Chiefs Cutting The Fat

Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley hasn’t confined his wrath toward players’ miscues on the field. He’s just as intolerant about the mistakes players make off the field when they demolish a buffet or a few plates of that delicious Kansas City barbecue. [Editor’s note: Thanks to The Green Mile, I can never hear the word “barbecue” again without thinking of this.] So, Haley directed the Chiefs to lose a combined 340 pounds this offseason partially, due to his belief that the AFC West franchise simply didn’t work hard enough last year, outlining his intense approach during an interview with Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. That get-fit directive has included mandatory weigh-ins every week, extra conditioning drills, and Haley personally monitoring workouts. Plus, the former Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator set a personal example by dropping down to 192 pounds from 217 pounds. “We were out of shape and not really strong,” Haley said. “I talked to our strength coach at Arizona and he said if you’re a highly efficient team that’s working, you lose about 120 to 150 pounds in the offseason. . . . “The players understood that to be around, we weren’t going to have a fat team. And if you were fat, we’d probably just move on at some point as soon as we could.” Promising young Chiefs offensive tackle Brandon Albert has lost 30 pounds under the new regimen after Haley said that Albert “looked like a mess” when the new coaching staff arrived in town. “The guy was 303 yesterday,” Haley said. “He’s on an eating plan and carries his meal around in a Tupperware. He’s lifting, and he’s so much stronger. He’s almost got abs coming through.” Haley also discussed his occasionally abrasive approach, which became a national story when he clashed with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin during the NFC title game against the Philadelphia Eagles. “That changed everything for me,” Haley said. “I couldn’t go anywhere in Phoenix after that. I used to be able to hide against the wall, but then everybody knew me all of a sudden. . . . “You’d much rather have that than to be glad-handing and patting somebody on the butt; you don’t want that as your reputation. I’m going to be about pushing you hard and not pulling any punches.” Haley’s blunt, kick-in-the-butt approach might be just what the Chiefs need after such a bad two seasons. The bigger-picture question, though, is whether the players will eventually tune out a stern disciplinarian. It’s a hard line for NFL coaches to walk. One thing’s for sure, it’s a lot diferent tone in Kansas City these days after the departure of nice guy Herm Edwards. As fullback Mike Cox told the Associated Press, “It’s been like night and day.”