saturday morning convinced Gruden would be KC’s savior. I went to bed Saturday night unable to identify a coaching savior.

I wonder if Jeff George is ready to transition into coaching.