Maurice Carthon: Kansas City's New Offensive Coordinator? Let's Hope Not

Many of you are too young to remember, but there used to be a rock group called "The Band" and they wrote a song that had the line "Don't do it, don't you break our hearts, PLEASE don't do it, don't you break our hearts".

I bring this up for a reason, so follow this closely. For weeks fans have have been calling "Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo" when the subject of appointing a new Kansas City Chiefs head coach. Well, a wise man, wiser than I, once said "Be careful what you wish for because you don't know what you're getting"

For a long time I felt that Romeo Crennel should remain the Chiefs' defensive coordinator. The reasons are many. Yes, I can bring up the fact that he wasn't successful as a head coach for the Cleveland Browns, but fans quickly refute saying "look what he had to work with." Yes, he had a very bad team, and yes he had one of the worst GMs in the game with Phil Savage, but my feelings go beyond that

Its one thing for a select few to be successful in doing something they haven't had a lot of experience doing. Let's face it, three years is not much to brag about, and I don't think I ever heard his name mentioned around the NFL as a likely candidate for any head coaching job . Another point is to not make a big deal over that win against Green Bay. Yes, it was an upset and yes the team celebrated around Crennel

From that point on everyone was convinced that the team really "believed" in Crennel. It seemed that being a players coach made Crennel pretty popular, even with fans, and I had to bring every fan back from their state of euphoria to point out that it may have been that the team celebrated the Green Bay win not because of who was there (Romeo) but because of who was not there (Todd Haley)   

Some people have said what's so wrong with being a players coach? Let me respond that question with a two word answer; Herman Edwards. But my reasons go far beyond all of this. 

The Chiefs reported earlier this week that Romeo would not only be head coach but will continue to run the defense in 2012, which includes calling plays. He says that there is no problem, after all he did both for the last three games of the season, but the way I see it, three games does not make a season.

Three games is three games. The combination of being responsible for all 53 players takes time and when Todd Haley said he could run the offense and still be head coach, well we saw what happened. But having too much on his plate is the least of his concerns. There are other decisions that need to be made.

For one: the draft. Do you really want me to remind you who Crennel drafted while he was head coach of Cleveland? I didn't think so, but he did have final say in the drafting one one "top" quarterbacks, a guy named Brady Quinn. Ouch. When I look at his drafts, I thought "this guy sure knows defense, but doesn't have a clue when it comes to offense".

Now it remains to be seen just who will be involved in making draft decisions this year. Frankly, I think that the head coach has a lot to say about it, and that is what concerns me. Do Romeo and Scott know offense? Who else might be influential in making those decisions, maybe an offensive coordinator?

Bingo.

This is my biggest concern. Despite names like Mike Martz,  Brian Schottenheimer, and others, just how far are both Pioli and Crennel willing to look? History has shown not very far.

C'mon, we all know by now that it's all about connections. Pioli has always used the tree of people he knows well, and those that are familiar with the team's philosophy and sense of ethics. The problem is that Pioli may lack confidence in his own judgment. In other words, he is too scared to hire an "outsider," but therein lies the problem. When you don't hire an outsider, then you must add an INSIDER. 

That insider might be Maurice Carthon.

Yes, I am going out on a limb here and believe me if I am wrong, as a Chiefs fan, I will be quite happy. I'll sacrifice my credibility if it means that my favorite team gets a more qualified candidate. But it all makes too much sense. Pioli is not a risk taker, and Crennel likes guys he is comfortable with. 

Crennel knows Carthon well. Crennel  made Carthon the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns in 2005, you know, the team that ranked 32nd in total offense. He even began the next year with Carthon and gave him the benefit of the doubt. The gamble didn't pay off.

Browns fans were so angered by Carthon they developed the slogan "Mo has gotta go." They even set up a website making fun of his pathetic playcalling. Carthon was a good player, is a good assistant and I'm sure a good person, but he is a "yes" man much like Romeo is, and let's face it: you know he wants the job. That is exactly what scares me.

All I can say is that this by no means a prediction. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and hear good news, like the Chiefs hired  Brian Schottenheimer as OC or maybe someone even more qualified.

But if history has taught us anything, let's not hold our collective breaths. History does have a way of repeating  itself, and when the guy who has been standing by your side, who knows you so well, wants a job, it might be a little hard to say "no". Pioli might call that "chemistry."

I would call it disaster. Of course, don't take my word for it. I'm sure there are plenty of Browns fans that have an opinion on the topic.