Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 24, 2008 4:35:56 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/456593.html
Chiefs president/GM Peterson feels he has Hunt’s support
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MOBILE, Ala. | Carl Peterson has seen enough of Clark Hunt’s management style and heard enough of his ideas to form a strong opinion about the Chiefs and their future.
“He’s going to do very, very well with the Chiefs,” said Peterson, in Mobile this week for the Senior Bowl practices. “There’s no doubt in my mind. He’s a tremendous asset for this franchise.”
If Hunt eventually succeeds in reestablishing the Chiefs as a consistent Super Bowl contender, Peterson probably won’t be around to see it. Peterson’s contract as president and general manager runs for two more seasons, and Peterson indicated he intended to finish it.
“I’m not going to walk away and say somebody else can take care of it now,” he said. “That’s not being fair to Lamar, Norma, the four kids and particularly Clark, who’s been asked to be at the forefront of ownership.”
That’s assuming Hunt allows Peterson to finish his contract. Given Hunt’s public lack of support for Peterson during last week’s round of media interviews, that doesn’t appear to be a given.
Peterson seemed more amused than angry over Hunt’s remarks.
“I have not been informed of any changes,” Peterson said. “Did he say I was fired? Did he say my duties are going to be reduced? If not, then I’m not going to be concerned about it. I feel I have his support, absolutely, and I feel like I have the family’s support — all of them.”
Hunt said last week he didn’t think it appropriate to discuss Peterson’s future. He also indicated the main reason he didn’t fire Peterson was that he believed having to work with a new and unfamiliar general manager would harm coach Herm Edwards’ efforts to rebuild the Chiefs.
“That’s probably a pretty astute observation, since I’m the guy who hired Herm,” Peterson said.
Whether it’s in a year or two, the Chiefs will soon need someone new in charge of their daily business. Peterson said the operation may be too large for one person to handle.
“I’m not only the general manager,” he said. “I’m a little different from most of the general managers here. I wear three hats, and I’m responsible for the whole thing. I asked for that, and I got it. I’m involved in marketing and sales and budgets and competing in the National Football League with 31 other teams in much larger markets for fan base and properties and all the rest.
“When I leave, Clark may say, ‘I want a football guy and that’s all he’s going to do is football, and I want a business guy and all he’s going to do is the business side of it.’ This is a monster business, and it’s grown dramatically in my 19 years. When I walked in, we had 63 employees. Now we’ve got 157 full-time.”
The 2007 season was the Chiefs’ first full one with Hunt as their chairman. Though he retained Peterson and Edwards, Hunt left little doubt last week that changes would be coming if the Chiefs don’t improve from last season’s 4-12 record.
That position would be a departure from the one taken by Lamar Hunt, who died in December 2006. Lamar Hunt was an eternal optimist who always believed success for the Chiefs was right around the corner.
“I know how disappointing, excruciating, frustrating it was for him (Clark) to lose 12 games this year,” Peterson said. “It was for me, and I know it was for him. That’s never happened to me before. I got this job because the previous guy had lost that many games and had done it over a long period of time. I’m not just talking about Frank Gansz, but I’m also talking about Jack Steadman.
“Clark is a lot like his father, but he’s more analytical. He’s very, very bright. It’s like he says: ‘I’m a strategic thinker, but I’m not the huge, big-picture thinker like my dad was.’ If I was in his shoes, I’d be angry, too. He’s new here to the National Football League, and what happened was embarrassing. You don’t just want to win on the business side. You want to win on the football field, too. The football side is the most visible.”
Chiefs president/GM Peterson feels he has Hunt’s support
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MOBILE, Ala. | Carl Peterson has seen enough of Clark Hunt’s management style and heard enough of his ideas to form a strong opinion about the Chiefs and their future.
“He’s going to do very, very well with the Chiefs,” said Peterson, in Mobile this week for the Senior Bowl practices. “There’s no doubt in my mind. He’s a tremendous asset for this franchise.”
If Hunt eventually succeeds in reestablishing the Chiefs as a consistent Super Bowl contender, Peterson probably won’t be around to see it. Peterson’s contract as president and general manager runs for two more seasons, and Peterson indicated he intended to finish it.
“I’m not going to walk away and say somebody else can take care of it now,” he said. “That’s not being fair to Lamar, Norma, the four kids and particularly Clark, who’s been asked to be at the forefront of ownership.”
That’s assuming Hunt allows Peterson to finish his contract. Given Hunt’s public lack of support for Peterson during last week’s round of media interviews, that doesn’t appear to be a given.
Peterson seemed more amused than angry over Hunt’s remarks.
“I have not been informed of any changes,” Peterson said. “Did he say I was fired? Did he say my duties are going to be reduced? If not, then I’m not going to be concerned about it. I feel I have his support, absolutely, and I feel like I have the family’s support — all of them.”
Hunt said last week he didn’t think it appropriate to discuss Peterson’s future. He also indicated the main reason he didn’t fire Peterson was that he believed having to work with a new and unfamiliar general manager would harm coach Herm Edwards’ efforts to rebuild the Chiefs.
“That’s probably a pretty astute observation, since I’m the guy who hired Herm,” Peterson said.
Whether it’s in a year or two, the Chiefs will soon need someone new in charge of their daily business. Peterson said the operation may be too large for one person to handle.
“I’m not only the general manager,” he said. “I’m a little different from most of the general managers here. I wear three hats, and I’m responsible for the whole thing. I asked for that, and I got it. I’m involved in marketing and sales and budgets and competing in the National Football League with 31 other teams in much larger markets for fan base and properties and all the rest.
“When I leave, Clark may say, ‘I want a football guy and that’s all he’s going to do is football, and I want a business guy and all he’s going to do is the business side of it.’ This is a monster business, and it’s grown dramatically in my 19 years. When I walked in, we had 63 employees. Now we’ve got 157 full-time.”
The 2007 season was the Chiefs’ first full one with Hunt as their chairman. Though he retained Peterson and Edwards, Hunt left little doubt last week that changes would be coming if the Chiefs don’t improve from last season’s 4-12 record.
That position would be a departure from the one taken by Lamar Hunt, who died in December 2006. Lamar Hunt was an eternal optimist who always believed success for the Chiefs was right around the corner.
“I know how disappointing, excruciating, frustrating it was for him (Clark) to lose 12 games this year,” Peterson said. “It was for me, and I know it was for him. That’s never happened to me before. I got this job because the previous guy had lost that many games and had done it over a long period of time. I’m not just talking about Frank Gansz, but I’m also talking about Jack Steadman.
“Clark is a lot like his father, but he’s more analytical. He’s very, very bright. It’s like he says: ‘I’m a strategic thinker, but I’m not the huge, big-picture thinker like my dad was.’ If I was in his shoes, I’d be angry, too. He’s new here to the National Football League, and what happened was embarrassing. You don’t just want to win on the business side. You want to win on the football field, too. The football side is the most visible.”