Haley shows his humility

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Until now, it was like one of those little family secrets that everybody knows about but no one brings up.

But then a disgruntled Kansas City running back got on Twitter and blindsided his boss squarely on the rawest of nerves, calling him out on a point he sort of hoped would be ignored. The Chiefs’ Todd Haley, for reasons that were not entirely his fault, never actually played the sport that now employs him as a head coach in the National Football League.

An NFL head coach who did not play football? Who hasn’t run a route, made a tackle or thrown a block at any level?

At least Haley, 42, is unique. He is the only head coach in the league who never played at least in high school.

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson got the controversy started when he posted a Twitter feed denigrating Haley, following last Sunday’s 37-7 loss to San Diego.

He went on to make a gay slur, then got himself in even deeper trouble by repeating it the next day. An apologetic Johnson was suspended for two weeks. It was reported Saturday and Johnson and team had reached an agreement to cut the suspension in half.

Haley was left standing in front of microphones and television cameras, forced to talk about something some fans find especially disturbing because the Chiefs, in his first year as a head coach, are 1-6 heading in their bye.

Quietly and with a sense of dignity and humility, Haley defended himself.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve done to get to where I am,” he said. “I’m very proud of my results as a position coach, as a coordinator. Right now, am I proud of my head coaching record? No. But I intend to do everything I can to change that.”