MMQB Mail: New GM will decide the fate of Herm Edwards

Herm Edwards has coached the Chiefs to a 6-25 record over the past two seasons. Harry How/Getty Images

Talking to new Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, you get the impression he wants to keep coach Herman Edwards for the fourth and final season of his contract -- but won't stand in the way if a strong-willed general manager wants to make a coaching change.

With King Carl Peterson out as president and general manager, Hunt plans to hire two people in his place: a general manager who will have full authority over the football side of the team and a club president to run the business side. The latter will be a vital hire in this economy because the Chiefs in 2010 open a rehabbed Arrowhead Stadium with 50 additional luxury suites and 7,000 new club seats.

But for now, Hunt, son of the late Lamar Hunt, will look for a Scott Pioli or Charley Casserly to run his team and help determine the fate of Edwards.

"I'm looking for a shrewd evaluator of football talent," Hunt told me. "He's got to be a strong leader, effective communicator, and preferably will come from a winning organization. I don't have a short list right now. I have a very broad list, but I expect to start interviewing soon after the [regular] season."

Hunt said he was "very supportive of Herm, because I believe he's gone about the building of this team the right way. The new general manager will have input [about Edwards' future], and the decision whether to keep him will be mine, but I will listen to what the new GM has to say about it."

I asked whether he would consider hiring a GM who would want full authority over all things football, including the hiring and firing of the head coach. Hunt paused for a moment, then said: "I'm going to be open-minded about that. It's possible that we'll give our GM that authority."

I asked because I would think many of the top GM candidates, such as Pioli, would say, "Why would I leave where I am for a place that gives me control over the draft and the roster but not over the one man with the most control over whether the players I bring him succeed or fail?" Hunt will probably have to cede that authority.

Edwards told me Sunday that he wanted to stay next year, and for the foreseeable future. "I wish we'd started the rebuilding project a year earlier," Edwards said. "I'd love to be the guy to lead this team for a long time. We're building a good, solid base of talent."

We'll see. My gut tells me the Chiefs will have a new coach in 2009.

Now onto your e-mails:

• YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH. From Bryan Peterman, of Hatboro, Pa.: "Watching the Giants/Panthers game on the final kick of regulation, it appeared Kasay flinched before the snap. Even though he missed the kick, shouldn't that be a false start and a five-yard penalty?''

I thought so too, but upon further review, I discovered kickers are treated like shotgun quarterbacks and can move around behind the line of scrimmage without risking a false-start penalty. Unless they draw a charge from the defense by running directly at the line of scrimmage, they are not violating any rule.

THIS IS A GOOD, AND UNDERRATED, POINT. From Blaise Laveay, of Kelowna, British Columbia: "Peter, I just heard that the Jets/Dolphins game has been moved to 4:15 on Sunday. While I applaud the NFL's idea to have some interesting games on throughout the day, I believe this is a huge travesty!! If the Patriots win the early game, the Jets will have no chance at winning the division. Are we really to believe that if push comes to shove late in that game that the Jets are going to do everything in their power to win... and hand their hated rivals the division crown? This is a poor move by a league that usually thinks things through better than this.''

Excellent, excellent point. I agree. The league should have the Patriots and Dolphins and Jets playing at the same time Sunday. I understand the desire to maximize the East Coast ratings Sunday for CBS, but it creates a competitive disadvantage for the Patriots to be sure. However, the Ravens also are playing at 4 p.m., and the Jets can get in with a win and a Ravens loss.

• LOOK BACK TO 1999. From Brendhan Conlan, of Austin, Texas: "The Falcons, Dolphins and Ravens likely making the playoffs, can you recall another season where three teams coming off such horrible campaigns the previous year have turned things around to such a great extent?''

This is the best year I recall about that, but from 1998 to 1999, the Colts went from 3-13 to 13-3, the Redskins from 6-10 to 10-6, and the Rams from 4-12 to 13-3. That's what's great about the NFL, and why people love it so much -- if you're in Pittsburgh or Baltimore, you know every year you're going to have a chance to get it right. And you can't say that about the small markets in every sport.