Todd Haley

Richard Todd Haley He is the son of Dick Haley, the former director of player personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets and a former NFL cornerback. As a youth, Haley was a ball boy for the Steelers and attended Steelers training camps with his father.

Haley attended Upper St. Clair High School, Trailing 17–7 at halftime, the Cardinals offense fought back after a 13-point deficit and led the game 23–20 with just over two minutes remaining. The decision to hire Pioli led to speculation that Herman Edwards, who had been serving as the Chiefs' head coach since 2006, was not likely to return for 2009. Leading up to Super Bowl XLIII, Haley was repeatedly questioned about Kansas City and the possibilities of joining his former colleague Pioli. Haley accepted the position on February 6, 2009, and signed a four-year contract. For his first coaching staff, Haley hired Joel Collier, Gary Gibbs, Steve Hoffman, Bill Muir, Clancy Pendergast, Pat Perles, and Dedric Ward to unspecified positions on the Chiefs' 2009 coaching staff and retained Bob Bicknell, Joe D'Alessandris, Chan Gailey, Tim Krumrie, Brent Salazar, and Cedric Smith from Herm Edwards' staff. Ward and Pendergast had previously served on the Cardinals' coaching staff with Haley.

Initially there were doubts as to whether Chan Gailey would be retained under Haley's coaching staff, because Haley had just concluded a successful stint as offensive coordinator at Arizona. Haley initially expressed satisfaction in working with Gailey, saying, "The more I work with the guy, the more I like him..." After the Chiefs lost their first three preseason games partially due to an abysmal offensive performance, however, Haley reportedly refused to bow to Gailey's suggestion to once again install a spread offense similar to the one installed midway through the 2008 season. Gailey was relieved of duties and Haley assumed offensive play-calling duties throughout the rest of the season.

The Chiefs lost their first five games under Haley in 2009. Haley won his first game as the Chiefs' head coach on October 18, 2009, beating the Washington Redskins 14–6.

In late October 2009 the Chiefs suspended starting running back Larry Johnson for one week in response to his public comments on Twitter where he questioned Haley's coaching abilities and for using homophobic slurs when he addressed the media. Johnson's Twitter comments were: "My father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches" [Sic]. That was followed by: "My father played for the coach from "Remember the Titans". Our coach played golf. My father played for the Redskins briefly. Our coach. Nuthin." [Sic] When Johnson returned from his suspension, he was released.

After Haley released Johnson, he led the Chiefs to their first two-game winning streak since the 2007 season with victories against the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers on November 15 and 22. The 27–24 victory over the Steelers—the defending Super Bowl champions—came in overtime. The Chiefs ended their season with a victory against the Denver Broncos who were looking to clinch a Wild-Card playoff berth with a win. This was the first Kansas City win at Denver since 2000 and their first victory at Invesco Field at Mile High, which opened in 2001. This concluded the Chiefs season with a 4–12 record, a two-win improvement from 2008.

In Haley's second season, the Chiefs won their first three games, including the season opener on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers, and were the last undefeated team remaining in the NFL before losing at Indianapolis in Week 5. Kansas City went on to win the AFC West for the first time since 2003.

On January 9, 2011, the Chiefs played the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs lost the game 30–7 with Matt Cassel passing for 70 yards and 3 interceptions. The only touchdown was a 41-yard touchdown run by Jamaal Charles.

On September 2, 2011, Haley elected to play his starters against the Green Bay Packers in the final preseason game of the year. Tight end Tony Moeaki, a crucial piece of the team's 2011 offensive plans, injured his knee at the beginning of the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. In a game played mostly by the Chiefs starters and the Packers' backups, the Chiefs lost, 20–19, leading many to question Haley's decision to use his best players late into the game.

Despite having lost several key players to injuries, on October 31, 2011, Haley led the Chiefs to a come-from-behind victory on Monday Night Football. The win was KC's fourth in a row, which moved them into first place in the AFC West. It marked the first time in NFL history that a team that started 0–3 was leading its division by the halfway point of the season.

Chiefs starting quarterback Matt Cassel broke his hand during a week 11 game versus the Denver Broncos. He was replaced by Tyler Palko, and had surgery on the injured hand on November 14. On November 21, Cassel was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Palko proved to be inadequate as a backup to a merely serviceable Cassel, leading many to question how a team with legitimate playoff hopes entering the 2011 season had remained so thin at so many key positions during the off-season, especially at quarterback and safety, where the Chiefs' lack of depth was more than woeful.

Haley was fired on December 12, 2011, after leading his team to a 5–8 record during the 2011 NFL season. The 2011 season began with three losses, including two blow-outs to Detroit and Buffalo. The team appeared to regroup, winning four straight games, before losing the next 5 of 6, including a complete team collapse in Haley's final game against the New York Jets. Late in that game Haley was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, allowing the Jets to complete a touchdown drive that ultimately put the game out of reach. On that drive, the Jets offense gained only 9 net yards, however still scored after starting at their own 10 yard line due to 81 yards across 5 penalties against the Chiefs (including the one against Haley). After the loss, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was promoted to replace Haley.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On February 13, 2012, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the hiring of Haley as the team's new offensive coordinator. Haley grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Upper St. Clair Township, Pennsylvania, and his father was the Steelers' former personnel director. He was the first offensive coordinator in 13 years to be hired from outside the organization. On January 17, 2018, the Steelers announced that Haley's contract, which had expired at the conclusion of the 2017 season, would not be renewed.

Cleveland Browns On January 22, 2018, Haley was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their offensive coordinator. On October 29, 2018, Haley was fired along with head coach Hue Jackson.

Riverview High School On February 14, 2020, Haley was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Riverview Rams in Sarasota, Florida.

Tampa Bay Bandits On January 6, 2022, Haley was named Head coach and General manager for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League.

Memphis Showboats On November 15, 2022, it was announced that Haley would be the head coach of the Memphis Showboats for the 2023 USFL season. Haley was fired from this position on October 23, 2023.

Columbus Aviators Haley currently serves as offensive coordinator for the Columbus Aviators of the United Football League. On April 11, 2026, Haley was named interim head coach for the Week 3 game against the Dallas Renegades after the team's head coach, Ted Ginn Jr., was arrested for driving under the influence. Ginn Jr. would later be reinstated as head coach on April 14, 2026.

Coaching style Haley has been described as an aggressive coach and can be combative with players.

During the 2008 NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a first-half argument with quarterback Kurt Warner in full view of television cameras and with wide receiver Anquan Boldin later in the game.

On December 31, 2017, Haley, who was then offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was injured following the Steelers' Week 17 game, according to a team spokesman. He was pushed down by an unknown assailant, which broke his pelvis. No charges were filed because no witnesses came forward to cooperate in criminal or civil prosecution.

Head coaching record

NFL Team Year Regular season PostseasonWonLostTiesWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultKC2009 4120.2504th in AFC West - - - -KC2010 1060.6251st in AFC West 0 1 .000 Lost to Baltimore Ravens in AFC wild card gameKC2011580.385Fired - - - - Total 1926001.000

USFL/UFL LeagueTeam Year Regular season PostseasonWonLostTiesWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultUSFLTB2022 4 6 0 3rd — — — —MEM2023 5 5 0 4th — — — —UFLCLB*2026010—————Total 9 12 0 — — — — — Interim head coach for Week 3 game against the Dallas Renegades.

Coaching tree Haley has served under six head coaches: Bill Parcells, New York Jets (1997–1999) & Dallas Cowboys (2004–2006) Al Groh, New York Jets (2000) Dick Jauron, Chicago Bears (2001–2003) Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals (2007–2008) Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers (2012–2017) Hue Jackson, Cleveland Browns (2018)

Four of Haley's coaching assistants have become head coaches in the NFL, XFL or NCAA: Romeo Crennel, Kansas City Chiefs (2011, interim; 2012) Charlie Weis, Kansas (2012–2014) Jim Zorn, Seattle Dragons (2020) Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles (2021–present)