Posted on Wed, Feb. 06, 2008 10:15
Chiefs’ Cunningham insists Allen must stay
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs are spending this offseason identifying blocks to repair a broken team and a bruised defense. One of the most important blocks, according to defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, already is in Kansas City.
The Chiefs’ challenge might be keeping him here.
Cunningham said Wednesday during a roundtable discussion with local reporters that star defensive end Jared Allen could become the franchise’s next Derrick Thomas, if Allen signs a long-term deal. Allen, who is in Honolulu this week preparing for his first Pro Bowl appearance, led the NFL last season with 15 1/2 sacks.
“One day I said (to Allen), you know you could do something really great,” Cunningham said. “He knew what I was talking about
: ‘This is your home.’ ”
No one in the Chiefs’ organization would mind if Allen played his entire career in Kansas City, as did the late linebacker Thomas. But at the end of the regular season, in which the team lost its final nine games and finished 4-12, Allen said he and team officials were not close to a deal.
Team president and general manager Carl Peterson said last month that the team probably would make Allen its franchise player. The move would increase Allen’s salary, but the deal would be a short-term fix that would leave the Chiefs in the same position after next season.
Cunningham said the Chiefs no longer afford can shortcuts. It was similar shortcuts, he said, that led to the team’s worst finish in 30 years. It was signing too many unrestricted free agents and allowing potential stars to depart Kansas City. Cunningham, who next season will be in the fifth year of his second stint as coordinator, admitted the team cobbled together teams in recent years, a philosophy Cunningham, 61, said has a short lifespan.
LINK
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...ry/478870.html
Chiefs’ Cunningham insists Allen must stay
Chiefs’ Cunningham insists Allen must stay
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