Editor's note: More updates on this story are here.

The Chiefs were afraid of this. If they weren't, they should've been. A player's frustration has boiled over with the losing, Todd Haley's approach and the overall messiness of how Kansas City's season has so far gone.

After Sunday's 37-7 loss to the Chargers, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson expressed frustration. He indicated that, despite the change surrounding the franchise with a new coach and new general manager, one important factor has not changed during LJ's career: losing.

"This is what this organization has been doing since I’ve been here," Johnson said in the locker room Sunday. "This is my third head coach in seven years I’ve been here. It seems like this is what we keep doing: going back to the drawing board. We bring in new coaches, new organization, new schemes, new mentality, new attitude."

Johnson apparently wasn't finished. Johnson is a frequent poster on the social networking site Twitter, and on a string of posts tonight, Johnson's frustrations spilled over and turned into something that looked an awful lot like shots at Haley.

"My father played for the coach from 'rememeber (sic) the titans'. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. (sic) Our coach. Nuthn"

Johnson's father, Larry Johnson Sr., is the defensive-line coach at Penn State. That post was filed by the user "ToonIcon," which Johnson told me a few weeks ago was a name his friends call him and is his online alias. While that profile is not verified by Twitter to belong to Johnson, it contains Johnson's name, several pictures of him and many references to his Chiefs activities. Also, Johnson's agent, Peter Schaffer, spoke with an ESPN reporter Sunday night and acknowledged that Johnson had posted the tweets, before downplaying what Johnson was trying to say. Still, it needs to be pointed out that the tweets were made via a cell-phone application and were not necessarily posted by Johnson.

That said, it wouldn't be beyond the realm of credibility that, given Johnson's history, he'd resort to this. The post set off a series of responses to several apparent Chiefs fans, who sent their own colorful responses to Johnson. The running back used several inappropriate phrases, and the rant hasn't really stopped.

Anyway, I think this outburst can be interpreted several ways. Yes, this is LJ, which means there is natural bizarreness attached to it. Johnson is a weird dude, but he's also honest and forthright with what he believes. Most times, that's interpreted, or simply is, whining -- about playing time, losing, money, personnel, carries, whatever. LJ does a lot of complaining.

But it's also telling that a player would speak out against Haley, whose unorthodox coaching style could understandably rub some players the wrong way. The first-year coach is intense most times, harsh at others, and over the top occasionally. Regardless of how bad a team is and has been, an NFL locker room is an immensely proud place. Players are proud to have reached this level of success, personally and professionally, and some don't like being coached and spoken to like children. In those players' defense, Haley hasn't taken much blame for his questionable play calling and decision-making the last few weeks, and I can see how doubt might creep into the locker room of a 1-6 team.

Is LJ speaking for only himself and offering just the latest in a long line of outbursts? Or he is just the first to speak out against a growing sense of discomfort and unpopularity?

It's easy to disagree with a coach when your team is losing, but it's quite another to take a very public shot at that coach on what is a sensitive subject. Haley wants to be known as a successful football coach, and his background as a golf coach and golf pro isn't something he likes discussing. He has told me several times that it's just something in his past, and he'd just as soon leave it behind. I think part of that emphasis is because Haley is a first-time head coach who didn't take the traditional path to leading an NFL team. He didn't play football in high school or college, and he didn't begin coaching the sport until his late 20s. It's hard enough for those NFL players, proud as they are, to respect a rookie head coach who hasn't brought much winning with him to Kansas City. Then add that non-traditional background, that he is a young head coach at 42, and his attitude toward players is understandably difficult to adjust to. It makes sense that he'd like to quiet his career's detours, and knowing how conscious Haley is of that fact, it's even more revealing to me that LJ hit Haley tonight where it hurts.

Schaffer, Johnson's agent, downplayed the comments tonight to ESPN's Bill Williamson, saying that LJ was simply complimenting his father and not taking a shot at Haley. I see the compliments. I also see a disgruntled, high-maintenance running back who might want to make a point.

I'm not sure what LJ's purpose would be in sharing these thoughts. Everyone needs to vent, but Twitter probably isn't the place for it. I know from experience. It comes with consequences. It leads to questions. The biggest question I have after this latest episode is whether, assuming they were LJ's comments, he's speaking for more than just himself.