Innovation for the Fun of It

THE conductor of the Super Chiefs is Coach Hank Stram, a spry, spruce little fellow (5 ft. 7 in., 205 Ibs.) who looks like a Cheshire cat, dresses like Cecil Beaton, talks like Otto von Bismarck and operates like Jimmy Valentine. "Every team," he says, "should have its own style that reflects the personality of the coach." The Kansas City Chiefs are a mirror image of both sides of Stram's personality: courteous, reliable and trustworthy off the field; coruscating, resourceful and a little terrifying on it. When it comes to dealing with players, Stram has every grain of Vince Lombardi's starchiness: $50 a minute is the price of tardiness to any meeting, $50 a pound is the cost of excess fat at Thursday weigh-ins. No mustaches or mutton chops are permitted. Long hair is utterly unthinkable. How does Stram reconcile his own flamboyant wardrobe (30 suits, often set off by a red vest) with his fundamentalist attitude? "If it's my team, things have to be done my way. That's all."

It is when they take to the field that Stram's Chiefs take on their true color. In an age when most college and pro coaches are emulating the bedrock approach popularized by Woody Hayes and Lombardi, Stram is an inveterate innovator who likes to "put a new wrinkle into almost every game." Among Stram's inventions: the "moving pocket," which allows the quarterback to maneuver without abandoning his protection; the "triple stack" defense, which puts 290-lb. Tackle Buck Buchanan nose-on-nose with the offensive center and lets the linebackers work in tandem with the remaining three linemen. Even the Chiefs' basic formation is a wild piece of unorthodoxy: the "Tight I," in which the tight end lines up in the backfield behind the running backs, thereby preventing the defensive secondary from keying on him. Some critics insist it all sounds like flimflammery --to which Stram replies: "The important thing is to believe in something strongly enough to make it work."

Stram, 47, is the only head coach remaining from the A.F.L.'s original class of 1960, and his Chiefs have won more games over the decade than any other team in the league. But Stram's abilities have long been suspect because Kansas City has often seemed to be one of those talent-laden teams that always lose the big game. The major disappointment came in the first Super Bowl in 1967, when Green Bay trounced the Chiefs 35-10. Since then, Stram has concentrated on building up his defense, choosing carefully in the draft, trading furiously offseason. The result is the biggest, fastest, most feared defense in the game.

Beyond that, Stram the innovator simply enjoys switching things around to satisfy his restless energy. To implant his constantly changing tactics, he says: "I like to get at least four or five new players every year. That's the only way to make a team grow." These days, those who disagree are not arguing out loud.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.