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11-21-2012, 06:07 PM | |
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Mellinger | Ex-GM Peterson ‘saddened’ by Chiefs’ situation
Sam Mellinger | Ex-GM Peterson ‘saddened’ by Chiefs’ situation
By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star Carl Peterson knows exactly why I called. He knows why some Chiefs fans want to hear from him. In some real ways, this conversation is a beach ball of schadenfreude placed on a tee for the man who effectively ran all things Chiefs for nearly 20 years, then was fired four years ago with his reputation in Kansas City at least frayed. Peterson knows all of this. He won’t take his biggest swing. But he will make solid contact. “I guess like every Chiefs fan, I’m disappointed and I’m saddened by what’s transpired there,” he says. “I think I know and made a real point to learn who the Chiefs fans were and what they wanted. I feel for them, because I’ve always felt the Kansas City Chiefs were, should be, and could be a great franchise.” There’s more. “I was very, very fortunate to work for Lamar Hunt for 18 of my 20 years there. He’s the guy who made the difference for me. They’ve fallen on hard times. That’s for sure.” The point here is not just for Peterson to dance on the Chiefs’ rubble. There is some perspective in remembering what he and Lamar Hunt made together. They built the Chiefs’ brand in the 1990s. Through much of the 1980s, the team was a local afterthought. If they won, cool. If they lost, whatever. Nobody much noticed. That began to change when Hunt hired Peterson, and Peterson hired coach Marty Schottenheimer and the whole thing just took off, with seven playoff appearances in the first eight years of the 1990s. The Chiefs’ parking lot became the biggest party in Kansas City. Arrowhead Stadium became one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. Peterson, who lives in New York now, is one of the strongest connections we have to that time. “We had fun at it,” he says. “We made it a fun thing. We made it a family thing. Lamar believed very much in that, and I did, too. He was a wonderful owner. He’d say, ‘How can I help?’ I’d say, ‘Lamar, I need you to do a contest in the parking lot to judge buses and vans that fans have painted,’ and he loved that.” Now, of course, that is all different. Lamar’s son Clark fired Peterson two years after taking over, and Peterson says the two never communicate. The Chiefs made massive personnel changes after Peterson was fired, often dropping thinly veiled shots along the way. Peterson hasn’t been back to Arrowhead since, and remains touchy about not being invited to Schottenheimer’s induction to the team’s Ring of Honor. It is a vastly different franchise now, and when Scott Pioli took over for Peterson after a 2-14 disaster in 2008, that was part of the point. The Chiefs were broken and needed fixing. A youth movement that started under Peterson — Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali, Jamaal Charles, Derrick Johnson and other key players who predate Pioli — needed structure, and until this season, there was reason for optimism. Now, the big story out of the parking lot before Sunday’s loss to the Bengals was the team stopping the mass distribution of flyers listing some unflattering facts about the Chiefs on one side and “FIRE PIOLI” on the other. The Chiefs have never had a disconnect with their fans like this. That was always a priority with Peterson, sometimes to the point of being criticism. The common knock on the Chiefs was that they cared more about filling the stadium than advancing in the playoffs. Now, team and town would settle for a fun atmosphere and competitive team. The last man to oversee a run like that watches from a distance. “I do come back to Kansas City,” he says. “I still have a home there. People on the street, they’re very disappointed. Some of them are angry at what’s transpired. I’m sorry to see that. It’s no longer my watch, so I can have my personal feelings about it, but it’s not my responsibility anymore.” |
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11-22-2012, 02:22 PM | #106 | ||
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Works out OK for the Steelers...
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11-22-2012, 02:34 PM | #107 | |
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They are a top 8 team in cash spending and Clark fired Carl when he needed to and went out and hired the best guy he could that offseason and let the guy do his job without interference. What more do you suggest he shouldhave done? |
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11-22-2012, 02:51 PM | #108 | |
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At one time, it would've been very difficult for management to create mere fan apathy given the enduring loyalty Chiefs fans have shown for years. Unbelievably...in less than four years Hunt and Pioli have cultivated more than apathy but widespread fan hostility. They have done so by all available means: horrid drafts and FA decisions, garbage coaching staffs, callous alienation of former Chiefs players...and of course, Pioli's well-documented culture of arrogance, fear and mistrust enforced by his Secret Service wannabe goons. I think Clark realizes it...but I'm convinced that he simply doesn't care.
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11-22-2012, 03:04 PM | #109 |
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Dude, there was an article in the Star that said Clark was concerned about growing fan resentment.
He absolutely cares and will fire Pioli over it. Clark didn't cultivate this...Pioli did...and Clark is gonna fix the problem.
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11-22-2012, 03:19 PM | #110 |
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I feel pretty good about it. Hunts body language doesn't feel warm. And piolis seems incredibly skittish.
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11-22-2012, 03:25 PM | #111 |
Cry havoc...
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Yeah. The only way I start ripping Clark at this time is if he decides to retain Pioli. He swung for the homerun and missed. Hopefully this doesn't make him timid on the next hire. It's like drafting a first round QB: if you draft a bust, don't wait 30 years before trying again...
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11-22-2012, 03:31 PM | #112 |
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I'd guess there is no way CBS would have been allowed to talk about the blackout on Sunday without permission from the Chiefs.
We know it didn't come from Pioli.
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11-22-2012, 03:32 PM | #113 | |
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I still think he's too stupid to know that money invested int he team and the players (not luxury suites) will make more money down the road..
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11-22-2012, 03:37 PM | #114 |
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You realize he was spending under the cap in part because of Pioli.
Patriot Way doesn't like to spend.
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11-22-2012, 03:42 PM | #115 |
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Pioli said he didnt want to pay Carr more than Flowers because he was afraid it would hurt Flowers feelings...so he went out and signed a corner for nearly as much money that was cut before the midway point of his first year here because he was so incredibly terrible.
On top of that, the Chiefs are one of the top teams in cash spending...and are 1-9 and are probably the worst team in the NFL. How does any of that fall on the shoulders of Clark Hunt and NOT Scott Pioli? Clark is writing the checks and Pioli is giving them to the wrong people. |
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11-22-2012, 03:43 PM | #116 | |
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11-22-2012, 03:55 PM | #117 |
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I was so happy when Carl was gone it was a huge act of will power not to go out in the street in front of my building at work and dance.
Still feel the same way. |
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11-22-2012, 04:00 PM | #118 |
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I didn't have a problem with him until he picked Grbac over Gannon and started churning out the Rufus columns. He was great until the NFL came up with newfangled rules like free agency and salary cap.
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"I like Chiefs president Carl Peterson. I respect his business savvy. I envy his management skills and his penchant never to be driven by the whims of popularity. I admire his willingness to take responsibility for decisions that don’t work out the way he would have wanted." - Rufus, from KCChiefs.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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11-22-2012, 04:53 PM | #119 | |
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I know the rumor was the Carl was behind that...but was he really? Was there really ever someone named Rufus Dawes that wrote for the Chiefs?
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11-22-2012, 05:00 PM | #120 |
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Rufus Dawes is a Pen Name. It's taken from the name of a Union Officer from the Civil War, the first guy in command of Union Troops at Gettysburg. Both Carl and the Chiefs main PR guy at the time Bob Moore were both big civil war buffs. So they picked that name for their "pen name."
Wiki on "Rufus Dawes": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Dawes |
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