Most NFL coaches don’t stay unemployed for long. The Associated Press reports former Kansas City Chiefs’ head coach Todd Haley, who was fired in mid-December, has interviewed for the offensive coordinator job with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers finished 12th in the NFL in yards and 21st in points scored. The Chiefs were even worse on offense. They were 31st in points scored and 27th in total yards.

The Arizona Republic reported in mid-January that a return to Haley’s old staff with the Arizona Cardinals seemed doubtful. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt is happy with his offensive coordinator and Haley would have to start lower on the totem pole in Phoenix. He was the offensive coordinator in Arizona until he was hired by the Chiefs as a head coach.

The Haley saga continues. He lasted less than three seasons in Kansas City as a head coach. All of the head coaching positions are filled. Now he seems to be going around to different teams seeking a job on the offensive side of the ball.

Teams’ unwillingness to hire Haley may stem from several reasons. First is that new head coaches need a few weeks to settle in. Then the hiring process takes time to whittle down candidates from applicants to interviewees to finalists. Another reason may just be that Haley’s last team on offense was one of the NFL’s worst. Kansas City scored just 13.3 points per game and traveled just 310.8 yards per game.

Yet Haley’s dynamic may change when he’s back at being an offensive coordinator. He only has to worry about one side of the ball and not two as a head coach. There is only one unit Haley needs to rely upon instead of three (including special teams). Some coaches do just fine as lifetime coordinators and never make it to the head coaching ranks.

In short, Haley seems to have been given a valuable life lesson about knowing his limitations. He may eventually work his way into another NFL head coaching job, but only after he spends a few more years soul searching as an offensive coordinator.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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Head coach Romeo Crennel of the Kansas City Chiefs will have a new look on his coaching staff in 2012. The team’s official website announced Jan. 30 that Tom McMahon will serve as the special teams coach of the Chiefs next season. He comes to Kansas City after three years down I-70 with the St. Louis Rams. In 2010, the Rams had the third-best punting average. They also led the league with 12 punt returns of 20 yards are more from 2009 and 2010 combined.

McMahon has also served as assistant special teams coaches with the Atlanta Falcons. Before that, he was coaching with the University of Louisville and Utah State. McMahon replaces Steve Hoffman who was not retained by the team after Todd Haley was fired. Two other coaches, both on the offensive side of the ball, were also let go.

Special teams, although not horrible in 2011, need improvement. The kick return game was stagnant in 2011 as there were no special teams touchdowns scored whatsoever. Two field goals were blocked in a game Dec. 24 against the Oakland Raiders, an overtime loss that haunted the team. Had the Chiefs won that game, they would have made the playoffs.

Placekicker Ryan Succop was a bright spot on special teams. ESPN reports he tied Pete Stoyanovich’s franchise record of 22 makes in a row. As such, the team signed him to a five-year, $14 million contract for his hard work.

There is still no word on a new offensive coordinator.

Whoever gets hired to run the offense will have an interesting job in 2012. Key players will be back from injuries. The defense, run by Crennel in 2011, came up big and bailed out the offense several times. The offense was sorely lacking in scoring. The Chiefs’ red zone offense was horrible. They would move the ball just fine until the team got down inside the five with a first a goal situation. Succop had eight field goals from less than 29 yards, meaning the ball was spotted at the 12-yard-line or closer to the end zone.

The Chiefs will likely draft an offensive lineman high in the draft as they need players to replace aging veterans that can open up holes for running backs and who can protect quarterback Matt Cassel.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Kansas City Chiefs focused on defense in the 2011 NFL Draft . Five of nine players drafted were on defense. Of the offensive players drafted in 2011, only wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin made any steady appearances later in the season. He had one touchdown catch.

In 2010, Jamaal Charles was the second-leading rusher in the AFC with 1,467 yards. He scored five touchdowns on the year. The entire Chiefs team scored five rushing touchdowns in 2011.

Enough already!

It’s time to get the Chiefs back into a running team. Charles will be back from his injury in 2012 and will need a good offensive line. A good blocking team will also protect the quarterback well. Getting the running game going will open up the passing game in dramatic fashion.

The Chiefs drafted Rodney Hudson on the offensive line in the second round from Florida State last year. He started one game for Kansas City.

It’s time for the Chiefs to pick a quality offensive lineman in the first round. General manager Scott Pioli needs to forget the best player available at the time the Chiefs pick 11th or 12th in the draft. They need an offensive lineman, period. Starting center Casey Wiegmann is leaving his retirement plans in the open, according to the Chiefs’ website as of Dec. 30. The aging veteran is an unrestricted free agent this year and will be 39 years old. He has started 175 games in a row and has taken over 11,000 snaps in a row for the Chiefs.

DraftTek.com has a list of offensive linemen available in the 2012 draft. Matt Kalil of USC is generally regarded as the top lineman in the upcoming draft. Riley Reiff may be number two. Should Reiff be selected by the Chiefs, it will be a second straight draft in which the Chiefs selected a player from the University of Iowa.

Jonathan Martin of Stanford is on the list. Perhaps Kansas City should consider his services since Andrew Luck had a dynamite year as quarterback for the Cardinal.

The point is that there should be plenty of great talent on the offensive line available in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Chiefs should pick someone who can contribute to the team immediately now that training camp will be a full-time proposition later this summer. Last season, the NFL lockout nixed much of training camp and preparation for the season.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Kansas City Star reports Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes likes how his team’s training camp has gone so far. SKC has been sheltering from the cold indoors at the training facilities of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The veterans and new players have been brought up to speed as to how training works. Fitness levels are fine and injuries are few and minor at this point. Three notable players are absent due to U.S. Men’s National Team duty and will join their club in Tucson, Ariz., sometime after the team arrives in the desert southwest Jan. 29.

Vermes told the Star he had to slow the team down a bit and that they were ahead in their training regimen. That’s a good thing. Having an enthusiastic team is a plus this early in the season. Quality recruits can only mean players will be shuffled in and out in terms of tryouts and more players coming in.

An international player from Sierra Leone will join the team in Arizona once he gets a visa. The as-yet unnamed player has trained with countryman Kei Kamara before and the staff are familiar with the player.

Players to watch in training include the newest members of the team. Top draft pick and England native Dom Dwyer. How he fits into the offensive scheme will determine if he’s a starter or even first off the bench early in the season. Cyprian Hedrick from Congo may also fill a need in the defense. Another player to watch is Stefan Antonijevic. The 6’6″ defender will be a towering presence in the central defense and will add another dimension to Kansas City’s back line. If he can win a starting spot early in the season, Sporting’s defense on set pieces and crosses will be top notch.

Sporting will train in Arizona and Kansas City before playing preseason games in Florida in late February.

The defending top team in the Eastern Conference will begin its 2012 season March 10 on the road against D.C. United. By then, the roster will have been trimmed and a consistent starting XI will be in place.

William Browning played soccer for ten years growing up in the St. Louis area. He has been a fan of Sporting Kansas City ever since Major League Soccer starting playing in 1996.

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A recent article in the Kansas City Star claims former head coach Todd Haley was paranoid during his final days with the organization. Supposedly, Haley felt like some conference rooms were bugged and were able to record people’s conversations. He even went so far as to say his cell phone, which he had owned before becoming head coach of the Chiefs, had been tampered with.

The article continues to say that many in the organization under general manager Scott Pioli’s watch have felt insecure in their job status. More than half of the front office’s staff has turned over since Pioli took over. Clark Hunt, the team’s CEO, has denied any wrongdoing and simply said he requires “excellence” from everyone in the organization.

So what if the conference rooms in Arrowhead’s offices are bugged with audio equipment? Facilities and venues have security cameras all of the time. As long as there aren’t any recording devices in bathrooms, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Companies can frequently monitor email accounts used by employees on the job. Rooms owned by an NFL team shouldn’t be any different. There are plenty of unemployed people in America. Surely someone else would love to step into the Chiefs’ upper management offices and be a part of the team.

Despite an age discrimination lawsuit, upper management has the right to hire whom they want to for various positions. Maybe the former employees aren’t being paranoid whatsoever. Having a room bugged is no different than having someone outside of a door listening in on a meeting through the door.

Yes, the style of Pioli is probably different than what the organization is used to. Yet his results are astounding. The New England Patriots won three Super Bowls under his watch. The ultimate goal of the Chiefs should be the same. If it means replacing staff that don’t adapt to new policies, that’s just the way any company operates.

Consider the theory of evolution—species adapt to conditions around them or they perish. Employees in any company, including the Chiefs, should be the same way. Perhaps the Chiefs have a higher standard than before. Unfortunately, it means that some former employees think the organization is overly paranoid.

I don’t think upper management is too paranoid. The new kids on the block are all about winning, as it should be.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.