COMMENTARY

Chiefs’ Edwards gives Army a boost

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McClary, though, explained that what Edwards does as a coach — create game plans, make hard decisions, inspire and energize players, overcome losses, build teamwork, adjust when everything’s falling apart, handle overwhelming criticism, stomp out dissension, work with the media to get out the right message — is a pretty precise model of what a military leader must do in today’s new world.

So, of course Edwards came, and he spoke to the students. He had lunch with Gen. Caldwell and some elite military minds. And it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were blown away. Edwards is electrifying in small rooms. It’s the big reason his players play hard for him. It’s the reason that for all the criticism, Edwards has taken four teams to the playoffs. It’s the reason the Chiefs — with lots of young players running around wildly — will probably be better in 2008 than most people expect.

Edwards told them: “There’s one thing I know when I walk into the stadium on Sunday morning. I know that there will be 80,000 people there. And every one of those 80,000 people can do my job better than me. That’s the job. That’s what you signed up for.”

He said: “Every time you lose, there will be people who say, ‘This is a bad plan.’ Every time. … The big thing is: Don’t deviate. You must not allow uncertainty.”

He said: “It’s never convenient to lead. That’s what you have to remember. … But when it’s all said and done, you will only need six people in your life. That’s all. It takes six people to put you in the dirt. And when that happens, what will they say about you? Because the biggest thing is to be able to say, ‘I made a difference.’ ”

He told them he doesn’t like free agency (“Helmet for hire,” he calls it), and he had a simple message for the players at the end of the last disastrous season (“Boys, there are going to be changes”) and that he lives his coaching life by a simple motto (“There are only two possibilities. You either coach it or you allow it to happen. That’s it.”)

Nobody wanted the day to end. Yes, there may be complaints about the offense the Chiefs ran or Edwards’ conservative history, but it’s pretty close to impossible to be around him in these moments and not be stirred. As McClary says: They are thinking about much bigger issues in the Army — for instance, how to make progress in Iraq, how to measure the progress, how to get word out that progress is being made, how to get Iraq on its own feet so Americans can come home, on and on and on. And, he said, seeing and hearing Edwards up close inspires everyone.

That’s how it is. Football coaches talk war. Soldiers talk football.

“Sir, I want to show you something.” This was Maj. Henry Groulx, who had just returned from his third tour in Iraq. Groulx had told Edwards some amazing stories about the challenges there, the triumphant feeling of installing a new generator or a sewer system, the way the heart beats through the chest when the enemy fires, the way that an American soldier must keep moving so not to give the snipers a clear shot.

Then he pulled out his notebook and turned it over.

There it said a quote his commanding officer in Iraq had used almost every day. The quote was: “You play to win the game!” That, of course, was Edwards’ famous quote to the New York media a couple of years ago.

“This is what we lived by in Iraq, sir,” Groulx said. Edwards’ eyes looked like they may have watered just a little bit. He said: “Well, isn’t that something?”

And Groulx said. “Yes sir. Play to win. It’s the only way, isn’t it?”

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To reach Joe Posnanski, call 816-234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.