As former members of the Chiefs, Pile and Fujita still talk with their
friends from their former team, who give them what Pile calls the
"Kansas City State of the Union."
I talk with guys like (cornerbacks) Eric Warfield and Dexter McCleon,"
Pile said. "Most of the guys on the defense -- we were pretty close."
Pile said that he is happy for the 8-4 Chiefs, in part because of his
affection for Kansas City head coach Dick Vermeil.
"I love Coach Vermeil to death," Pile said. "He gave me my first
opportunity. So when I see them doing well, I'm happy for him, and for
(defensive coordinator) Coach (Gunther) Cunningham, too."
Pile laughed when asked about Vermeil's notorious propensity for
shedding tears, seemingly at the drop of a hat.
"I can't tell you how many times I've seen Coach Vermeil cry," Pile
said. "But he's still a tough-as-nails coach.
"He's the one who brought (Chiefs quarterback) Trent Green from
Washington to St. Louis, and he was going to play Trent. But then Trent
got hurt, Kurt Warner goes in and plays great, and ends up going to Pro
Bowls and making all those commercials. But Coach Vermeil saw something
in Trent, and got him to go to Kansas City. So when you see Trent
playing well, playing at a really high level, it's not surprising to
see Coach Vermeil cry, because he knows how hard Trent worked to get
back from that injury."
Vermeil's willingness to show his emotions so freely makes him seem to
be the direct opposite of Pile's new coach, Bill Parcells.
But Pile said the two veteran coaches aren't as different as they might
appear.
"They really have a lot in common," Pile said of Parcells and Vemeil,
"in terms of their attention to detail, and what they bring to the
team. They're both cut from the same cloth -- they're both
tough-as-nails coaches. You just want to play hard for them, for either
one of them."
Pile said his conversations with McCleon and Warfield never deteriorate
into trash talking, and that he doesn't see Sunday's matchup as a
chance to deliver any kind of message to his former team.
"They're on defense, and we (Fujita and Pile) are on defense," Pile
said. "So it's not like we're going to be going head-to-head."
Pile also said the temptation to try to deliver a hit against his
former team with a little extra power is not something he can allow
himself to consider.
"Sure, you'd like to make a big hit, but those big hits just happen,"
he said. "I don't look at (Kansas City's) offense and see someone I
want to try to go hit extra hard -- I know all those guys.
"Besides, if you go looking for a big hit, you might miss, and with an
offense as talented as the Chiefs' offense, they'll make you pay."
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