Tribal Warfare
12-15-2008, 11:31 PM
The Past, Present, But Mostly The Future (http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/the-past-present-but-mostly-the-future.html#comment-8472)
December 15, 2008 - Bob Gretz |
I’m going to save many of my thoughts about Carl Peterson, the man and the myth, for a few days down the road.
Let’s focus on the present and future, because that’s what matters most in this situation the Chiefs are facing right now.
First, there are those in the pundit class that are selling this as a firing and that Peterson did not resign on his own accord. Clark Hunt says that’s not true, that the change came after several conversations between the men about Peterson’s future and the future of the team. If you don’t want to believe that, then you are calling Hunt a liar and the man has given no one any reason to ever doubt the veracity of his spoken word.
Peterson was leaving at the end of the 2009 season, so moving up the exit makes sense for the franchise. It also makes sense for the man. Spending a year as a lame duck leader just doesn’t sound like Carl Peterson.
Hunt has already begun a search for a new leader, actually leaders. Peterson’s dual role of president and general manager will be split into separate jobs. The president will handle the business end of the business. The GM will handle the football side.
The way Hunt talked Monday the new president is someone already involved in the franchise or at least with the family’s sporting interests. The new GM is going to be new to the Chiefs and not someone currently employed by the team. Hunt makes it plain he’s looking for some new ideas, a fresh look at the way the Chiefs go about the business of evaluating personnel and putting together a team.
Hunt wants somebody who has already done that before in some capacity for a winning franchise. This new man must be a shrewd evaluator of talent to be considered by Hunt. That’s always the No. 1 trait anybody seeks in a GM: the ability to know talent when he sees it on the field, whether it’s at college games or within the NFL ranks.
That means whoever the new GM is must have a track record of being able to evaluate players. The new GM must have a resume that shows he can create a football atmosphere that allows that talent to come together to create a winning team.
The GM will also have to be an effective leader, a good communicator and a person of integrity and honor. Those are Hunt’s words.
The names will soon start coming, appearing in the newspaper, on the Internet and spit out on sports talk radio. The rumor mill will burn long and loud in the coming weeks because this is a plum job in the NFL. Any football person would love to have the chance to work where there is ownership stability, with top-notch facilities and a city that cares about its team.
What Clark Hunt is searching for is available. That type of person is out there in the football world. He certainly was 20 years ago. What Clark seeks as the new leader of the Chiefs – talent evaluator, effective leader, communicator, integrity - sounds very much like the same things that his father was searching for in the fall and early winter of 1988.
When Lamar Hunt got done with the process, he found his man.
His name was Carl Peterson.
December 15, 2008 - Bob Gretz |
I’m going to save many of my thoughts about Carl Peterson, the man and the myth, for a few days down the road.
Let’s focus on the present and future, because that’s what matters most in this situation the Chiefs are facing right now.
First, there are those in the pundit class that are selling this as a firing and that Peterson did not resign on his own accord. Clark Hunt says that’s not true, that the change came after several conversations between the men about Peterson’s future and the future of the team. If you don’t want to believe that, then you are calling Hunt a liar and the man has given no one any reason to ever doubt the veracity of his spoken word.
Peterson was leaving at the end of the 2009 season, so moving up the exit makes sense for the franchise. It also makes sense for the man. Spending a year as a lame duck leader just doesn’t sound like Carl Peterson.
Hunt has already begun a search for a new leader, actually leaders. Peterson’s dual role of president and general manager will be split into separate jobs. The president will handle the business end of the business. The GM will handle the football side.
The way Hunt talked Monday the new president is someone already involved in the franchise or at least with the family’s sporting interests. The new GM is going to be new to the Chiefs and not someone currently employed by the team. Hunt makes it plain he’s looking for some new ideas, a fresh look at the way the Chiefs go about the business of evaluating personnel and putting together a team.
Hunt wants somebody who has already done that before in some capacity for a winning franchise. This new man must be a shrewd evaluator of talent to be considered by Hunt. That’s always the No. 1 trait anybody seeks in a GM: the ability to know talent when he sees it on the field, whether it’s at college games or within the NFL ranks.
That means whoever the new GM is must have a track record of being able to evaluate players. The new GM must have a resume that shows he can create a football atmosphere that allows that talent to come together to create a winning team.
The GM will also have to be an effective leader, a good communicator and a person of integrity and honor. Those are Hunt’s words.
The names will soon start coming, appearing in the newspaper, on the Internet and spit out on sports talk radio. The rumor mill will burn long and loud in the coming weeks because this is a plum job in the NFL. Any football person would love to have the chance to work where there is ownership stability, with top-notch facilities and a city that cares about its team.
What Clark Hunt is searching for is available. That type of person is out there in the football world. He certainly was 20 years ago. What Clark seeks as the new leader of the Chiefs – talent evaluator, effective leader, communicator, integrity - sounds very much like the same things that his father was searching for in the fall and early winter of 1988.
When Lamar Hunt got done with the process, he found his man.
His name was Carl Peterson.