Top 10 FRENEMIES of the Chiefs
by Laddie Morse | March 23, 2019
The Millenials have given rise to a new set of words in our culture, a whole new language if you will. One of those words is: “frenemy.” Kind if a combo word of friend and enemy (BTW… frenemy is an official word in Webster’s). Here’s the definition:
Years ago I published a list of what I considered the Kansas City Chiefs biggest enemies or rivals. This then, is a list of the Chiefs frenemies, a list of coaches, players or rivals who I have at one time enjoyed, and then hated (that may be too strong of a word though) or hated then enjoyed. One way or the other, I haven’t been “happy,” well say, with them at one time or another.
Marv Levy. Mr. Levy was the coach for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1978 to 1982. Levy went on, four years after that, to coach Buffalo where he led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls from 1991 to 1994, all losses. I remember thinking during all those years, while he was coaching of the Bills, that he could have been leading the Chiefs to those Super Bowls and I felt somewhat vindicated by his losses. However, Levy is a great guy, not a mean bone in his body… and it’s just darn hard to dislike that man. Marv Levy is 93 years old and going strong to this day. So, while he makes my list, he’s just not someone I can call an enemy forever.
Larry Johnson. I’ll never forget when beloved coach Dick Vermeil said to his rookie RB Larry Johnson, “Take the diapers off,” to which LJ replied, “I don’t need no motivation. If I need motivation, I’ll talk to my father. I don’t need another grown man telling me I need to take the diapers off.” Of course, that didn’t endear him to me. As LJ drew closer to the Chiefs all-time rushing record, he was suspended for two weeks by the NFL for violating the league conduct policy. He had spit in a lady’s drink and his reputation sank much lower in the eyes of fans in the Kingdom. Johnson later said he was disgusted with himself but his agent quit over the matter. Johnson brought a myriad of troubles down on his own head. He once tweeted about then coach Todd Haley, “My father got more credentials than most of these pro coaches.” He also used the word “fag” in another tweet and told one fan online “Make me regret it. Lmao. U don’t stop my checks. Lmao. So ‘tweet’ away.” Now, Larry Johnson is a changed man, a family man, and is able to look back and express regret for all those things he did back then. This is a man I can get behind… but not back then.
Todd Blackledge. This is old animus. For anyone who’s been around for 45-plus years, you likely understand my pithiness when you say the name: Todd Blackledge. However, he’s become a somewhat funny pun now that the Chiefs have drafted a first round QB — in the name of Patrick Mahomes — someone who looks like he’ll be the Moses of the NFL for the next 10-to-15 years. While the subject of Todd Blackledge used to conjure up images of Jim Kelly, Jim O’Brien, and Dan Marino — all QBs the Chiefs could have drafted instead of Mr. Blackledge — it seems like a lifetime ago that I resented the choice of Blackledge and that change is mostly because of Mahomes. I’m not sure if I’d still feel this way if Dorsey, Veach and Reid had “missed” on Mahomes and he turned out to be a dud, but I had wanted the Chiefs to take the risk one way or the other. Of course, I’m much happier that it seems to be working out better that any of us fans could have imagined… so the Blackledge Effect… is now a distant memory.
John Dorsey. Since you brought up John Dorsey, we might as well add him, at least early on in the list. I was beginning to allow myself to “Trust in Dorsey” as some pundits call it… back in 2017 and so after he was fired, I became aware of more of his failings than I previously had. Did he make the mistake of drafting CB KeiVarae Russell without the support of Andy Reid? What did he mean when he said he vetted players like Kareem Hunt, Marcus Peters, or Tyreek Hill? What was on Dorsey’s mind when he drafted players like Tanoh Kpassagnon, Phillip Gaines, or Nico Johnson? Dorsey wrote up some huge contracts for Eric Berry and Justin Houston which were majorly responsible for him leaving the organization in a kind of speed trap for team growth. When John Dorsey arrived in Kansas City in January of 2013, he was handed the keys to an organization with one of the biggest caps in the league plus the first pick in the draft. The cap space went away quickly and Eric Fisher has never looked like a “First Pick in the Draft.” Now, the Cleveland Browns have entrusted Dorsey with a similar cap amount and if he’s able to build an AFC Champion I’ll be even more upset about him.
Any 49ers QB Cast Off (except AS11) Once upon a time… not so long ago… your favorite team looked to the San Francisco 49ers for their cast off quarterbacks to lead them to victory. First there was Joe Montana, and while I’m not so upset about Joe, he only played in 26 games in two seasons. Yes, he led the Chiefs to their only AFC Championship game, in January of 1994, until this past January. Joe cost the Chiefs a 1st round pick, 18th overall, which the 49ers used to trade down twice and draft Dana Stubblefield who went on to become the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 4 years later. The Chiefs also got Safety David Whitmore and the 49ers 3rd round pick in 1994, which they used to draft WR Lake Dawson. Montana was followed by Steve Bono and Elvis Grbac and there was also Steve DeBerg (1988-1991) but I don’t count DeBerg so much because he played for more than a half dozen other NFL teams besides the Chiefs. When the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith in 2013 I felt like, “Oh no, here we go again.” However, I think Smith helped to change the culture of the Chiefs and make them into the winners they are today and his positive influence on Patrick Mahomes can’t be overstated.
Tom Flores. If you were around in the days when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in the winter of 1970 you may recall that Tom Flores was a backup QB on the Chiefs championship team. Flores had already been a member of the Oakland Raider from 1960-to-1966. He played for the Buffalo Bill for a couple of seasons before joining the Chiefs for their run in 1969, his last as a player. Ten years passed and Flores started coaching the hated Raiders at a time when the teams were at a crossroads with the Oakland improving and Kansas City in the midst of two desolate decades filled with losing teams. There’s a slogan, “Once a Chiefs player, always a Chiefs player”… not when it comes to Tom Flores. Flores won two Super Bowls with the Raiders.
I can imagine what you’re thinking, “When has John Elway ever been a friend to the Chiefs?” Well, after watching him rip the Chiefs for nearly two decades as a QB… it’s been a delight to see him making a mess of things in Denver as their General Manager. I have actually enjoyed the show there, although it did include a Super Bowl along the way. I think that was due more to the his dumb luck of signing Peyton Manning, who stumbled through the last few years of his career as a Bronco. However, one of my favorite Peyton Manning memories was watching Marcus Peters intercept him and then the camera panned to the booth where John Elway sat… and oh, that pettiful look on his face was worth all the years of pain that Elway imposed on Chiefs fans through his play.
Todd Haley. It’s hard to recall a more scruffy head coach in the history of the NFL than Todd Haley. I must admit that during his first year, I was a fan of his and thought he was a good coach who was needed to help shake the organization up and bring his offensive mindset… only he just turned out to be offensive. I will also credit Haley for turning Derrick Johnson’s career around by benching him for part of a season and making him realize he would have to get serious about the game if he wanted to make an impact. I never like to see a coach get fired in mid-season but in the cause of Todd Haley, I think it was deserved. Watching Haley go into Pittsburgh and help them out only served to make him more of a frenemy… with a shadow more of enemy in the defintion. Seeing Haley get fired from Pittsburgh was somewhat pleasurable but then I dislike Ben Roethlisberger even more than Haley… so I’m just glad Haley is not there to help him anymore.
There’s nothing more distasteful to a fan than to see and hear a Free Agent commit to your team and then see that player go and sign with a primary rival. In 2014, Sanders’ agent, Steve Weinberg, accepted a deal with the Chiefs for Sanders services. Weinberg then decided to dangle Kansas City’s offer as trading chip leverage with the Tampa Bay Bucs, but never told them that he had already accepted a deal with K.C.. Later that same night, Sanders’ agent agreed to terms with Denver. What people need to know is, Sanders agreed with, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g his agent was doing, every step of the way. Later, Sanders said, “There was no handshake.” IOW, his word isn’t worth a Canadian penny. Yep, he’s that kind of person. That’s why he’s number two — which is a good metaphor for him, #2 — on my list of frenemies. I may have liked him at one time… but that time is OVER. How do you say the word “over” in 5 different languages: juu (Swahili), plus de (French), al di sopra di (Italian), faq (Maltese), and drosodd (Welsh). I think the Maltese and the Swahili have the perfect message for Sanders: faq juu.
There was a time when I enjoyed Jon Gruden’s exit from Oakland and then watching him bring them the ultimate pain one year later of beating them in a huge Super Bowl victory, coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 48-to-21 win. After that, Gruden became a TV analyst and I enjoyed him there too. I also liked his Fired Football Coaches Association (FFCA) and “Gruden’s QB Camp” with his breakdown of college QBs on the whiteboard and on the field. Then Jon Gruden had to go and get himself hired for 10 years, and $100M, to coach those hated Raiders all over again. I will admit, it was a pleasure watching Patrick Mahomes going over plays with Gruden in his QB Camp but, it was far and away more of a pleasure watching Gruden lose to PMII, then saying, “You have to credit that young quarterback, this is his first season starting in the NFL, and… he ticked me off today.” It doesn’t get much better than that when you’re watching a Raiders post game interview.
Okay Chiefs fans, now it’s your turn… who are your favorite “frenemies” of the Chiefs?
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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