Daboll Hire Must Work in KC

When the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately chose their new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, fans weren’t sure how to react to the news that became official on Monday. But one thing is absolute, this hire has to yield immediate results.

For the record, I think the Chiefs made a good hire. Brian Daboll has a solid resume and he fits within the Scott Pioli comfort zone. Daboll was a former New England Patriots assistant. That alone made him, from what our sources said in the early stages of the search, his top choice to run the Chiefs offense.

But this move comes with some risk.

Pioli didn’t travel far and wide to name his offensive coordinator. And I doubt that Head Coach Romeo Crennel had much input in the decision. What’s key in this move is that Daboll for all practical purposes is the Chiefs second head coach.

Crennel has already indicated he’ll serve a dual role as Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. That means Daboll will be left alone to run the Chiefs offense. And based on his efforts in the second half of the season at Miami with modest talent, it’s a safe bet to assume that KC’s offense will improve next season.

And that’s really all that matters going forward. Sure Daboll is young but he’s had two stints as an offensive coordinator (Cleveland and Miami), so he’s probably learned a few lessons that will make his Chiefs gig more successful.

One thing is certain, provided the Chiefs can fix their woeful offensive line in Free Agency, he inherits more talent than what he had in Miami. Putting aside the Matt Cassel or Kyle Orton dilemma that Daboll might have to sort out in training camp, there are offensive weapons galore for him to work with in game planning for 2012.

The Chiefs have an All Pro running back in Jamaal Charles, capable receivers in Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston, Jon Baldwin, as well as tight end Tony Moeaki. And honestly, I’ve stated before, the success of this offense won’t be determined by the starting quarterback.

Instead it will be how many links the Chiefs are willing to go to fix the offensive line in the offseason.

Daboll won’t let that happen.

Sure he has some Haley like qualities but he’s not going to show up his players to the point of demeaning them on a daily basis. Instead, he’ll challenge them. And I bet he’ll be more like his mentor, Charlie Weis, instead of the in-your-face antics of the Chiefs former head coach.

Time will tell if this move bodes well for the Chiefs next season. But it’s clear that this hire by Pioli, that he has to do a better job adding talent via free agency for not only Daboll but Crennel as well.

If not, this hire and Pioli’s long term tenure in Kansas City, will be very much in doubt. That’s the biggest risk I see with this move.

Piloli’s a smart man and he’s a survivor. And I doubt he would have made this hire, had he not thoroughly thought out what he has to do better going forward.

Who knows if the Crennel/Daboll connection will work. But in short order, we’re all about to find out.

Photo Credit - US Presswire/Steve Mitchell

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