Why Kansas City Chiefs' Todd Haley Firing is Long Overdue

According to the Kansas City Chiefs' official website, head coach Todd Haley has been let go:

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"The Kansas City Chiefs today announced that Todd Haley has been relieved of his duties as head coach effective immediately."

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The article went on to add a few reasons:

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Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said: “Unfortunately, we have not been able to establish the kind of consistency we need to continue to build a strong foundation for the future, and we believe a change is important at this time.”

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That being said, there is an argument in Haley's case because the Chiefs have been mauled by injuries since the 2011 season kicked off. The thing is, they're not the only ones who have been dealing with numerous injuries to some of their best players.

The Houston Texans have been hit quite a bit this season, but still stand tall at 10-3 and are on a seven-game winning streak.

And although it's hard to compare, last year the Green Bay Packers were stampeded with injuries consistently throughout the 2010 season, however, they still managed to sneak into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.

As for Todd Haley and the Chiefs, even when they were healthy they managed to finish just 10-6 in the AFC West last season and were smashed by the Ravens in the Wild Card round. Unfortunately for Haley, that's as good as it ever got.

2010 was most definitely a turnaround year in Kansas City, and perhaps the Chiefs were subject to being held to too high standards for 2011. For one, going from 4-12 to 10-6 is certainly a solid achievement, but even with injuries, surely 5-8 at this point was not expected.

RB Jackie Battle stepped up big time and the defense kept them in games, however, putting up points is what is comes down to. And inside the red zone, the Chiefs were near the bottom.

With a 37.04 percent in scoring TDs once in the red zone, K.C. ranks No. 31 in the NFL, just in front of San Francisco. In addition, the Chiefs are ranked No. 31 in scoring offense, averaging just 13.3 points per game (behind both Cleveland and Indianapolis).

Obviously this lack of production didn't sit well, mainly because Kansas City hasn't scored more than 10 points in a single game since Week 8 (23-20 win over San Diego).

In any event, a new beginning is underway and for most it will be a breath of fresh air. The Chiefs do have talent across the board, so for their sake and the fans, here's to hoping K.C. can make a turn for the better this offseason.

Follow John Rozum on Twitter @ Sportswriter27