It’s sad that Len Dawson is still calling Chiefs games

Chiefs legend Len Dawson decided to return to the booth for another season. It was a mistake.

Dawson is in his 32nd season as the color commentator for Chiefs radio broadcasts. At age 81, he is not up to the task. Not even on the reduced schedule he announced this summer.

I listened to the third quarter of last night’s game. Dawson spoke little. His voice broke. The analysis was threadbare. “It wasn’t open,” Dawson said after an Aaron Murray pass was intercepted. “Throw it away.”

Mitch Holthus, the play-by-play man, does an admirable job of protecting Dawson. It’s Holthus who provides the instant analysis after most plays. A few times, Holthus threw a cue, and Dawson was able provide the semblance of commentary. Other times, the response was silence or a one-word answer. 

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I didn’t hear Dawson refer to Murray or another player by name. It was “he” or “the quarterback.” Sure, it was only the preseason. Many of the players who took for the field for the Chiefs last night are going to be cut. But names come slowly to Dawson during the regular season, too.

Last year Dawson marked his 50th year in broadcasting — he started working for KMBC-TV when he was an active player. For Chiefs officials, who have surely noticed the decline, the anniversary was a missed opportunity to encourage Dawson to retire at season’s end. Fifty years! What a way to go out! 

Maybe the conversation took place and Dawson resisted. But at that point, a team executive should have been prepared to say, “Decision’s been made, Len.”

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Listening last night, I was reminded of comments Myron Cope made when he retired from announcing Pittsburgh Steelers games after 35 years. Cope, who was 76 and experiencing health problems, said a team executive had told him it was time to step away.

In the end, Cope was grateful. “It takes a very special friend to tell you the truth when he knows it’s going to hurt,” he said.

Chiefs fans who listen to games this fall may be wishing the franchise’s most celebrated player had better friends.