FanHouse ScottPioli

I can understand why a room full of grown men might not respond well to daily dressing downs, particularly from a new head coach not much older than than they are. But that's the situation in Kansas City.

Herm Edwards got his walking papers after a 2-14 effort last season, which, inexplicably, was only half as many games as he won the year before. Scott Pioli, who replaced Carl Peterson as the team president and general manager, hired former Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley to help turn things around.

The Chiefs got right to work on the rebuilding: they sent a second-round pick to the Patriots for Matt Cassel, giving them a franchise quarterback and somebody for Haley, whose success in Arizona landed him this gig, to build the team around.

In the three drafts prior to Scott Pioli's arrival in Kansas City a few months ago, the Chiefs selected in the first round defensive end Tamba Hali, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

For varying reasons, all three players could be elsewhere a year from now. Pioli, who came to Kansas City from New England, hired Todd Haley to replace Herm Edwards, and Clancy Pendergast to rebuild a defense that lost its way in recent seasons under Gunther Cunningham. This includes a switch to the 3-4 defense, a scheme Pendergast had some success with during the Cardinals' 2008 late-season surge.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Compared to last April, the 2009 Chiefs draft was unremarkable. A year ago, the team landed five players who contributed immediately, and a handful of others will get opportunities this season.

But unlike 2008, Kansas City finally has a franchise quarterback. New general manager Scott Pioli sent a second-round pick to New England for Matt Cassel (and linebacker Mike Vrabel). Cassel, who went nine years between starts, led the Patriots to an 11-5 record last season and parlayed that into a handsome payday (eventually) and a starting gig.

The Chiefs continued their Scott Pioli-led roster overhaul, signing unrestricted free agent center Eric Ghiaciuc away from Cincinnati. Ghiaciuc started 16 games for the Bengals last season, and made at least 12 starts each of the last three seasons.

Kansas City already has two centers on its roster, including Rudy Niswanger, who made 15 starts in 2008. What happened prior to Pioli's hire, though, seems to be pretty inconsequential these days -- case in point, Tony Gonzalez's unloading last week. Pioli has made it very clear that he will be heading into 2009 and beyond with a roster filled by guys who fit his vision.

Updates all over the place: It would appear Mr. Lombardi was premature with his call -- Peter King is reporting (via Twitter!!) that no deal is in place. And as PK noted earlier, he's in Kansas City, so this seems to be the more reliable report at the moment.

Matt Cassel is, according to reports from Mike Lombardi on the NFL Network, suddenly an even richer man than he was when the Patriots franchised him and sent him to the Chiefs. That's because, reportedly, he has signed a six-year deal (with $36 million guaranteed!) that will ostensibly make him the face of the franchise for Kansas City.

The contract is, obviously, also a pretty big sign that Todd Haley and GM Scott Pioli truly believe that Cassel is legit. Of course not as (relatively) legit as Matthew Stafford, but, hey, he played at Georgia.

Last year, the Chiefs put together one of the most impressive two-day draft showings I can remember. Glenn Dorsey, Branden Albert, Brandon Flowers, and Jamaal Charles -- all taken in the first three rounds -- saw significant playing time as rookies, and fifth-round defensive back Brandon Carr started every game. (Worth pointing out: the Chiefs might try to move Dorsey.)

It wasn't enough to save Herman Edwards' job; after taking the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2006, he only managed six wins the last two seasons. But new general manager Scott Pioli and new head coach Todd Haley have plenty of young talent to rebuild the team, and in March, they traded for their franchise quarterback: former Patriots backup Matt Cassel who, according to NFL Network's Mike Lombardi, just signed a six-year, $36 million deal. Not Matthew Stafford money, but it'll keep him comfortable.

Amidst all the traditional pre-draft speculating and sandbagging, the Kansas City Chiefs went out and made some actual news, dealing disgruntled tight end Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta for a 2010 second-round pick.

It's a trade that certainly sent shock waves through K.C., what with one of the best and most popular players in franchise history being sent packing. It should open some eyes around the league, too, with Gonzalez finding a near-perfect fit with Matt Ryan in Atlanta. More than that, though, the deal could have ripple effects through the entire weekend -- the Chiefs' No. 3 pick is more in play now than ever, and there will be at least a handful of teams looking to take advantage.

Tony Gonzalez is the face of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Or was, at least -- according to Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com, and recently confirmed by the Chiefs, Gonzalez was traded today to the Atlanta Falcons.

Glazer's report states that the Chiefs gave up Gonzalez for a second-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Gonzalez asked for a trade in October, spurred on mainly by his desire to play out his career with a contender instead of the rebuilding and Tyler Thigpen-quarterbacked Chiefs. And apparently, even landing Matt Cassel from the Patriots wasn't enough for Gonzalez to be happy in KC, so the Chiefs acquiesced.

Word for the week: smokescreen. Expect to hear it roughly four million times between now and Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, FanHouse draft analyst Bruce Ciskie pointed out that the Lions -- at least to hear Mlive.com's Tom Kowalski tell it -- had a deal in place with linebacker Aaron Curry just in case negotiations fell through with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

That's certainly believable, even amid all the pre-draft misdirection. What's harder to fathom, though, is the idea that Curry, should the Lions pass on him, might not be a top-10 pick or the first defensive player drafted. If Detroit takes Stafford, NFLDraftScout.com's Rob Rang has a theory:

When the Patriots sent Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to Kansas City for the Chiefs' 34th-overall pick in March, sports-bloggin' Spooky Mulders took notice. The thinking: if Cassel, recently franchised by New England and coming off an unexpectedly impressive 11-win season in place of injured Tom Brady, was as good as everybody claimed, certainly he was worth more than a second-round pick, even a high one.

Then, last week, the Bears traded two first-rounders, a third-rounder and Kyle Orton for Jay Cutler, prompting the conspiracy theorists to convene an emergency meeting.