by Josh Kingsley, ArrowheadKingdom
Happy Wednesday y’all!!
I have a few CHIEFS topics for the week, and one of them took me down a bit of a rabbit hole. However, I do need to start with my typical rambling. The good news is this week’s edition will be both brief and random. I do need to start with my first ever clarification/retraction by addition.
The Adam Chronicles
I am a creature of habit when it comes to things like my DJ work and other professional things. The DJ work comes to mind because I am extremely methodical in my approach. My pre show notes always compile the same way, set up my system the same way, and store everything the same way. I have an order that I stack my meticulously wrapped cords in a duffle bag. All of this effort keeps my look and approach consistent, clean and efficient. I can do most of it in my sleep, which makes me very sharp while conscious. It also makes it possible to do any of the tasks under any kind of duress due to the muscle memory I have built.
There are other parts of my life that seem methodical, but in reality are quite random. Me wedding service team has tons of J names. I once sent a crew of Josh, Joe, Jillian, Jon and myself to double the Josh count. That was a fun night watching the wedding party confuse us. I don’t actively look to hire J names, it just happened. I also have another, more specific name affinity: friends named Adam. To add a layer every single one has been a coworker at some point. Here is a quick overview with a point I consider interesting, plus what my kids call them, in the order I met them:
Adam P.
This Adam is the guy from the Katzenjammer Summerfest show. He and I met while interviewing to work together. We spent a few years working on projects at that company, and can still walk into certain retail stores and see things we did over 10 years ago. Adam is a fellow entrepreneur and at one time owned a bakery. We crossed paths often as he was the best wedding cake spot in MKE. He played for the Badgers and contributed to the Leo Chenal story. He is Milwaukee and Wisconsin through and through. My kids still call him Adam with the bakery.
Adam M.
I have the most history and connection with this Adam. We are currently on our third company working together, we plan an annual trip to a baseball city together and have attended countless sporting and concert events together. This guy is one of my best friends in the world and I cannot possible tell the story of my time in Milwaukee without mentioning him. Unfortunately, I tried to last week with the Summerfest column. I watched 10 (pretty sure) of the shows I mentioned in the column with him. He was the friend at the Wiz Khalifa show and shows 2-5. It was a big miss on my part to not name drop him specifically. We are a month out from our next baseball group trip and I will cover that entire thing in detail soon. This will not be his only appearance.
The kids call him Adam that lives up high due to his awesome downtown condo. His place is a typical pregame spot for all the shows, games, and general fun nights out in MKE.
Final note for now: he is a Patriots fan from the Boston area of New Hampshire, which is south of Lake Winnipesaukee. He has unfortunately never met Dr. Leo Marvin.
Adam P.
Yes, another Adam P. This is the guy who made the Devo thing happen. I talked to him shortly before I wrote this column and he was on his way to talk to the facility managers for the Cleveland Browns stadium about their air quality. He is a Cleveland guy that had a spell in MKE after San Francisco. Now is a good time to point out that all 3 Adam’s to this point and I worked together for a year or so. My kids don’t know this one, so no fun names.
Adam B.
We worked together at my most recent company. Picture an engineer. Now picture them taking everything they own apart to improve it in any possible way. That’s this guy. He has a server in his house because he knows how to build and maintain one. We drove to volleyball yesterday in his racecar, which is an 80s era Volvo station wagon with a Corvette engine in it. The dude’s a mad scientist. My kids call him Adam, Evie’s dad because our daughters are friends.
All of that was to once again apologize to Adam M. for not calling him out directly for Summerfest. Also to bring up another random thought.
Sand Volleyball
This is my current favorite sport to play, and ranks just ahead of golf. Milwaukee has a shockingly large sand volleyball community for a place that has the winter is features. There are numerous indoor sand options, which makes for a great winter activity. Adam B. and I play on a couple teams together. We play coed volleyball, which means half our 6 on the court are guys and the other half gals. The most difficult thing every week is ensuring we have enough gals. I picture myself in high school and remember almost all the girls being volleyball players. If you told high school me I would one day play coed volleyball but it would be difficult to find girls I’m not sure I’d believe it.
In fact, I imagine it would be like telling the high school version of my parents about how the Internet would take over the world some day.
Milwaukee Vibes
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the Milwaukee Bucks winning their 2nd NBA title and the first in 50 years. Chiefs fans know that feeling well!! I was fortunate enough to attend game 4 of said Finals, which featured the Giannis block of Ayton as time wound to an end. That was such a wild time in the MKE, and this article does and great job reliving the experience. This article has an added bonus in author, Hannah Kirby. She is my favorite Journal Sentinel writer. There is a little bias. But she is super talented.
My Mike Rowe Moment
I have mentioned my work with Arrowhead Kingdom group many times. We have a massive plan for the CHIEFS road games this coming year, so consider that topic teased once again. Arrowhead Kingdom is also the home for my video and podcast series. I have a fascination for seeing behind the scenes of live production, and also a passion for making connections. My recent episode gave me the chance to do both when I interviewed Dan, the scoreboard operator at Arrowhead. Here is the full background and link to the video interview.
Orlando Brown Reprise
The more time passes the less issue I have with this one. Reports hitting the web today indicate the CHIEFS did not end up with the guy they traded for. This anonymous “source” talks like the expectation was a mid-tier deal. I simply cannot see a world where the Brown contract demands were a surprise. The forecast for left tackle availability made it a clear ask for a big number. Williams got $23M, and Brown was never signing for less. He demanded a trade when the Ravens looked to move him to RT. The CHIEFS traded to get THAT guy. Brown’s motivation is money and maxing his value, and he wears it on his sleeve. As a CHIEFS fan it absolutely sucks to watch a guy balk at a contract set to pay $23M+ by the end of the year.
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However, as a member of the working age group of Americans I understand and applaud him. Next comment: as a business owner I understand and hold no animosity. Every single human has a window of effective work where they can maximize their employment. People like Tom Brady and Jeff Bezos appear immortal, but Father Time will get them both. The dollar amount in this entire situation does absolutely nothing for me beyond setting this context: Orlando Brown is qualified to do a job that is 1 of 32 in the most competitive job market possibly on the planet working in a business that consumers currently pay infinity to consume. How is that not worth $25M?
Winning?
I am a business owner and 15+ year corporate guy. My professional time includes mom and pop shops and fortune 100 companies. The reality I fundamentally believe: they are all the same. Every single business is playing a simple game with complex dynamics: your resources are X, your costs are Y, and Z is the result dictating how awesome things are. The complexity comes from people, and every company has them. Individuals run on the same scenario. People and the companies they work for have a balance to achieve with an infinite scale of possibilities. Where the company chooses is how I define culture. The employee dictates their personal sensibilities and works to find a fit. That’s essentially how I view business. Most of us are kind of dumb on some level, and we do our best to hide it.
I make the heading winning to make this point: we individuals and companies define our version of winning. A company can pick perfect customer satisfaction as easily as max profit. I believe the first one is available at the unicorn farm, and the second cannot happen without customer focus. The exception is highly addictive chemical substances, which is a comment I have made in meetings before. People pick their winning as well. We all have the option to make the most possible money, have the most possible freedom, or pick the combo we can live with. Being a corporate VP GM sounds like an awesome gig. High salary, possible luxury company car, flying all over the world, meeting powerful people. I don’t hold the job, but know it includes long hours and accountability for things out of your control. Dial both factors back and you are in middle management.
The Choice
Both parties had a choice. Orlando Brown’s choice: maximize his compensation or maximize his potential to win football games. It appears that his choice landed in the comp field, and good for him. Job hopping pays. Look at my LinkedIn page, and you will see how I roll. I’m move often. Sometimes it is to find a better culture. Other times it is money. Every time it is to be in a spot I consider winning. Have I ended up in worse situations than I left? Yeah, for sure. That’s Brown’s risk. I wrote last week that I expect him to be on a different, worse team next season. Jacksonville and the NY Jets are going to suck this year. Either team will gladly pay Brown $26M-$28M a year for 3 guaranteed seasons this time next year. He will probably take it. I hope it ends up what he wants.
The CHIEFS choice was the culture they chose. Brett Veach made it clear he is not paying for the sake of paying. He and Brown sat down for the annual review we all have with our bosses, and their opinions did not match.
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Brown asked for the 6% raise and a promotions. Veach offered the 3% merit and a development plan, and he did it knowing the risk of Brown shopping himself. In the business world that means answering the calls from recruiters. The NFL version is playing on the franchise tag. Neither situation plays out for the employee without excellent personal representation. For a raise wanting job seeker it means crushing the interview. In Brown’s case it means playing at a Pro Bowl level.
CHIEFS Culture
Veach believes in his culture. He has Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the clarity that he will pay fair market value. That’s a pretty good culture. However, the reality is that he also told a good employee that he doesn’t care if they start looking. This is all fine and dandy as long as a succession plan is in place. I hope he has one.
My Rabbit Hole
The other recent CHIEFS news is the inclusion of Otis Taylor in the senior committee semifinalist list. We find out if he move forward in a week. I turned 41 in June, so I cannot claim historical context. The most popular debate in sports is Jordan vs LeBron, and I have opinions because I have lived through and am living currently through both. However, I like history and know its messed up that Kareem and Bill Russell do not extend the conversation. I remain a Jordan guy for a litany of reasons that all filter back to my time and place concert context. Jordan wins context for me due to a combination of league state, ruthlessness, comparative athletic ability, and good ole fashioned results.
Back to Otis Taylor and the question: does he belong in the Hall? My first approach to review is numbers based, so I made a spreadsheet. I pulled up the Pro Football Reference page, and looked at all time receiving leaders. Taylor is 134 all time with 7,306 yards. Net present value is a finance term to illustrate that money carries different value over time. The sport formula of NPV is 100% subjective and why we have some much Jordan and LeBron to argue. I worked to drive my personal assignment of value for a HOF case. My personal criteria:
- Did the player define an era?
- Can you tell the story of an era without them?
- Did they instill fear in opponents?
The numbers are the numbers, but the above are my subjective context. Numbers first. Taylor played from 1965 to 1975, so I isolated a group of peers from that era.
In the Hall
Here is the list of inducted:
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I am not looking to fight city hall, so my assumption is the merit is solid on all parties.
The Competition
The senior committee covers players active as late as 1996, so a logic could dictate I am looking too narrow. My stance is that time will overall honor the eras, so he is against this contextual group at or above the level of the following 20 ears after his retirement. I have no clue if that is true, but it’s my criteria. I looked at the following factors:
- Total receiving yards: this is the money in the bank. If NPV was a thing for receiving yards this debate goes away.
- 1st team All Pro nods: this is the subjective view of the people covering the sport at the time. This matters.
- Pro Bowl nods: same as above but slightly less credibility.
- League leading stats: I looked at total TD, total yards, total receptions and yards/game
Call this my established truth: the NFL Hall of Fame is missing players from the 1965-75 group of WRs, and they know it. What remains unknown (and may not exist) is the answer to how many are missing. For the sake of discussion let’s say anywhere from 1-4 or 5. Here is the list of players I consider the peer group:
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My Arguments
Keep in mind my 3 points of criteria and the list of bullets just above, and let’s work on the story. I can boil all of it to two questions:
- Who would everyone fight to have on their fantasy team, and
- Who was a certified lethal weapon on the field?
This list has many potential HOFers. Full disclosure regarding my first question: how in the hell is Harold Jackson not in the Hall of Fame? A tally of 10K anything is impressive and he was clearly lethal for a solid block of time. Lionel Taylor’s 1960-65 is impressive as well. What truly jumped out at me was the multiple All Pro nods, and the excellence that transcended the merger. That pulls 4 above all others:
- Harold Jackson
- Art Powell
- Otis Taylor
- Lionel Taylor
The thing about this list: Otis is the only one in the semifinals. That alone provides substantial merit, but I believe in time and place. Otis provides these things. Let’s look at the era box:
- Played in the first Super Bowl
- Won Super Bowl IV
- Made a key play in Super Bowl IV
You simply cannot tell the story of the merger without mentioning the CHIEFS best WR. Stats and such:
- All Pro his sophomore season establishing his immense talent
- Most lethal weapon in the NFL in 1967 as All Pro and leader in yards and yards/game
The last piece is anecdotal evidence. Taylor’s story goes something like this:
- Imposing size that required bodies to defend
- Speed to add a fear factor
- Dominance of era
- Prototypical receiver that could lace ’em up today
Otis Taylor is Devo. Football as we know it owes him enshrinement. Avoid rocks folly and enshrine this great.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne
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