Read More: Matt Cassel (QB – KAN), Peyton Manning (QB – IND), Tim Tebow (QB – DEN), Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos

The Kansas City Chiefs were the only team to offer a completed contract to free agent quarterback Peyton Manning on Thursday, according to Denver radio host Brandon Spano. Spano’s source says that Kansas City appears to be the most prepared of the teams interested in Manning’s services.

Following his recent release from the Indianapolis Colts, rumors tied Manning to the Denver Broncos, who could potentially be looking for an upgrade to incumbent starting quarterback Tim Tebow. Numerous other teams were also named as possibilities, many of which don’t have an option that’s as established and loved by the fanbase as the former Florida Gator is in Mile High.

Last season, the Chiefs used Matt Cassel at quarterback before injuries broke down the team’s QB depth chart. If Kansas City can gets its hands on Manning, expect Cassel to be on his way out.

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The Peyton Manning saga will surely be the story of the NFL offseason. The question in the AFC West is, will the Kansas City Chiefs be the story along with the legendary Indianapolis Colts quarterback?

As of now, we have to think it is a real possibility that the Chiefs will heavily pursue Manning — who may be cut by the Colts as soon as next week — if he becomes a free agent. Manning, who will turn 36 on March 24, missed all of last season with a neck injury and there is no certain date when he will be 100 percent, although there have been reports he will be ready to play in 2012.

If the Chiefs end up signing Manning, it won’t be the first time the organization brought in a living legend at the end of his career after he suffered a serious injury. The Chiefs traded for San Francisco’s Joe Montana in 1993.

The Chiefs have been connected to Manning in recent weeks. A Kansas City radio station has even reported that the team has had multiple conversations with Manning’s agent about finances and that the Chiefs feel comfortable about what Manning may want. That would constitute tampering and it is highly unlikely any team would talk finances with Manning before giving him a physical and knowing more about his recovery timetable. Still, the Chiefs have a load of salary-cap room and they can easily construct a deal for Manning in addition to making other improvements.

Of course, Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel did nothing to take the scent off a potential Chiefs-Manning pairing when he said this at the NFL combine last Saturday: “With a talent like that, I would be crazy not to consider it if he’s available. I’ll leave it at that.”

The Chiefs are not necessarily looking for a new starting quarterback. At the combine, Kansas City general manager Scott Pioli wouldn’t say the job is open. He said the starter is Matt Cassel. However, there will be competition at every position. The translation is the Chiefs expect Cassel to be the starter, but if a better option comes along, they will consider it. There’s no doubt a healthy Manning would be a better option.

If the Chiefs do want to go deep into the Manning sweepstakes, they will have competition, likely beginning with Miami and Washington. There will surely be other teams that show interest in the player who many consider one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

In addition to their interest and financial means, here’s another reason the Chiefs could be favorites to land Manning: They may be the best team interested in him. That would surely appeal to Manning when he is making his choice. I’m not sure many of the interested teams can offer Manning a better supporting cast.

The Chiefs have a strong running game and Manning would have plenty of receiving options. No. 1 receiver Dwayne Bowe is expected to be franchised, 2011 first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin is a potential game-changing deep threat and Steve Breaston is a solid possession receiver. Tight end Tony Moeaki is expected to be healthy after missing the 2011 season with a knee injury. He was terrific as a rookie in 2010.

In addition to appealing offensive weapons, the Chiefs have the makings of a strong defense. A healthy Manning would immensely help any team. But Manning could be a difference-maker in Kansas City. Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. said adding Manning would make the Chiefs — who finished 7-9 in 2011 despite major injury issues — “the clear favorite to win the AFC West” in 2012.

Putting Manning in the Heartland would make many teams in the AFC nervous.

I would think Manning would also be fine with working with Crennel and Pioli. He is close with New England quarterback Tom Brady and Brady won Super Bowls with both men. I’m sure Brady would give Manning glowing reports on both of his potential bosses. And don’t think Manning would have trouble working with a defensive-minded coach like Crennel. Remember, the man Manning won his Super Bowl ring with, Tony Dungy, was a defensive-minded coach.

Cassel is also a factor in this scenario. Because Manning will be signed before there are any guarantees he’ll be ready to play, any team that signs him must have a good fallback plan. There are fewer better fallbacks than Cassel.

If Manning is signed and he has a setback, the Chiefs can rely on Cassel, who shined as Brady’s injury replacement in 2008. While Cassel wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of backing up Manning, I’m sure he’d understand the Chiefs taking advantage of a rare opportunity to pick up a future Hall of Fame player.

There are a lot of reasons this pairing makes sense. If it happens, the Chiefs will be at the center of the NFL universe.

INDIANAPOLIS — Peyton Manning has been a consistent topic of conversation through the NFL Scouting Combine, with potential suitors quizzed on whether or not they would be interested in the Indianapolis Colts star — if he is healthy and available.

Kansas City Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel was surprisingly forthcoming.

“I’m not supposed to talk about anybody else’s players,” Crennel said, referencing tampering rules. “He’s still a player with Indianapolis. But with a talent like that, I would be crazy not to consider it if he were available. All right? I’ll leave it at that.”

Crennel opened the door to a change at the quarterback position with a lukewarm endorsement of Matt Cassel, saying he’s the Chiefs’ quarterback — unless they get another guy. If Kansas City brought Kyle Orton back, he indicated Cassel and Orton would compete for the job.

Jenny Vrentas: jvrentas@starledger.com; twitter.com/JennyVrentas

The NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs have hired former Tennessee quarterback Jim Bob Cooter as an offensive assistant, the Kansas City Star reports.

Cooter, who was a quarterback UT, was an offensive assistant for the Indianapolis Colts for the last three seasons.

New Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel hired Cooter as part of putting a new staff in place in Kansas City.

The move, first reported by 610 AM in Kansas City, has not yet been announced.

Haley will replace Bruce Arians, now with the Indianapolis Colts.

The 45-year-old Haley, fired by Kansas City on Dec. 13, went 19-26 in two-plus seasons with the Chiefs, leading them to the 2010 AFC West title.

He spent 10 seasons as an assistant before being hired by Kansas City. He was offensive coordinator for Arizona in 2007-08, helping lead the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance.

Phone messages left for Haley by the Associated Press were not immediately returned.

The Steelers went 12-4 this season but lost the AFC North title to Baltimore on a tiebreaker.

The Chiefs were 5-8 when Haley was dismissed. His last game was a tough one. Kansas City lost, 37-10, to the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, and it was their fifth loss in six games. Kansas City committed 11 penalties for 128 yards in the performance, including a 15-yarder on Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct that may have sealed his fate.

The next day, he was fired.

“Timing in these situations is always difficult. There never seems to be a right time,” Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said at the time. “We just felt the inconsistent play the team has experienced throughout the season, including yesterday’s game, made today the right day to do it.”

After three lopsided losses to start the season, Kansas City rattled off four straight wins and briefly pulled into a tie atop the AFC West. But that was followed by a home loss to previously winless Miami, the start of a disastrous six weeks in which the losses mounted.

“We’ve had one of those years where we’ve had injuries, and injuries to key players, but that’s typical in the National Football League,” Hunt said then. “As a team, you have to find a way to overcome that, and we just weren’t able to do that this year. Our play was up and down the entire season and at times it was up and down during a given game, and I think those contributed to our decision.”

Without a bye, the Steelers had to play a road game at Denver to open the postseason. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers fell to the Broncos, 29-23, in overtime.

Haley is the son of Dick Haley, formerly the director of player personnel for the Steelers from 1971-1990.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Steelers have named Todd Haley their new offensive co-ordinator.

Haley, 45, will replace Bruce Arians, now with the Indianapolis Colts, and will inherit an offence that scored 325 points last season en route to finishing 12-4.

Haley was fired by Kansas City on Dec. 13, after going 19-26 in two-plus seasons with the Chiefs, leading them to the 2010 AFC West title.

He spent 10 seasons as an assistant before being hired by Kansas City. He was offensive co-ordinator for Arizona in 2007-08, helping lead the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance. And he is the son of Dick Haley, who spent 44 seasons in the NFL including serving as the Steelers’ director of player personnel from 1971-90.

The Steelers lost the AFC North title to Baltimore on a tiebreaker, and were eliminated from the post-season by Denver.

“I am excited about the opportunity to come back home and work for a tremendous organization,” Haley said. “It is an honour to work with the Rooney family and coach (Mike) Tomlin and continue the success that has become synonymous with the Steelers. My father has so many fond memories both from his playing days and his time in the personnel department with the team, and I look forward to helping bring more championships to Pittsburgh and to being a part of one of the storied franchises in the NFL.”

The Chiefs were 5-8 when Haley was dismissed. His last game was a tough one. Kansas City lost, 37-10, to the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, and it was their fifth loss in six games. Kansas City committed 11 penalties for 128 yards in the performance, including a 15-yarder on Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct that may have sealed his fate.

The next day, he was fired.

“Timing in these situations is always difficult. There never seems to be a right time,” Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said at the time. “We just felt the inconsistent play the team has experienced throughout the season, including yesterday’s game, made today the right day to do it.”

After three lopsided losses to start the season, Kansas City rattled off four straight wins and briefly pulled into a tie atop the AFC West. But that was followed by a home loss to previously winless Miami, the start of a disastrous six weeks in which the losses mounted.

“We’ve had one of those years where we’ve had injuries, and injuries to key players, but that’s typical in the National Football League,” Hunt said then. “As a team, you have to find a way to overcome that, and we just weren’t able to do that this year. Our play was up and down the entire season and at times it was up and down during a given game, and I think those contributed to our decision.”

Less than a year before he was fired, Haley led the Chiefs to the greatest single-season turnaround in franchise history, winning the division title by recording six more victories than in 2009.

Without a bye, the Steelers had to play a road game at Denver to open the post-season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers fell to the Broncos, 29-23, in overtime.

Under Arians, Pittsburgh had a good year offensively. Roethlisberger threw for 4,077 yards, Mike Wallace had 1,193 receiving yards, and Rashard Mendenhall had 928 rushing yards. Arians was the Colts’ quarterbacks coach during Peyton Manning’s first three seasons, and was Pittsburgh’s offensive co-ordinator the last five seasons.

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers will hire former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley to be their offensive coordinator, according to an ESPN report.

The move, first reported by 610 AM in Kansas City, has not yet been announced.

Haley will replace Bruce Arians, now with the Indianapolis Colts.

The 45-year-old Haley, fired by Kansas City on Dec. 13, went 19-26 in two-plus seasons with the Chiefs, leading them to the 2010 AFC West title.

He spent 10 seasons as an assistant before being hired by Kansas City. He was offensive coordinator for Arizona in 2007-08, helping lead the Cardinals to their only Super Bowl appearance.

Phone messages left for Haley by the Associated Press were not immediately returned.

The Steelers went 12-4 this season but lost the AFC North title to Baltimore on a tiebreaker.

The Chiefs were 5-8 when Haley was dismissed. His last game was a tough one. Kansas City lost, 37-10, to the New York Jets at the Meadowlands, and it was their fifth loss in six games. Kansas City committed 11 penalties for 128 yards in the performance, including a 15-yarder on Haley for unsportsmanlike conduct that may have sealed his fate.

The next day, he was fired.

“Timing in these situations is always difficult. There never seems to be a right time,” Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said at the time. “We just felt the inconsistent play the team has experienced throughout the season, including yesterday’s game, made today the right day to do it.”

After three lopsided losses to start the season, Kansas City rattled off four straight wins and briefly pulled into a tie atop the AFC West. But that was followed by a home loss to previously winless Miami, the start of a disastrous six weeks in which the losses mounted.

“We’ve had one of those years where we’ve had injuries, and injuries to key players, but that’s typical in the National Football League,” Hunt said then. “As a team, you have to find a way to overcome that, and we just weren’t able to do that this year. Our play was up and down the entire season and at times it was up and down during a given game, and I think those contributed to our decision.”

Without a bye, the Steelers had to play a road game at Denver to open the postseason. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 289 yards and a touchdown, but the Steelers fell to the Broncos, 29-23, in overtime.

Haley is the son of Dick Haley, formerly the director of player personnel for the Steelers from 1971-1990.

PITTSBURGH (AP)

Former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley is set to be named the new Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Kansas City’s 610 Sports Radio reported Monday.

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