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Chiefs Find Comfort by Going About their Business
Feb. 9, 2000
Life went on Wednesdasy inside Arrowhead Stadium.
It wasn't easy.
Thoughts of Derrick Thomas' untimely death permeated the offices. Minds wandered and attention spans drifted as coaches tried evaluating free agents, and scouts studied draft possibilities.
"It's hard to focus," said Terry Bradway, the Chiefs' director of player personnel.
But the calendar won't stand still for the Chiefs.
They must be under the salary cap of $62.172 million by Friday, when free-agency begins. Visits by prospective free agents are being lined up for next week and beyond. The college scouting combine begins Feb. 24; the draft is April 15.
Head coach Gunther Cunningham, his eyes still moist, spent the day speaking with candidates for quarterbacks coach and secondary coach and hopes to have them in place by the weekend.
And while club president Carl Peterson was in Miami tending to Thomas' family and helping with arrangements for next week's funeral services, executive vice president Denny Thum worked the phones, speaking with the club's 13 free agents.
Work, in fact, proved therapeutic.
"The league is not going to give us a moratorium to try to get our stuff together," Thum said from behind his desk on the fourth floor at Arrowhead. "It is difficult, but anytime you're involved in a tragic situation like this, sometimes keeping busy is the best relief to get through it.
"I was here until 10 o'clock Tuesday night, and my relief was looking out this window and seeing the constant parade of cars and well-wishers. That, to me, is phenomenal. Every time I see that, it sparks me to go ahead and know that this is the way Derrick would want it, too."
Although Thomas' accident certainly was unforeseen, the Chiefs began preparations for free-agency within days after the regular season ended. They have been renegotiating players' contracts, signed fullback Tony Richardson on Jan. 15, and hope to have other key free agents such as guard Will Shields and free safety Jerome Woods under contract quickly.
"This planning part goes for months," said Thum, who turned down the general manager's position of the New Orleans Saints on Jan. 23 -- hours before Thomas' one-car accident.
"We have gone through model after model after model of anticipating what the cap will be, what the minimums (offers) will be, what the franchise/transition numbers will be, and to our credit, we were right on the number. This is a long process and is not something that happens just this week."
Thum said the club has sent tender offers to wide receiver Kevin Lockett and tight end Mitch Jacoby, who are restricted free agents, and defensive end Eric Hicks, an exclusive-rights free agent, assuring the Chiefs the opportunity to match any offers they receive. He has spoken to all the free agents or their representatives this week.
"We just want to let them know where we stand, what we're doing," Thum said. "I want them to know that even though we're negotiating with some players, they might have to wait their turn. But I want to be sure they all understood the success this franchise has had is by keeping its own first, because we know them the best."
Almost every conversation turns to Thomas.
"The sympathy out there is just amazing," Thum said. "Everybody wants to talk about Derrick Thomas, and understandably so. It's hard to get through. Besides all this, you have all the other people calling and extending their sympathy."
Adding to off-season angst is the federal drug investigation that has cited possible roles of wide receiver Tamarick Vanover and former running back Bam Morris.
"We're working through the situation," Thum said. "My understanding is no charges have been filed and there's still a long, ongoing investigation. If they were involved is anybody's guess. We're letting due process go, and they're trying to keep us informed as much as possible because he (Vanover) is still a part of our football team."
Besides interviewing assistant-coach candidates, Cunningham made a point of speaking with every player about Thomas.
"When I started calling them," Cunningham said, "I thought, `Well, I'll get through as many as I can.' It became a mission because I felt how much contact they needed and needed to talk about it. You hear all these things when someone dies, how you need support groups, and all of a sudden I found out I was like a support group.
"The players keep thanking me for calling, but what I'm doing is helping myself, too."
Cunningham recalled a 30-minute conversation with former Chiefs linebacker Greg Manusky late Tuesday night.
"He wanted to take out his feelings on buying something from the liquor store," Cunningham said. "The bill was $58.58."
from kc star
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