As various sportswriter and NFL analysts learn of the Todd Haley firing by the Kansas City Chiefs, some various names are popping up as likely replacements. Peter King of Sports Illustrated notes two popular ones himself as he writes, “First two names I thought of after Haley firing: Kirk Ferentz, Josh McDaniels. I am certain there will be more to choose from.”
We’ve already discussed both of these options and clearly would prefer the Ferentz route. Both are possibilities, of course, given their relationship with the decision maker Scott Pioli, but it’s also easy to reason out of both possibilities give their circumstances.
Ferentz is entrenched in Iowa football with 13 years as a tenured head coach and a family established there. He’s worked hard to get where he’s at and giving that up would take a lot of convincing.
As for McDaniels, he’d be a very unpopular option in Kansas City after his time as the Denver Broncos head coach — one in which he tanked after winning his first six games. His time as an offensive coordinator for the Rams hasn’t gone so well either, so this move really does not make sense other than his connection to Pioli.