January 10, 2006

Players can expect the same family atmosphere

By J. BRADY McCOLLOUGH
The Kansas City Star

Derrick Blaylock couldn't help but feel a bit cheated when he heard the news that Herman Edwards was going to be coaching his old team.

Blaylock, a former Chiefs running back, signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets last offseason, and for the last year, he saw up close the relationships that Herman Edwards had with Curtis Martin, Chad Pennington, Kevin Mawae and the rest of the Jets veterans. He hoped he'd have the same kind of relationship with Edwards.

"I just got to New York, and then, when I get here, he's leaving," Blaylock said. "I never did get a chance to get close to him like I wanted to.

"To see him leave, it hurts, man. It's like losing one of your best friends, really."

Blaylock experienced that kind of bond in Kansas City with Dick Vermeil. He went to dinner at Vermeil's house and sipped wine and got to know Vermeil's wife, Carol. At the time, it meant everything to him.Blaylock wanted to form that kind of bond with Edwards, who like Blaylock was once an NFL rookie playing for Vermeil, in 1977 with the Philadelphia Eagles. There just wasn't enough time.

"They're both players' coaches," Blaylock said of his two NFL head coaches. "He'll be a great fit in Kansas City with the guys I used to play with. They'll love him because he's so much like Coach Vermeil."

The label of "players' coach" is a controversial one. One school of thought is that if a coach becomes too friendly with his players, he'll lose their respect. They'll take advantage of him. They'll be undisciplined in games. Blaylock says it isn't like that at all with Edwards.

"A players' coach is a guy who will come in the locker room and talk to every guy on the team, not just the superstars," Blaylock said. "A coach that will come up to you and hug you and say you're really improving. You don't have to be his top guy."

Edwards constantly uses the words "family" and "player" in the same breath. As he put it Monday, the Chiefs are already a family. He's just an addition to it.

"You have to earn your players' trust," Edwards said. "Just because you walk in and you're the head coach doesn't mean the players trust you. They respect you. You need them to trust you. That's when you know you have a good football team.

"At the end of the day, it's always about the players."

And that's something only a former player could understand. Blaylock said Edwards' greatest attribute is that he can identify more with players' needs. Edwards' first training camp with the Jets was jokingly referred to as "Club Med" because he cut the number of two-a-day practices. Blaylock says Edwards' practices are shorter than Vermeil's.

Chiefs wide receiver Eddie Kennison knows that Edwards will nourish the family atmosphere Vermeil has already created. Kennison doesn't think you can ever be too close to your coach.

"One day this game will be over," Kennison said. "Do I want my relationships with my coaches to die when I leave this game? No, I don't. I want to kindle them for the rest of my life."

To reach J. Brady McCollough, sports reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-4363 or send e-mail to jmccollough@kcstar.com

J. Brady McCollough - jbrady@coveringsports.com (email) - 816-868-2621 (cell)