Before he was promoted to GM, Brett Veach put Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs’ radar

[DaneMcCloud]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article168028227.html

Before he was promoted to GM, Brett Veach put Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs’ radar

BY TEREZ A. PAYLOR

When the Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, then-general manager John Dorsey proudly declared it an organizational decision, one that everyone in the front office got behind. New general manager Brett Veach, it turns out, was among those who spearheaded that effort, as coach Andy Reid recently identified him as the one who initially put Mahomes on his and Dorsey’s radar. “He kind of brought him to John and I’s attention — he was all in on this guy,” Reid said. “That was his guy, and he said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to look at this guy and just see him.’

“He wore John and I out about him.”

If Mahomes — who has had a strong camp — develops into the quarterback the Chiefs think he can be, he’ll be added to the long list of Veach recommendations who ended up becoming good NFL players. “If he brings you (a player) and he’s that sold on him, you better take a look at him,” Reid said. “He’s brought to me (guys) like DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Fletcher Cox — all these guys, and it was early, before anybody really had a beat on it. “And (back then) … I’m going, ‘Wow, he’s got kind of a knack for this thing.’” A solid scouting eye, along with organization and communication, were the traits Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt emphasized during his two-week search after firing Dorsey.

One month into his tenure, Hunt has no regrets about his decision to replace Dorsey with Veach, his former co-director of player personnel. “I’ll say I’m just very pleased with the job that he’s doing,” Hunt said. “I think he’s brought a lot of maturity and stability to the job … I think (Dorsey and Veach) bring a lot of the same skill sets, but they’re not going to go about their business in the same way.”

There are two other reasons Hunt is optimistic the move will work. Reid’s trust in Veach and Veach’s relationships with the Chiefs’ personnel and scouting staffs, which are regarded as two of the league’s strongest. As their co-worker since 2013, he has intimate knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. That knowledge could prove to be critical because Veach ultimately will be judged by how well he matches Dorsey’s undeniably strong draft record. “Anytime you have a change, you’re concerned about that change and maybe it disrupting the apple cart,” Hunt said. “But that’s not been the case with Brett.” That’s not to say Reid and Veach won’t disagree sometimes. Though Veach is 19 years younger than Reid, he says Veach is not shy about voicing his opinion.

“That’s the name of the game — the communication part of it and talking,” Reid said. “Listen, that’s not the job I want to do. That’s not where I’m at. But if you give me somebody, I’m gonna tell you what to look at, I’m gonna tell you what I think. And if you stand up on the table for him, I’m open. When we’re doing it the way we do it, I’m watching two or three games and between Dorse and Brett, they were watching every game.” Veach got his NFL start in Philadelphia, where he learned from then-general manager Tom Heckert. Veach also credits ex-Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was the Eagles’ director of college scouting, for teaching him to care about road scouts, who work long, lonely hours and need a good boss to keep their morale high.

“You’re on the road, you’re away from your family for 16 or 17 days, and you’re not living in Kansas City but you are as big a part as anybody in regards to the success on the field and you feel detached,” Veach said. “So you have to make sure those guys realize how important they are … you have to have things in place during the course of the year to show them they are important.” Once in Kansas City, Veach learned Ron Wolf’s time-tested, long and arduous process of scouting prospects from Dorsey, who held long, multi-week evaluation sessions with the Chiefs’ college scouting department. They would get together in a room, grind through the tape and reach a consensus about their entire draft board, and Veach saw how well that process — which isn’t standard across the league — led to the Chiefs’ 43-21 record under Dorsey. “I think when you do a 17-day process and you watch everybody all at once, then you go out on the pro-day circuit and come back and watch tape for 14 more days, then take a break and come back for three or four days to put your board together, it really enables the room to develop that buy-in and say ‘this is our guy,’” Veach said.

That process is not exactly foolproof, though. When the staff gathers for those evaluation sessions, the group’s opinion on a player can be swayed by multiple factors, including a scout’s forcefulness or meekness, his tendency to grade harshly or lightly or even his ability to evaluate by position, which is hardly uniform. But that’s the benefit to being in those sessions with Dorsey. Veach knows all his scout’s strengths and weaknesses already, which he can factor into the decision-making process without a learning curve. “You only know that with time and familiarity,” Veach said. Which is why Hunt is betting that Veach’s possession of both in Kansas City will keep the Chiefs a consistent winner in 2017 and beyond. “I’ve been very impressed with the job he’s done over the last month,” Hunt said. “But the truth is his impact is going to happen over two or three years, not over any four- or six-week period.”

[notorious]

Best news I have heard in a long time.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Saw that, wow.

The promotion makes all the more sense now. Perhaps there was some fear within the FO that Veach was a guy we just couldn't afford to lose, along with the reasons for Dorsey being fired.

[thegame214]

Hunts comments are pretty telling....

[DaFace]

Oohh...that's a juicy one.

[rico]

Wow. Good shit.

[siberian khatru]

“I’ll say I’m just very pleased with the job that he’s doing,” Hunt said. “I think he’s brought a lot of maturity and stability to the job … I think (Dorsey and Veach) bring a lot of the same skill sets, but they’re not going to go about their business in the same way.”

Ouch

[penbrook]

Ouch

Hunt running the bus over Dorsey. Hopefully Veach doesn't leave voicemails when he releases a player

[Fish]

That's encouraging...

[thegame214]

Ouch

Exactly what I thought lol

[staylor26]

:whackit:

[penbrook]

So I don't want to hear people say that we made a bad decision in hiring Veach. In fact we should be bowing down to him. If Veach isn't here who knows if we draft Mahomes or not

[RealSNR]

Everybody knows Hunt really fired Dorsey because Dorsey went over the head of Andy Reid, who never wanted Mahomes /BlackOp

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Our new GM prioritized upgrading the QB position through the draft... with the guy we almost unanimously wanted on here. :D

[DaFace]

Our new GM prioritized upgrading the QB position through the draft... with the guy we almost unanimously wanted on here. :D

I have a confession. I'm Brett Veach.

[Rasputin]

I've been impressed with Veach and his personality from his interviews and his demeanor. I like him better than Dorsey in these regards he doesn't seem to talk down to us like he is better than us and he has some wit in response to tough questions.

[DaneMcCloud]

I've been impressed with Veach and his personality from his interviews and his demeanor. I like him better than Dorsey in these regards he doesn't seem to talk down to us like he is better than us and he has some wit in response to tough questions.

Did you have a chance to meet or happen to hear him speak while you were at TC?

[Rasputin]

Did you have a chance to meet or happen to hear him speak while you were at TC?

I saw him thirty yards in front of me. They let some fans on the field special VIP or random fans out there to get on the fields to watch closer and he went over and talked to them, I thought it was cool of him. He had a one armed guy with him don't have a clue who he was but he followed Veach around. I can tell you he has some thick calves he must really work out :eek: bring him in for a look?

[BlackOp]

Everybody knows Hunt really fired Dorsey because Dorsey went over the head of Andy Reid, who never wanted Mahomes /BlackOp

I never said that...I said he wasn't upfront with Reid about the financial implications of signing Logan...which led to Maclin having to be released.

It must take a lot of effort to be wrong about everything...it's kind of a gift in a way...a "shit-gift" that unfortunately keeps giving. Some say the Gods smile on certain people...they definitely frowned on your dumb ass.

[DaneMcCloud]

I never said that...I said he wasn't upfront with Reid about the financial implications of signing Logan...which led to Maclin having to be released.

And once again, that, in and of itself, is absolutely silly speculation.

Logan was signed on March 15th, after they declined to extend or re-sign Poe. Howard was cut, unexpectedly, on April 22nd. Maclin was cut after seeing progress from the receiving corp during OTA's and Minicamps.

The way in which Maclin was released was the final straw for Hunt.

[OnTheWarpath15]

That was a big ass bus Clark was driving that just plowed over Dorsey.

I love it.

[BlackOp]

And once again, that, in and of itself, is absolutely silly speculation.


That and math....numbers dont lie. What about not being able afford to sign their picks is hard to understand? Dorsey cut Maclin..pretty much under the table at the last possible moment. Unless you believe they were going to come up with millions in cap space out of wishful thinking...

Did you forget how pissed Reid was during the presser right after?

[RealSNR]

I never said that...I said he wasn't upfront with Reid about the financial implications of signing Logan...which led to Maclin having to be released.

It must take a lot of effort to be wrong about everything...it's kind of a gift in a way...a "shit-gift" that unfortunately keeps giving. Some say the Gods smile on certain people...they definitely frowned on your dumb ass.

How am I wrong? You constantly make shit up, thinking you know the "inside story" that nobody else fucking does.

[jettio]

I just realized that Veach is from Mt. Carmel, PA, a town in the Anthracite coal region where my dad was born and raised. Makes me proud and hope he does a great job. I am surprised at how glad I am to know that.

I really like how the roster improved under Dorsey, and hope he has future success, but Veach is my guy now that I know his story. :thumb:

[Hammock Parties]

At TC Veach stopped to talk to me and two friends and literally said "two years in the making" and pointed at my Mahomes shirt.

[JakeF]

Unless Mahomes is a bust, then it was all Dorsey's idea.

[notorious]

At TC Veach stopped to talk to me and two friends and literally said "two years in the making" and pointed at my Mahomes shirt.

Did you blow him kisses?

[pugsnotdrugs19]

At TC Veach stopped to talk to me and two friends and literally said "two years in the making" and pointed at my Mahomes shirt.

Makes perfect sense now. Veach brought his gatherings on Mahomes to Andy and Dorsey two years ago.

[BlackOp]

Unless Mahomes is a bust, then it was all Dorsey's idea.

I noticed that too...."winning hearts and minds" like a good little PR department. If Mahomes looked like dogshit..this article isn't written.

Interesting how the press can mold and shape public perception...I'm withholding an opinion until a few drafts are in the books. Veach has his work cut out....

[Nickhead]

annnnnnnnd the hooooooooooome of the veaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaach! :D

[penbrook]

Makes perfect sense now. Veach brought his gatherings on Mahomes to Andy and Dorsey two years ago.

Veach should get all of the credit not Dorsey on the Mahomes selection. Veach has found talents such as Fletcher cox, Desean Jackson, and Lesean McCoy and now he might of found another gem in Mahomes

[Simply Red]

At TC Veach stopped to talk to me and two friends and literally said "two years in the making" and pointed at my Mahomes shirt.

was he cute!!??

[Hammock Parties]

was he cute!!??

He was kinda jacked. I got a proto-Haley vibe from him.

[KChiefs1]

Veach is a Mahomo too!!!!!

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

At TC Veach stopped to talk to me and two friends and literally said "two years in the making" and pointed at my Mahomes shirt.

Did jizz slide down your leg ?

[Nickhead]

Did jizz slide down your leg ?

gonna critique his form now? :D

[Easy 6]

Ok man, I'm about 90% sold now

Great read, a real boner maker

[NJChiefsFan]

So I don't want to hear people say that we made a bad decision in hiring Veach. In fact we should be bowing down to him. If Veach isn't here who knows if we draft Mahomes or not

Have you heard anyone say it was a bad decision?

[penbrook]

Have you heard anyone say it was a bad decision?

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

[Rasputin]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

Not everyone. I never said it was a terrible decision I just wanted to learn more about him and make up my own mind. I did and I think he will be outstanding GM for a long time and get to pick his coach after Andy Retires from winning his fourth Super Bowl in the next 8 years.



:drool:
:whackit:

[DaneMcCloud]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

Uh, no

[PHOG]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM
Nope.

[Easy 6]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

As initial reactions go, it was PERFECTLY understandable

[The Franchise]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

You're a fucking idiot.

And you cried when they fired Dorsey.

[penbrook]

You're a ****ing idiot.

And you cried when they fired Dorsey.

No I didn't! I pointed out how he fucked up the cap

[Tombstone RJ]

lol, fluff piece...

[Ming the Merciless]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

No they didn't you ****ing gas bag

The thing many had a problem with was timing.....and it coming as a surprise.

I doubt there were more than a handfull of actual veach haters

[Shaid]

This makes me feel so much better about no longer having Dorsey. Good stuff.

[Sandy Vagina]

This makes me feel so much better about no longer having Dorsey. Good stuff.

maybe. What if Dorsey didn't want to commit to the GM role offered because he was... less.. optimistic of Mahomes? and didn't want to anchor himself to those chances?

Hunt still did the right thing... just sayin..

( time to pull a Sweet Pussy Hate, and run pissing self )

http://media.giphy.com/media/diFGQ764z68Xm/giphy.gif

[Rasputin]

maybe. What if Dorsey didn't want to commit to the GM role offered because he was... less.. optimistic of Mahomes? and didn't want to anchor himself to those chances?

Hunt still did the right thing... just sayin..

( time to pull a Sweet Pussy Hate, and run pissing self )

http://media.giphy.com/media/diFGQ764z68Xm/giphy.gif

This is a dumb statement Dorsey was all over the Mahomes pick and I think even was trying to hoard all the credit and Hunt was like wait a minute Veach had every bit of bringing Mahomes to light. So Hunt recognized value in Veach over Dorsey and Dorsey was a bit arrogant and I think in a way like Pioli and Hunt grew tired of how Dorsey was conducting business including the cap and how he handled players getting cut via phone message.


Any one can spin it how they want but ever since the Belche incident Clark Hunt has been hands on and in touch with his franchise and even more so than his daddy ever was. Clark is the boss if you don't please your boss to expectations then your gonna get fired.

[NJChiefsFan]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

Your memory of the timing is way off. People were pissed about how the Ballard and Dorsey stuff was handled. People weren't mad when Veach himself was announced and there is a huge difference in that timeline versus yours.

Nobody was mad that Veach was hired. People were pissed about how it was handled and that we waited until after Ballard left to decide if Dorsey was the guy.

If Ballard was here during the Dorsey firing he would be the GM. Veach is the guy because Clark did things ass backwards. Now this may work out. Everything that has been said about Veach and everything he does seems very promising. I certainly would prefer both Veach and Ballard in the front office instead of going from 3 great personel guys to 1.

The anger had everything to do with feelings about Dorsey and about Ballard. It was never a negative feeling towards Veach.

[Buehler445]

I hope all of that is true. But it sounds kind of like the old training camp blowing rainbows up everybody's ass. Kind of like how Squirmin Herman Motherfucking Sack of Chnt Edwards was going to fix the defense and stay out of the offense. (Fuck that fucking guy). Kind of forming the narrative to support your decision.

Hopefully it's not though. There isn't much out there for contrarian evidence (Like there was with Squirmin Herman Motherfucking Sack of Cunt Edwards).

And hopefully Veach can fix some of the holes with the effectiveness Dorsey did with the secondary and DL. If he could fine a cheap edge rusher and pass catcher we will be a pretty tough team to beat.

Ouch

Yeah I read that when I posted the interview it's from. Yikes. Hopefully Clark didn't fire the best GM we've had since the 60s because of a few tough edges.

[HemiEd]

Everyone on CP were saying this was a terrible decision when Veach was first announced as the Chiefs GM

what?

[rico]

maybe. What if Dorsey didn't want to commit to the GM role offered because he was... less.. optimistic of Mahomes? and didn't want to anchor himself to those chances?

Hunt still did the right thing... just sayin..

( time to pull a Sweet Pussy Hate, and run pissing self )

http://media.giphy.com/media/diFGQ764z68Xm/giphy.gif

If this is the case, John Dorsey was one helluvan actor in the war room when they drafted him...and the guy doesn't strike me as a good actor....kind of like how you don't strike me as a Chiefs fan, prag.

[BossChief]

Beach isn't a very big guy... I tried to get a couple words in with him, but couldn't...

[milkman]

Life is a fluffy Veach.

[Sandy Vagina]

If this is the case, John Dorsey was one helluvan actor in the war room when they drafted him...and the guy doesn't strike me as a good actor....kind of like how you don't strike me as a Chiefs fan, prag.

By yours and many other definitions here, I am definitively not a Chiefs fan.. so there you go. I just want the Chiefs to win it all, have a strong knowledge of their personnel and recent history, and have a strong interest in how all of the players and coaches do as the years unfold.

Not a life-long Chiefs fan from here on, probably, but we'll see. No marriage plans in mind or in place.

[Rasputin]

Beach isn't a very big guy... I tried to get a couple words in with him, but couldn't...

Oh wow the Solar Eclipse must be happening cover your eyes

[NJChiefsFan]

Not a life-long Chiefs fan from here on, probably, but we'll see. No marriage plans in mind or in place.

I don't get this and never will. A huge part of enjoying my team winning is knowing that I don't pick and choose so it makes the winning more unique. Part of being a fan is sticking around through the thick and thin. Like my 9ers fan is currently doing.

To each their own I guess but yeah, to me and my definition of a fan, this is not kosher.

[Hammock Parties]

Beach isn't a very big guy... I tried to get a couple words in with him, but couldn't...

You have to be a celebrity like me to talk to him....special privilege, bud.

I hope he's our Napoleon. A little short dude who fucks up everyone and everything around him on his way to becoming the motherfucking Emperor.

[CaliforniaChief]

I can't embed the video, but I noticed a really odd interchange between Dorsey and Hunt at 1:15 (a little after) in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-kdAdBOlH8

[saphojunkie]

I can't embed the video, but I noticed a really odd interchange between Dorsey and Hunt at 1:15 (a little after) in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-kdAdBOlH8

I didn't need to watch it again, but I did. It's like chalmers hitting the three in 08. I can watch it over and over and over.

[MahiMike]

Seems fishy.

[Ming the Merciless]

By yours and many other definitions here, I am definitively not a Chiefs fan.. so there you go. I just want the Chiefs to win it all, have a strong knowledge of their personnel and recent history, and have a strong interest in how all of the players and coaches do as the years unfold.

Not a life-long Chiefs fan from here on, probably, but we'll see. No marriage plans in mind or in place.

You're also a lying sack of shit as you have no actual Interest in the chiefs winning. The only thing you care about is Alex. Period. If Alex got benched you would suddenly lose interest in the chiefs winning...and root AGAINST Mahomes. Everyone knows this.

[Hoover]

Well this certainly makes me feel better, and now its a bit easier to see how things went down. If Mahomes was/is Veach's guy then I want him to be the GM. When you draft a talent like this its not a one year commitment, we need to keep invensting in Mahomes by putting the right peices around him. Doresy was outstanding on the defensive side of the ball, but frankly was always amazed at how the Chiefs avoided offensive players in the draft considering Reid was our HC. Fisher was the only big investment in the office we have made throught the draft. Kelce is a stud, but was a third rounder, and Hill was a 5th round pick. Those picks are amazing, but the focus of our future drafts need to now skew to the offensive side of the ball now that we have drafted our franchise QB.

[bevischief]

I have a confession. I'm Brett Veach.

ROFL

[chiefzilla1501]

I hope all of that is true. But it sounds kind of like the old training camp blowing rainbows up everybody's ass. Kind of like how Squirmin Herman Mother****ing Sack of Chnt Edwards was going to fix the defense and stay out of the offense. (**** that ****ing guy). Kind of forming the narrative to support your decision.

Hopefully it's not though. There isn't much out there for contrarian evidence (Like there was with Squirmin Herman Mother****ing Sack of **** Edwards).

And hopefully Veach can fix some of the holes with the effectiveness Dorsey did with the secondary and DL. If he could fine a cheap edge rusher and pass catcher we will be a pretty tough team to beat.



Yeah I read that when I posted the interview it's from. Yikes. Hopefully Clark didn't fire the best GM we've had since the 60s because of a few tough edges.

On the flip side, firing a GM is a good excuse to distance yourself from a pick or to act neutral (then in the future blame the pick on Dorsey). That they are going out of the way to give Veach credit is a really great sign that they love what they see from Mahomes so far.