Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 10, 2008 13:53:26 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/story/438083.html
East team in college all-star game like a Chiefs reunion
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs fans who want to reminisce about better days might want to check out the Jan. 19 East-West Shrine college all-star game in Houston.
The East team won’t be identical to the high-scoring Chiefs of the early 2000s, but it will be as close to a sideline reunion as there ever might be. thingy Vermeil will not only be head coach and serve as his own offensive coordinator, but he is bringing along several former Chiefs to help.
Will Shields will help coach the offensive line. Eric Warfield and Martin Bayless will work with the defensive backs. Former Chiefs assistants James Saxon, Frank Gansz and Billy Long will also aid Vermeil, while another former Vermeil assistant, Mike White, will coach the West team.
Vermeil promised his offense would resemble those of his Chiefs teams.
“I was just talking to Al Saunders, and I asked him where he was because I needed him,” Vermeil said. “I’m putting together my offensive game plan and it’s taking me five times as long as it ought to. When you’ve been out of it for awhile, everything takes longer.”
It wouldn’t be Vermeil if he didn’t bring along some of his friends. Even after retiring from the Chiefs and moving back to his Pennsylvania farm, he keeps regular contact with many former players.
Warfield and Shields are two of them. Warfield, once a starting cornerback, was released by Vermeil’s replacement, Herm Edwards, shortly after Edwards joined the Chiefs.
After unsuccessfully trying to continue his career with New England, Warfield retired from football and now lives in Lincoln, Neb., where he went to college.
“As much partying as I did in Kansas City, I did a lot of smart things with my money,” Warfield said. “Right now I’m not in the position where I need to work. I’m not looking for a job right now, but I am going to have to find something to do with my time because I don’t want to bore myself and end up partying all the time and doing all of those bad things.”
Coaching started to intrigue Warfield last fall when he worked with a team of 12-year-olds in Lincoln.
“The year before, they didn’t win a game,” he said. “This year, they wound up winning four games out of six. Not to say it was my presence or my coaching skills that helped them out, but it was fun.
“I’ve been talking with coach Vermeil quite a bit. I made mention to him when I heard he was coaching this all-star game that I might be interested in helping him out. I’d love to get a feel for the coaching field, not that it’s something I want to get into. But I’d like to get the perspective from a coaching standpoint. I already have that from the player’s standpoint.”
Shields, a 12-time Pro Bowl lineman, stays busy running 68’s Inside Sports, an Overland Park fitness club he recently purchased. But with former linemates like Dave Szott and Tim Grunhard involved in coaching on one level or another, the notion of a new profession captivated him as well.
“Every coach I know tells me not to do it, to do something different,” said Shields, who played in the East-West game in 1993 when he was coming out of Nebraska. “So this is a good opportunity for me to coach without having to worry about what would happen if they get rid of me and what would I do next. I’m just going to help out for the love of it.”
Vermeil won’t ever coach again other than perhaps another all-star game or two. If he ever did, Warfield and Shields would have a job if they so desired.
“Will Shields would make an outstanding football coach,” Vermeil said. “There’s nothing he could do that he would do poorly. Eric has matured. He has grown and he’s great with kids. I remember when he used to bring kids to the stadium during the season. He’d be a fine coach, too.”
East team in college all-star game like a Chiefs reunion
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs fans who want to reminisce about better days might want to check out the Jan. 19 East-West Shrine college all-star game in Houston.
The East team won’t be identical to the high-scoring Chiefs of the early 2000s, but it will be as close to a sideline reunion as there ever might be. thingy Vermeil will not only be head coach and serve as his own offensive coordinator, but he is bringing along several former Chiefs to help.
Will Shields will help coach the offensive line. Eric Warfield and Martin Bayless will work with the defensive backs. Former Chiefs assistants James Saxon, Frank Gansz and Billy Long will also aid Vermeil, while another former Vermeil assistant, Mike White, will coach the West team.
Vermeil promised his offense would resemble those of his Chiefs teams.
“I was just talking to Al Saunders, and I asked him where he was because I needed him,” Vermeil said. “I’m putting together my offensive game plan and it’s taking me five times as long as it ought to. When you’ve been out of it for awhile, everything takes longer.”
It wouldn’t be Vermeil if he didn’t bring along some of his friends. Even after retiring from the Chiefs and moving back to his Pennsylvania farm, he keeps regular contact with many former players.
Warfield and Shields are two of them. Warfield, once a starting cornerback, was released by Vermeil’s replacement, Herm Edwards, shortly after Edwards joined the Chiefs.
After unsuccessfully trying to continue his career with New England, Warfield retired from football and now lives in Lincoln, Neb., where he went to college.
“As much partying as I did in Kansas City, I did a lot of smart things with my money,” Warfield said. “Right now I’m not in the position where I need to work. I’m not looking for a job right now, but I am going to have to find something to do with my time because I don’t want to bore myself and end up partying all the time and doing all of those bad things.”
Coaching started to intrigue Warfield last fall when he worked with a team of 12-year-olds in Lincoln.
“The year before, they didn’t win a game,” he said. “This year, they wound up winning four games out of six. Not to say it was my presence or my coaching skills that helped them out, but it was fun.
“I’ve been talking with coach Vermeil quite a bit. I made mention to him when I heard he was coaching this all-star game that I might be interested in helping him out. I’d love to get a feel for the coaching field, not that it’s something I want to get into. But I’d like to get the perspective from a coaching standpoint. I already have that from the player’s standpoint.”
Shields, a 12-time Pro Bowl lineman, stays busy running 68’s Inside Sports, an Overland Park fitness club he recently purchased. But with former linemates like Dave Szott and Tim Grunhard involved in coaching on one level or another, the notion of a new profession captivated him as well.
“Every coach I know tells me not to do it, to do something different,” said Shields, who played in the East-West game in 1993 when he was coming out of Nebraska. “So this is a good opportunity for me to coach without having to worry about what would happen if they get rid of me and what would I do next. I’m just going to help out for the love of it.”
Vermeil won’t ever coach again other than perhaps another all-star game or two. If he ever did, Warfield and Shields would have a job if they so desired.
“Will Shields would make an outstanding football coach,” Vermeil said. “There’s nothing he could do that he would do poorly. Eric has matured. He has grown and he’s great with kids. I remember when he used to bring kids to the stadium during the season. He’d be a fine coach, too.”