Chiefs KC Star Interview with Clark Hunt

FloridaMan88 · 02-02-2018, 07:29 PM

http://www.kansascity.com/article198...#storylink=cpy

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt considers 2017 season a successful one

BY TEREZ A. PAYLOR

When the Chiefs’ season came to a crashing thud on Jan. 6, courtesy of a deflating 22-21 home loss to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild-Card round, there was no shortage of fan anger.

Chiefs fans, who have been tortured by more than their fair share of crushing playoff losses over the last 25 years, lit up the team’s social-media accounts with angry tweets and messages. Many demanded the firing of defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, who guided the league’s 28th-ranked unit. Some called for the trade of quarterback Alex Smith, whose 1-4 playoff record as a Chief had worn fans out.

Though there have already been some tweaks this offseason — such as the recent trade of Smith — nothing happened with Sutton because Hunt trusts coach Andy Reid fully, and Reid gave zero consideration to relieving Sutton of his duties.

And during an interview with The Star on Friday at the Super Bowl, Hunt not only explained why Sutton was ultimately retained — in short, he doesn’t believe Sutton was playing with a full deck due to injuries and significant cap issues — but also why Hunt considers the 2017 season a success and has high hopes for new general manager Brett Veach’s plan for the future.

“First of all, looking back at it, and this will be clearer the further we get away from it, you would say it’s a successful season,” Hunt said. “We won the division — only the first time in the history of the franchise we’ve won two division championships in a row — we made the playoffs.”

But, Hunt conceded, it was still a very strange year.

“The playoff game was almost a microcosm of the season, where you saw the dominant Chiefs, and then the second half of the season, we just didn’t play very well,” Hunt said. “So we’re very disappointed about the playoff loss, but I will look back and say it was a successful season.”

But even though the defense took much of the blame for the team’s uneven play, particularly after they blew an 18-point lead in a loss to the Titans in the playoffs, Hunt said Reid did not feel that Sutton was an obstacle to their success in 2017.

“That’s completely Andy’s call,” Hunt said. “I let him make all the calls on his staff and believe firmly that’s the right way to do it, whether your coach is Andy Reid or somebody else. You can’t have a situation where the owners are undermining the head coach with his staff selections.

“But Andy is a big believer in Bob Sutton, and if you look at Bob’s tenure with the Chiefs, our performance on defense has been very good. This year, we obviously struggled in certain areas, and Andy knows we have to get better there next year, Bob knows we have to get better there next year ... and Brett Veach also knows.”

The inclusion of Veach, who was promoted to general manager last summer following the firing of John Dorsey, was telling. In fact, it was downright indicative of the fact the Chiefs internally blamed most of their defensive issues in 2017 on personnel, not scheme.

It also, in retrospect, adds some additional clarity to the reasons the Chiefs relieved Dorsey of his duties, which sources told The Star at the time were related to his management style and organizational skills.

“A lot of the issues that we had this year defensively were about personnel and the lack of depth,” Hunt said. “We just didn’t have the depth we needed. We’re always gonna have injuries, right? And yes, losing Eric Berry in week one, that really hurts. But good teams figure out how to get past that, and the way you do that is having depth. I think at the end of the day, we just didn’t have enough depth.”

The Chiefs, for example, were so capped out the last few years that beyond signing Bennie Logan to replace departed nose tackle Dontari Poe, they were largely unable to fortify their defensive depth with any veteran signings last offseason, which prevented them from adding additional help along the defensive line, edge rusher and cornerback, all of which proved to be problem spots in 2017.

The cap issues, it appears, also played a role in the Chiefs’ surprising decision to release receiver Jeremy Maclin last summer, though there were also some questions about whether there would be enough passes to go around for him and Pro Bowl targets Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

“We were in a very tight cap situation last year, and it resulted in us having to part ways with some players we would have rather not parted ways with,” Hunt said. “We weren’t able to do much from a free-agent standpoint.

“We were lucky to bring in Bennie Logan because we needed somebody to be able to play that nose position, having lost Dontari Poe. That was probably the one move and it did help us, but we weren’t able to do enough — whether it was free agency or the draft — to make a difference.”

That said, it’s possible the Chiefs won’t be big spenders in free agency this year. Even with the trade of Smith — which is expected to create $15.6 million in cap room — the Chiefs only stand to have approximately $8 million to spend at the moment.

And while they could easily create approximately $16 million more by releasing a handful of veterans, like Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali, with a first-year starter like Mahomes in the mix, they could potentially roll over plenty of that to 2019, when they’ll have a bevy of cap space. Were they to do that they could execute the gameplan of the 2014 Seattle Seahawks, who won a Super Bowl by surrounding a talented young quarterback on a cheap rookie deal (Russell Wilson) with a number of talented free-agent veterans.

“You don’t want to put yourself in a rebuilding mode, and certainly, as a two-time division winner, we’re not in a rebuilding mode,” Hunt said. “But we do have holes in the roster, at starting positions and backup positions, that we’ve got to fill, and I’m not sure you can do that intelligently in one year.

“So are we going to keep making the playoffs every year? I don’t know, I sure hope so, because that’s the goal and that’s how we take our step chart to our final goal, winning a Super Bowl. But I don’t see us in a situation where we’re blowing the roster up and starting over.”

Because the long-term goal, he reiterated, is to make the Super Bowl and win it.

“There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that,” Hunt said. “Andy knows it. That’s why he’s in the game. That’s what he wants.”

NJChiefsFan · 02-02-2018, 07:48 PM

Pretty honest at times which is nice. Don't have a problem with any of those answers. Could have been more blunt in his assessment of the playoff failure and that division titles aren't enough.

**SAUTO** · 02-02-2018, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

Pretty honest at times which is nice. Don't have a problem with any of those answers. Could have been more blunt in his assessment of the playoff failure and that division titles aren't enough.

Did you miss the 2nd to last paragraph?

Sassy Squatch · 02-02-2018, 08:01 PM

Nothing wrong here. Actually threw quite a bit of shade Dorseys way which was well deserved.

**SAUTO** · 02-02-2018, 08:24 PM

How could anyone have ever thought we were going to restructure Alex and end up with dead money in future years?

**TimBone** · 02-02-2018, 08:26 PM

Before reading the article, just looking at the headline, that's pretty annoying. How could the owner of this team consider the season a success after that type of typical Chiefs playoff letdown. Just kind of a slap in the face to fans to say something like that.

Kman34 · 02-02-2018, 08:30 PM

So next year is a wasted year cause we want all the cap space for 2019?? Bullshit.. we better be cutting the dead weight and building year by year. And there will be a fan revolt if we make the playoffs next year and the Defense (Sutton) is the reason we lose....

CaliforniaChief · 02-02-2018, 08:33 PM

Let me take a different angle. We are so fortunate to have a great beat writer like Terez covering the Chiefs. He's 2nd to none in the business.

Chief Northman · 02-02-2018, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Let me take a different angle. We are so fortunate to have a great beat writer like Terez covering the Chiefs. He's 2nd to none in the business.

Terez is outstanding. Let’s hope he can stay around KC for a bit longer. His talent might lead to bigger opportunities in bigger markets.

PunkinDrublic · 02-02-2018, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimBone

Before reading the article, just looking at the headline, that's pretty annoying. How could the owner of this team consider the season a success after that type of typical Chiefs playoff letdown. Just kind of a slap in the face to fans to say something like that.

This. One and done in the playoffs is not a successful season. Getting punked at home twice by a mediocre QB like Mariota is unacceptable. The offense going into a shell in the second half is unacceptable.

**RealSNR** · 02-02-2018, 08:53 PM

I know he can't acknowledge the trade until it becomes official, but ****, that was a boring assessment. Didn't even talk about Mahomes goddamn ONCE. You don't have to say, "He's our starter next year." Just ****ing talk about how excited you are or some shit.

Christ.

pugsnotdrugs19 · 02-02-2018, 09:28 PM

This defense is gonna get a major makeover.

Nickhead · 02-02-2018, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealSNR

I know he can't acknowledge the trade until it becomes official, but ****, that was a boring assessment. Didn't even talk about Mahomes goddamn ONCE. You don't have to say, "He's our starter next year." Just ****ing talk about how excited you are or some shit.

Christ.

wouldn't clark have to be at the facilities to see what sort of qb mahomes is?

Chief Roundup · 02-02-2018, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

This defense is gonna get a major makeover.

Not according to what Hunt just stated that I bolded and evidently what Paylor felt from the interview.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

it’s possible the Chiefs won’t be big spenders in free agency this year. Even with the trade of Smith — which is expected to create $15.6 million in cap room — the Chiefs only stand to have approximately $8 million to spend at the moment.

“But we do have holes in the roster, at starting positions and backup positions, that we’ve got to fill, and I’m not sure you can do that intelligently in one year.

pugsnotdrugs19 · 02-02-2018, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Not according to what Hunt just stated that I bolded and evidently what Paylor felt from the interview.

I'm not saying they're going to have every little hope filled, but we all know they're going to wind up with nearly $30M in cap space after a couple more releases. If they want to go all in and spend big, they could do so. I wouldn't because the FA class isn't all that, but again, the offense is largely in place.

If Veach wants to spend all of his draft picks on defense, he could probably do it. The defense will look a lot different come July.

02-02-2018, 07:29 PM
FloridaMan88 Mahomes: We Are All Witnesses Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Miami, FL Casino cash: $3252906	KC Star Interview with Clark Hunt http://www.kansascity.com/article198...#storylink=cpy Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt considers 2017 season a successful one BY TEREZ A. PAYLOR When the Chiefs’ season came to a crashing thud on Jan. 6, courtesy of a deflating 22-21 home loss to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild-Card round, there was no shortage of fan anger. Chiefs fans, who have been tortured by more than their fair share of crushing playoff losses over the last 25 years, lit up the team’s social-media accounts with angry tweets and messages. Many demanded the firing of defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, who guided the league’s 28th-ranked unit. Some called for the trade of quarterback Alex Smith, whose 1-4 playoff record as a Chief had worn fans out. Though there have already been some tweaks this offseason — such as the recent trade of Smith — nothing happened with Sutton because Hunt trusts coach Andy Reid fully, and Reid gave zero consideration to relieving Sutton of his duties. And during an interview with The Star on Friday at the Super Bowl, Hunt not only explained why Sutton was ultimately retained — in short, he doesn’t believe Sutton was playing with a full deck due to injuries and significant cap issues — but also why Hunt considers the 2017 season a success and has high hopes for new general manager Brett Veach’s plan for the future. “First of all, looking back at it, and this will be clearer the further we get away from it, you would say it’s a successful season,” Hunt said. “We won the division — only the first time in the history of the franchise we’ve won two division championships in a row — we made the playoffs.” But, Hunt conceded, it was still a very strange year. “The playoff game was almost a microcosm of the season, where you saw the dominant Chiefs, and then the second half of the season, we just didn’t play very well,” Hunt said. “So we’re very disappointed about the playoff loss, but I will look back and say it was a successful season.” But even though the defense took much of the blame for the team’s uneven play, particularly after they blew an 18-point lead in a loss to the Titans in the playoffs, Hunt said Reid did not feel that Sutton was an obstacle to their success in 2017. “That’s completely Andy’s call,” Hunt said. “I let him make all the calls on his staff and believe firmly that’s the right way to do it, whether your coach is Andy Reid or somebody else. You can’t have a situation where the owners are undermining the head coach with his staff selections. “But Andy is a big believer in Bob Sutton, and if you look at Bob’s tenure with the Chiefs, our performance on defense has been very good. This year, we obviously struggled in certain areas, and Andy knows we have to get better there next year, Bob knows we have to get better there next year ... and Brett Veach also knows.” The inclusion of Veach, who was promoted to general manager last summer following the firing of John Dorsey, was telling. In fact, it was downright indicative of the fact the Chiefs internally blamed most of their defensive issues in 2017 on personnel, not scheme. It also, in retrospect, adds some additional clarity to the reasons the Chiefs relieved Dorsey of his duties, which sources told The Star at the time were related to his management style and organizational skills. “A lot of the issues that we had this year defensively were about personnel and the lack of depth,” Hunt said. “We just didn’t have the depth we needed. We’re always gonna have injuries, right? And yes, losing Eric Berry in week one, that really hurts. But good teams figure out how to get past that, and the way you do that is having depth. I think at the end of the day, we just didn’t have enough depth.” The Chiefs, for example, were so capped out the last few years that beyond signing Bennie Logan to replace departed nose tackle Dontari Poe, they were largely unable to fortify their defensive depth with any veteran signings last offseason, which prevented them from adding additional help along the defensive line, edge rusher and cornerback, all of which proved to be problem spots in 2017. The cap issues, it appears, also played a role in the Chiefs’ surprising decision to release receiver Jeremy Maclin last summer, though there were also some questions about whether there would be enough passes to go around for him and Pro Bowl targets Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. “We were in a very tight cap situation last year, and it resulted in us having to part ways with some players we would have rather not parted ways with,” Hunt said. “We weren’t able to do much from a free-agent standpoint. “We were lucky to bring in Bennie Logan because we needed somebody to be able to play that nose position, having lost Dontari Poe. That was probably the one move and it did help us, but we weren’t able to do enough — whether it was free agency or the draft — to make a difference.” That said, it’s possible the Chiefs won’t be big spenders in free agency this year. Even with the trade of Smith — which is expected to create $15.6 million in cap room — the Chiefs only stand to have approximately $8 million to spend at the moment. And while they could easily create approximately $16 million more by releasing a handful of veterans, like Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali, with a first-year starter like Mahomes in the mix, they could potentially roll over plenty of that to 2019, when they’ll have a bevy of cap space. Were they to do that they could execute the gameplan of the 2014 Seattle Seahawks, who won a Super Bowl by surrounding a talented young quarterback on a cheap rookie deal (Russell Wilson) with a number of talented free-agent veterans. “You don’t want to put yourself in a rebuilding mode, and certainly, as a two-time division winner, we’re not in a rebuilding mode,” Hunt said. “But we do have holes in the roster, at starting positions and backup positions, that we’ve got to fill, and I’m not sure you can do that intelligently in one year. “So are we going to keep making the playoffs every year? I don’t know, I sure hope so, because that’s the goal and that’s how we take our step chart to our final goal, winning a Super Bowl. But I don’t see us in a situation where we’re blowing the roster up and starting over.” Because the long-term goal, he reiterated, is to make the Super Bowl and win it. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that,” Hunt said. “Andy knows it. That’s why he’s in the game. That’s what he wants.”
Posts: 38,025

02-02-2018, 07:48 PM	#2
NJChiefsFan I've Made a Huge Mistake Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: NJ Casino cash: $5770423	Pretty honest at times which is nice. Don't have a problem with any of those answers. Could have been more blunt in his assessment of the playoff failure and that division titles aren't enough.
Posts: 12,235

02-02-2018, 08:01 PM	#4
Sassy Squatch The man you could post like. Join Date: Oct 2010 Casino cash: $2549655	Nothing wrong here. Actually threw quite a bit of shade Dorseys way which was well deserved.
Posts: 37,798

02-02-2018, 08:24 PM	#5
SAUTO Shit Join Date: Jun 2008 Casino cash: $10039067	How could anyone have ever thought we were going to restructure Alex and end up with dead money in future years?
Posts: 55,715

02-02-2018, 08:26 PM	#6
TimBone Mostly Ignored Join Date: Jul 2013 Casino cash: $8499985	Before reading the article, just looking at the headline, that's pretty annoying. How could the owner of this team consider the season a success after that type of typical Chiefs playoff letdown. Just kind of a slap in the face to fans to say something like that.
Posts: 18,096	1 0

02-02-2018, 08:30 PM	#7
Kman34 My Mamma Says Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Glass Cage Of Emotion Casino cash: $2061786 VARSITY	So next year is a wasted year cause we want all the cap space for 2019?? Bullshit.. we better be cutting the dead weight and building year by year. And there will be a fan revolt if we make the playoffs next year and the Defense (Sutton) is the reason we lose....
Posts: 13,853

02-02-2018, 08:33 PM	#8
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $12422899	Let me take a different angle. We are so fortunate to have a great beat writer like Terez covering the Chiefs. He's 2nd to none in the business.
Posts: 17,319	1 0

02-02-2018, 09:28 PM	#12
pugsnotdrugs19 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS Join Date: Aug 2013 Casino cash: $9169447	This defense is gonna get a major makeover.
Posts: 26,319