Former Chiefs coach Todd Haley hired as an assistant by Florida high school team
Not long after the Riverview High School football season ended last fall in Sarasota, Florida, head coach Josh Smithers found he had an opening on his staff.
The Rams’ offensive coordinator was hired as head coach at another school, but fortunately for Smithers, his first choice for the job on his staff quickly accepted his offer.
Todd Haley.
Yep, the former Chiefs head coach. According to the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida, Haley has a home nearby, so Smithers had asked Haley to watch film last season. When the offensive coordinator left, Haley agreed to take the job.
“We talked about the high school game being different than the pro game,” Smithers told the News-Press. “And he was all fired up, just to get out there and coach football again. He understands these are high school kids who go to school all day and you get them for a couple of hours versus people who do it for a job.
“He told me he’s excited just to teach quarterbacks how to read coverages and receivers how to run better routes.
“And I think that’s where he’s going to be able to excel. His ability to understand defensive coverages and have an answer for everything.”
Haley, who turns 53 later this month, was the Chiefs’ head coach from 2009 to 2011, when he was fired 13 games into the season. From 2012-17, Haley was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator before he was fired. Haley was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2018 for eight games before being relieved of his duties.
Smithers told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune he doesn’t expect Haley to revamp the Riverview offense.
“I told him what we’ve done here at Riverview the last five years, it works and we’ve had success with it,” Smithers said. “I said obviously if there are certain route concepts or things that you just have to have in your arsenal, then you have the freedom but we’re not going to all of a sudden create a new offense.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 8:33 AM.
