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Todd Haley
Todd Haley
Haley as Offensive Coordinator for the Steelers
Position: Offensive Coordinator
Personal information
Date of birth: February 28 1967 (1967-02-28) (age 57)
Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Career information
High school: Upper St. Claire (PA)
College: North Florida
Career hisory
* = offseason / practice squad only
Career highlights and awards

Todd Haley (born February 28, 1967) is an American football coach. Hayley last served as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns but was subsequently fired midway thru the 2018 season. From 2009 to 2011, He was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to joining the Chiefs, Haley served as the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2008, and was the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys. and most recently, the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, from 2012 to 2017.

Early years[]

Haley was born on February 28, 1967, in Atlanta, Georgia [1] He is the son of Dick Haley, formerly Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1971–1990) and New York Jets (1991–2002) and also a former NFL cornerback (1959–1964).[2]

As a youth, Haley was a ball boy for the Steelers and attended Steelers training camps with his father.[2] Alongside his father, Haley would watch the Steelers' game and practice film.[2][3] While his family was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for his father's profession, Haley attended Upper St. Clair High School.[2] He went on to attend Florida and Miami, playing on the two schools' respective golf squads.[2] Haley graduated from the University of North Florida in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in communication.[2]

Assistant coaching career, 1995–2008[]

Haley was hired by the New York Jets in 1995 and served as an assistant in the scouting department for two seasons. At the time, Haley's father Dick was working with the Jets as Director of Player Personnel.[3] In 1997, he was promoted to offensive assistant/quality control coach and worked closely with then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. From 1999 to 2000 Haley was the Jets' wide receivers coach, helping Keyshawn Johnson make his second Pro Bowl appearance. During his tenure with the Jets, Haley began his association with Scott Pioli, who served as Director of Pro Personnel for the Jets from 1997 to 1999. Pioli later became the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs and hired Haley as the team's head coach in 2009.

In 2001, Haley joined the Chicago Bears as wide receivers coach and served in the position until 2003. In 2002, he helped Marty Booker become the first Bears Pro Bowl wide receiver since 1971.

From 2004 to 2006, Haley was the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. Haley helped develop quarterback Tony Romo and the Cowboys' passing offense, which centered around wide receivers Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens.

In 2007, Haley joined Ken Whisenhunt's coaching staff for the Arizona Cardinals as the team's offensive coordinator. Haley did not start calling plays for the Cardinals until late in the season.[4] The Cardinals finished in the top half of the NFL in multiple offensive categories.

Under Haley’s guidance, the Cardinals offense in 2008 was one of the league’s most innovative and explosive units.[2] Arizona tied for third in the league in scoring, registering a franchise-record 427 points (26.7 ppg).[2] The Cardinals were fourth in total offense, averaging 365.8 yards per game.[2] Arizona was second in the league in passing offense (292.1 ypg) and ranked sixth in the NFL with 20.5 first downs per game.[2] The Cardinals finished the season with a 9-7 record and a playoff berth after winning the NFC West Division title. The Cardinals went on to appear in their first Super Bowl in franchise history after the team scored more than 30 points in each of its three playoff games.

In Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals offense played the NFL's top-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers defense.[5] Trailing 17–7 at halftime, the Cardinals offense fought back after a 13-point deficit and led the game 23–20 with just over two minutes remaining.[5] The Cardinals lost 27–23 in the game's final seconds.[5]

Kansas City Chiefs, 2009–2011[]

On December 14, 2008, a last-minute loss to the San Diego Chargers led longtime Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson to abruptly announce his resignation the following day. This paved the way toward the hiring of General Manager Scott Pioli on January 13, 2009.[6][7] The decision to hire Pioli led to speculation that Herman Edwards, who had been serving as the Chiefs' head coach since 2006, was not likely to return for 2009.[6] Edwards was fired on January 23, just five days after the Arizona Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.[8] Leading up to Super Bowl XLIII, Haley was repeatedly questioned about Kansas City and the possibilities of joining his former colleague Scott Pioli.[4] Haley would later say that it was the day after the Super Bowl, which the Cardinals lost, that he heard his name mentioned for the Chiefs' coaching position.[4]

In the days after the Cardinals' appearance in Super Bowl XLIII, Haley was offered the head coaching position of the Kansas City Chiefs.[9] Haley accepted the position on February 6, 2009 and signed a four-year contract.[2][4] For his first coaching staff, Haley hired Joel Collier, Gary Gibbs, Steve Hoffman, Bill Muir, Clancy Pendergast, Pat Perles, and Dedric Ward to unspecified positions on the Chiefs' 2009 coaching staff and retained Bob Bicknell, Joe D’Alessandris, Chan Gailey, Tim Krumrie, Brent Salazar, and Cedric Smith from Herm Edwards' staff.[10] Ward and Pendergast had previously served on the Cardinals' coaching staff with Haley.

Initially there were doubts as to whether Chan Gailey would be retained under Todd Haley's coaching staff, being that Haley had just concluded a successful stint as offensive coordinator at Arizona. Haley initially expressed satisfaction in working with Gailey saying, "The more I work with the guy, the more I like him..." However, after the Chiefs lost their first three pre-season games partially due to an abysmal offensive performance, Haley reportedly refused to bow to Gailey's suggestion to once again install a spread offense similar to the one installed midway through the 2008 season. Gailey was relieved of duties and Haley assumed offensive play-calling duties throughout the rest of the season.[11]

The Chiefs lost their first five games under Haley in 2009. Haley won his first game as the Chiefs' head coach on October 18, 2009 beating the Washington Redskins 14–6.

In late October 2009 the Chiefs suspended starting running back Larry Johnson for one week in response to his public comments on Twitter where he questioned Todd Haley's coaching abilities and for using homophobic slurs when he addressed the media.[12] Johnson's Twitter comments were: "My father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches" [Sic]. That was followed by: "My father played for the coach from "Remember the Titans". Our coach played golf. My father played for the Redskins briefly. Our coach. Nuthin." [Sic][13] When Johnson returned from his suspension, he was released.

After Haley released Johnson, he led the Chiefs to their first two-game winning streak since the 2007 season with victories against the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on November 15 and 22. The 27–24 victory over the Steelers—the defending Super Bowl champions—came in overtime. The Chiefs ended their season with an unlikely victory against the Denver Broncos who were looking to clinch a Wild-Card playoff berth with a win. This was the first Kansas City win at Denver since 2000 and their first victory at Invesco Field at Mile High which opened in 2001. This concluded the Chiefs season with a 4-12 record, a two-win improvement from 2008.

In Haley's second season, the Chiefs won their first three games, including the season opener on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers, and was the last undefeated team remaining in the NFL before losing at Indianapolis in Week 5. Kansas City went on to win the AFC West for the first time since 2003.

On January 9, 2011 the Kansas City Chiefs played the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs lost the game 30-7 with Matt Cassel passing for 70 yards and 3 interceptions. The only touchdown was a 41-yard touchdown run by Jamaal Charles.

On September 2, 2011 Haley elected to play his starters against the Green Bay Packers in the final preseason game of the year. Tight end Tony Moeaki, a crucial piece of the team's 2011 offensive plans, injured his knee at the beginning of the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. In a game played mostly by the Chiefs starters and the Packer's backups, the Chiefs went on to lose 20-19, leading many to question Haley's decision to use his best players late into the game.

Despite having lost several key players to injuries, on October 31, 2011 Haley led The Chiefs to a come-from-behind victory in dramatic fashion on Monday Night Football. The win was KC's fourth in a row, which moved them into first place in the AFC West. It marked the first time in NFL history that a team which started 0-3 was leading its division by the halfway point of the season.

Chiefs starting QB Matt Cassel broke his hand during a week 11 game vs. the Denver Broncos. He was replaced by Tyler Palko, and had surgery on the injured hand on November 14. On November 21, he was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Palko proved to be inadequate as a backup to a merely serviceable Cassel, leading many to question how a team with legitimate playoff hopes entering the 2011 season had remained so thin at so many key positions during the offseason, especially at QB and safety, where the Chiefs lack of depth was more than woeful.

Haley was fired on December 12, 2011, after leading his team to a 5-8 record during the 2011 NFL season.[14] The 2011 season began with three losses including two blow-outs to Detroit and Buffalo; the team appeared to regroup with four straight wins before losing the next 5 of 6 and a complete team collapse in Haley's final game against the New York Jets and the team's franchise-record 5th blow-out loss of the season. Haley was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty late in the game, allowing the Jets to complete a touchdown drive that ultimately put the game out of reach.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 2012–2017[]

On February 7, 2012, the Steelers announced that Haley would be the team's new offensive coordinator. Haley grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Upper Saint Clair, Pennsylvania, and his father was the Steelers' former personnel director. He is the first offensive coordinator in 13 years to be hired from outside the organization.[15]On January 17, 2018, the Steelers announced that Haley's contract, which had expired at the conclusion of the 2017 season, would not be renewed.[16]

Cleveland Browns (2018)[]

On January 22, 2018, Haley was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their offensive coordinator.[17]

Head coaching record[]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
KC 2009 4 12 0 .250 4th in AFC West - - - -
KC 2010 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC West 0 1 .000 Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC Wild-Card Game.
KC 2011 5 8 0 .385 T-3rd in AFC West* - - -
KC Total 19 26 0 .422 0 1 .000
Total[18] 19 26 0 0 1 .000

* - At time of firing.

Coaching tree[]

NFL head coaches under whom Todd Haley has served:

References[]

  1. Todd Haley named Kansas City Chiefs head coach. Kansas City Chiefs (2009-02-06). Retrieved on 2009-02-06. [dead link]
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Todd Haley named Kansas City Chiefs head coach. Kansas City Chiefs (2009-02-06). Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  3. 3.0 3.1 King, Peter (2009-02-06). Todd Haley is the new Chief in town. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Associated Press (2009-02-06). Chiefs hire Cardinals offensive coordinator Haley as coach. Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Steelers earn sixth Super Bowl victory in thriller over Cardinals (2009-02-01). Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Scott Pioli to join Kansas City Chiefs. ESPN.com (2009-01-13). Retrieved on 2009-01-13.
  7. Scott Pioli named Kansas City Chiefs general manager. Kansas City Chiefs (2009-01-13). Retrieved on 2009-01-14.
  8. Raising Arizona: Late TD drive carries Cards to first Super Bowl. NFL.com (2009-01-18). Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  9. Glazer, Jay (2009-02-05). Source: Cards assistant tabbed to coach Chiefs. Fox Sports. Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  10. Kansas City Chiefs announce coaching staff moves. Kansas City Chiefs (2009-02-17). Retrieved on 2009-02-17.
  11. Clayton, John (2009-08-31). Gailey no longer running Chiefs offense. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2009-08-31.
  12. Chiefs suspend Johnson indefinitely. http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/10/27/chiefs-suspend-johnson-indefinitely/ (2009-10-27). Retrieved on 2009-10-27.
  13. espn
  14. Haley relieved of duties. Kansas City Chiefs (2011-12-12). Retrieved on 2011-12-12.
  15. {cite web | title=Haley "excited" to be new Steelers offensive coordinator| url=http://post-gazette.com/pg/12038/1208661-100.stm%7C work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette| date=2012-02-07| accessdate=2012-02-07}}
  16. Todd Haley will not return as Pittsburgh Steelers OC.
  17. Haley is Browns' new offensive coordinator.
  18. Todd Haley Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com

External Links[]

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