Rank the Chiefs general managers from best to worst

[RealSNR]

Don Rossi (1960)
Jack Steadman (1961-1975)
Jim Schaaf (1976-1988)
Carl Peterson (1989-2008)
Scott Pioli (2009-2012)
John Dorsey (2013-2017)
Brett Veach (2017-present)

I think the old timers will be better at this than anybody under 40. Even if you know your Chiefs history pretty well, you can't always glean good information about something as nebulous as the general manager position, particularly since football wasn't as popular or nerdy back then as it is today.

I'll write my list in another post, but for now, I do want to point something out:

Clark Hunt is NOT anything like his dad.

He's a pretty good hands-on owner. We like to give him shit for caring more about soccer than the Chiefs, and those jokes are funny, but just look at that list and tell me what you notice about the tenure dates of each GM. It's pretty obvious that at some point the organization had a change in philosophy about the expectations for an NFL general manager.

[oldman]

It's really too early to judge Veach. I'm going to go with Steadman. Getting guys like Emmitt Thomas, Curly Culp, Buck, Mr. Willie Lanier, Lenny the Cool, and a host of others makes him a pretty good GM in my book. True enough he didn't have to worry about the salary cap and free agency. His problem was he let the team get old, much like Peterson.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Fuck Pioli.

[Best22]

Jim Schaaf got way too much time. 13 seasons, no playoff wins, no division titles

???

[dirk digler]

I would say:


1. Steadman
2. King Carl










3. Veach\Dorsey

[BWillie]

Carl is #1

Veach #1 if we get to Super Bowl.

[Reerun_KC]

4.Don Rossi (1960)
1.Jack Steadman (1961-1975)
Who? Jim Schaaf (1976-1988)
3.Carl Peterson (1989-2008)
Fuck Off. Scott Pioli (2009-2012)
Please Die. John Dorsey (2013-2017)
2.Brett Veach (2017-present)

[WilliamTheIrish]

Those 60's Chiefs were much less a product of one GM vs hiring Lloyd Wells who did ALL their scouting at historically black colleges.

He signed (or rather hid) Lanier, Bell, Buchanan. Curley Culp and Emmitt Thomas on defense and Otis Taylor at wide receiver.

[notorious]

Pioli literally forced a fan uprising against him.

We all actively spent time and money to get rid of him.

On top of all of that, the smug AIDStriot way was shoved down our throats.

He has to be the worst.

[RealSNR]

This is tough. All of these guys have some flaws, and the long-term guys each have some bad years. It's hard to view things objectively.

1. Jack Steadman- He DID basically build the Chiefs Super Bowl. It's always tough to go out on top when you're with a team for so long, so yeah... we probably remember his failures post-Super Bowl more than what he did before then. But... flags fly forever.

2. John Dorsey- Eesh. Am I biased towards recent history? Perhaps. But I look at his approach to talent acquisition, and I don't think any other GM on this list is close. Brett Veach could easily surpass him with another couple of good drafts. His shortcomings aside, I think he was the most consistent at bringing in good players among all of our GMs, and he finally got the monkey off our backs in terms of drafting a QB. I'll explain my rationale for tanking Carl below.

3. Brett Veach- Again... yes, this isn't as retrospective as it could be, and he's definitely had his fuckups, but they've been small enough that I believe his approach is going to keep this team in a mode of sustained success for a long period of time. Dorsey only gets the nod above him for officially pulling off the Mahomes trade and also for resurrecting the franchise so quickly

4. Carl Peterson- I have to. It's hypocritical of me to talk about the belief of sustained success with Veach and then turn up my nose at Carl. Carl IS responsible for bringing the team back from the infamy of Cleveland Browns-type drought. He sustained that success for 6-7 years. He was so close to pulling off magic multiple times. But the QB thing. His antiquated view towards building a team. It was painful once Marty left. The Vermeil drafts were disasters and forced us into a complete teardown during the Herm years, giving us 4-5 years of bottom-of-the-barrel losing. So much of my neuroses about the Chiefs and QBs and little man syndrome when it comes to other teams with star QBs comes from suffering through the bad parts of the Carl years.

5. Don Rossi- I was trying to think of the best place to put Chiefs GM purgatory. I think this is appropriate.

6. Jim Schaaf- I actually know nothing about him. The record does speak for itself-- I don't like him for the history he bestowed on my team, but I hadn't yet become a Chiefs fan when he was doing his thing. Maybe he was a bigger asshole than Pioli. Historians can correct me on this, but Lamar probably kept him for so long just because he never did anything to upset the apple cart?

7. Scott Pioli- Fuck Fat Scott. Forevermore. Again, I don't care if Schaaf was more or less incompetent than Scott. The fucking arrogance. The nepotism. It was remarkable how Scott could make a good decision and immediately follow it up with a million tiny bad ones that eventually caused the entire foundation of the team to fucking implode.

[RealSNR]

Those 60's Chiefs were much less a product of one GM vs hiring Lloyd Wells who did ALL their scouting at historically black colleges.

He signed (or rather hid) Lanier, Bell, Buchanan. Curley Culp and Emmitt Thomas on defense and Otis Taylor at wide receiver.

See... this is the kind of thing I know I've read about, but didn't know enough about to procure the information and factor it into my rankings.

Thanks!

[dirk digler]

This is tough. All of these guys have some flaws, and the long-term guys each have some bad years. It's hard to view things objectively.

1. Jack Steadman- He DID basically build the Chiefs Super Bowl. It's always tough to go out on top when you're with a team for so long, so yeah... we probably remember his failures post-Super Bowl more than what he did before then. But... flags fly forever.

2. John Dorsey- Eesh. Am I biased towards recent history? Perhaps. But I look at his approach to talent acquisition, and I don't think any other GM on this list is close. Brett Veach could easily surpass him with another couple of good drafts. His shortcomings aside, I think he was the most consistent at bringing in good players among all of our GMs, and he finally got the monkey off our backs in terms of drafting a QB. I'll explain my rationale for tanking Carl below.

3. Brett Veach- Again... yes, this isn't as retrospective as it could be, and he's definitely had his fuckups, but they've been small enough that I believe his approach is going to keep this team in a mode of sustained success for a long period of time. Dorsey only gets the nod above him for officially pulling off the Mahomes trade and also for resurrecting the franchise so quickly

4. Carl Peterson- I have to. It's hypocritical of me to talk about the belief of sustained success with Veach and then turn up my nose at Carl. Carl IS responsible for bringing the team back from the infamy of Cleveland Browns-type drought. He sustained that success for 6-7 years. He was so close to pulling off magic multiple times. But the QB thing. His antiquated view towards building a team. It was painful once Marty left. The Vermeil drafts were disasters and forced us into a complete teardown during the Herm years, giving us 4-5 years of bottom-of-the-barrel losing. So much of my neuroses about the Chiefs and QBs and little man syndrome when it comes to other teams with star QBs comes from suffering through the bad parts of the Carl years.

5. Don Rossi- I was trying to think of the best place to put Chiefs GM purgatory. I think this is appropriate.

6. Jim Schaaf- I actually know nothing about him. The record does speak for itself-- I don't like him for the history he bestowed on my team, but I hadn't yet become a Chiefs fan when he was doing his thing. Maybe he was a bigger asshole than Pioli. Historians can correct me on this, but Lamar probably kept him for so long just because he never did anything to upset the apple cart?

7. Scott Pioli- Fuck Fat Scott. Forevermore. Again, I don't care if Schaaf was more or less incompetent than Scott. The fucking arrogance. The nepotism. It was remarkable how Scott could make a good decision and immediately follow it up with a million tiny bad ones that eventually caused the entire foundation of the team to fucking implode.


As much as I hated Carl at times I can't see how you put him at #4. He built multiple SB caliber teams and yeah he didn't get the young franchise QB but he tried But he also sucked at it. He also brought us the GOAT QB for a couple of years. Some of that is not his fault as Marty didn't like young QB's that much either.

The problem with Carl was he stayed way to long but that really falls more on Lamar than Carl. Lamar should have let him go when they let Marty go and start fresh.

[O.city]

Whoever is last....SNR is worse

[NJChiefsFan]

My issue with Carl is that he never found a balance. Sick offense or sick defense. I think GM's show their skill when they can find balance. I also was not old enough to know the 80s. I became a fan in the mid 90s as a kid. So it's hard to have perspective. This is a tough one for somebody that wasn't alive for most of it.

I likely would respect Carl more had I been around to see what he brought us out of. I grew up in the middle of it and basically saw his arrogance and inability to build a rounded team.

[smithandrew051]

Burt Vitch is number 1.

Every other GM can go fuck himself.

[dirk digler]

My issue with Carl is that he never found a balance. Sick offense or sick defense. I think GM's show their skill when they can find balance. I also was not old enough to know the 80s. I became a fan in the mid 90s as a kid. So it's hard to have perspective. This is a tough one for somebody that wasn't alive for most of it.

I likely would respect Carl more had I been around to see what he brought us out of. I grew up in the middle of it and basically saw his arrogance and inability to build a rounded team.

That problem still continues for most teams in the salary cap era. I think the 97 team though was his best team and that was a SB caliber winning team. 93 was a great team also.

Up till the last couple of years with Mahomes the 90's era was the golden age of the Chiefs at least for me. It was also the most heart breaking so I have a love-hate relationship with Carl\Marty lol.

[Naptown Chief]

#1 chiefplanet.com

[srvy]

Bigfoot didnt build anything he was a businessman who kept Lamars finances and enterprises going.
Don Klosterman was lured away from the Chargers in less than 2 years the Duke of Del Ray had set the foundation along with Stram. Big foot disliked him and he and KC ran him out back to his California. Jack Bigfoot Steadman was a dick.

typed with my trusty nose picker using Tapatalk

[Otter]

Scott Peeholie and Herman Edwards should have to take turns beating Matt Casshole to death with wiffle ball bats by the bottom of his feet while Matt is hung upside down from a rafter. Whoever gets in the death blow on Matt is given a clean death.

[rabblerouser]

I know Pioli is the worst. Ever.

[Spott]

I don’t remember anyone before Carl, but I’m guessing that Schaaf must have been the worst followed by Pioli. King Carl definitely turned the franchise around, at least for a decade or so. I would guess Steadman first, CP and then Dorsey. Too early to tell on Veach although he’s definitely off to a great start.

[Flying High D]

Used dog shit > Pisshole

[farmerchief]

Bigfoot didnt build anything he was a businessman who kept Lamars finances and enterprises going.
Don Klosterman was lured away from the Chargers in less than 2 years the Duke of Del Ray had set the foundation along with Stram. Big foot disliked him and he and KC ran him out back to his California. Jack Bigfoot Steadman was a dick.

typed with my trusty nose picker using Tapatalk
My memory of Steadman echos yours! I was glad when he was no longer involved with the Chiefs!

[Rain Man]

As much as I hated Carl at times I can't see how you put him at #4. He built multiple SB caliber teams and yeah he didn't get the young franchise QB but he tried But he also sucked at it. He also brought us the GOAT QB for a couple of years. Some of that is not his fault as Marty didn't like young QB's that much either.

The problem with Carl was he stayed way to long but that really falls more on Lamar than Carl. Lamar should have let him go when they let Marty go and start fresh.

I would contend that Carl never tried to get a young franchise QB. He brought in Deberg and Krieg and Montana and Bono and Grbac and Gannon. Unless you count Grbac as an attempt at a young franchise QB, I don't see anyone who would even come close.

[FloridaMan88]

Fat Scott is by far the worst.

[Rain Man]

I think it's hard to compare guys before the salary cap to guys after the salary cap. I really don't know what a GM did before the salary cap. I guess they signed guys to contracts, but it was really more about spending the owner's money appropriately than about juggling contracts and cap space. I'm not sure that GMs were really that important back in the old days, other than maybe a short time during the AFL-NFL bidding wars.

[dirk digler]

I would contend that Carl never tried to get a young franchise QB. He brought in Deberg and Krieg and Montana and Bono and Grbac and Gannon. Unless you count Grbac as an attempt at a young franchise QB, I don't see anyone who would even come close.


Yeah I was counting Grbac as an attempt. The ones he drafted (Blundin, Barnes, Croyle) all sucked.

[Bowser]

Dammit Carl!

:cuss:
















the classics never disappoint

[WilliamTheIrish]

See... this is the kind of thing I know I've read about, but didn't know enough about to procure the information and factor it into my rankings.

Thanks!

LLoyd Wells was the guy who got Jim Kearney to come from the Lions to the Chiefs. He signed Mack Lee Hill, Supergnat Nolan Smith, Warren Mcvea, Frank Pitts, Bobby Holmes in addition to all our defensive HOF'ers. All those guys contributed to the Chiefs success in the AFL and the Super Bowl.

He was extremely well known in Houston, was all about social justice and opening doors for players. Not just in football. He got Elvin Hayes into Houston University to play basketball. And got David Lattin to Texas Western to play for Don Haskins when they beat Kentucky in 1966 for the NCAA title.

In real life, he was actually a professional photographer. I heard a lot about him when I went to a medical convention in Houston back in the 90's. I got to speak with some Ortho physicians and we got to talking about the AFL as I had an old Chiefs cap on.

He was a really admirable man.

[Deberg_1990]

I think it's hard to compare guys before the salary cap to guys after the salary cap. I really don't know what a GM did before the salary cap. I guess they signed guys to contracts, but it was really more about spending the owner's money appropriately than about juggling contracts and cap space. I'm not sure that GMs were really that important back in the old days, other than maybe a short time during the AFL-NFL bidding wars.

Yeah I was counting Grbac as an attempt. The ones he drafted (Blundin, Barnes, Croyle) all sucked.

Everyone kinda forgets he drafted Mike Elkins with a high 2nd in 1989 his first draft.

But Elkins was easy to forget....i dont think he ever started a game??

[Chiefshrink]

It's really too early to judge Veach. I'm going to go with Steadman. Getting guys like Emmitt Thomas, Curly Culp, Buck, Mr. Willie Lanier, Lenny the Cool, and a host of others makes him a pretty good GM in my book. True enough he didn't have to worry about the salary cap and free agency. His problem was he let the team get old, much like Peterson.

And how do we really know who called the shots between Hank and himself? We don't.

[Chiefshrink]

LLoyd Wells was the guy who got Jim Kearney to come from the Lions to the Chiefs. He signed Mack Lee Hill, Supergnat Nolan Smith, Warren Mcvea, Frank Pitts, Bobby Holmes in addition to all our defensive HOF'ers. All those guys contributed to the Chiefs success in the AFL and the Super Bowl.

He was extremely well known in Houston, was all about social justice and opening doors for players. Not just in football. He got Elvin Hayes into Houston University to play basketball. And got David Lattin to Texas Western to play for Don Haskins when they beat Kentucky in 1966 for the NCAA title.

In real life, he was actually a professional photographer. I heard a lot about him when I went to a medical convention in Houston back in the 90's. I got to speak with some Ortho physicians and we got to talking about the AFL as I had an old Chiefs cap on.

He was a really admirable man.

BINGO !!

[rabblerouser]

Everyone kinda forgets he drafted Mike Elkins with a high 2nd in 1989 his first draft.

But Elkins was easy to forget....i dont think he ever started a game??

Mike Elkins has 5 career passing yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT for a whopping 16.7 QBR.

****, I could do that, today. Right now.

The 1989 draft is better remembered for other players, like DT, Robb Thomas, and Todd McNair.

[Bump]

imagine putting Scott Pioli above literally anybody.

[milkshock]

As I understand it Steadman still pulled a lot of the strings up to King Carl’s arrival. Which means he should be way down the list.

[srvy]

Here is a interesting article on Don Klosterman and his short stint with KC and being key in being architect of the superbowl IV chiefs.

https://kckingdom.com/2014/04/16/kansas-city-chiefs-super-bowl-architect-don-klosterman/

[gblowfish]

Here's my best to worst, and why:

#1 Carl Peterson: Although he never got us to a Super Bowl (Only Steadman did that, and not really) he pulled the Chiefs out of sixteen years of doormat status. First pick was Derrick Thomas. Got Marty to come to KC. Bad side was his arrogance (King Carl), dealing with agents on high draft picks, proclivity for San Francisco cast off QBs and not developing our own guy. Still he was the LTGMIPS when Clark finally whacked him. Chiefs kingdom and Arrowhead would not be what it is now without him. Carl was certainly not perfect. Picking Gunther as a head coach was the beginning of the end. But we did get one game away from the Super Bowl in 1993. Only guy to get that close since Carl was Veach last year.

#2: John Dorsey: Great judge of talent, bad with math. Really F'ed up our salary cap situation, but made several shrewd picks. Brought some of Green Bay's front office knowledge to KC and worked pretty well with Andy. If Clark were more like his dad, he'd probably still be the GM here.

#3: Brett Veach: Jury still out because of his short tenure, but so far has shown an ability to aggressively get guys he wants. He was the driving force to get the Chiefs to trade up to get Mahomes. Every player he drafted this year has contributed. He started out as a lackey for Reid, now works side by side with him, although you could make a good argument that Reid is the actual GM, and Veach is a puppet. When Andy retires, Veach will be the made man.

#4: Jack Steadman: He's in the Chiefs Ring of Honor, and that's a travesty IMHO. Steadman was Lamar's roommate in college, and didn't know shit about football talent. All the glory years draft decisions were made by Stram and Lloyd Wells. Steadman was a blatant racist in the 1960's. Read up on the letter Steadman sent to Abner Haynes on behalf of the Chiefs when Haynes protested the AFL All Star game being played in the deep south, and the player accommodations were segregated. Steadman traded him to Denver for being "an uppity troublemaker." He softened his stance later when black players started helping the Chiefs win (thanks to Stram and Wells). Steadman had to beg Lamar to move him out of the GM role, because he didn't know squat about the football side. He oversaw the business stuff of building Arrowhead, then spent more time developing Worlds of Fun than the Chiefs after the Super Bowl win. Chiefs being awful from 1971 till he stepped down was all on him. Team was on auto-pilot, everybody got old and there was a massive talent drain. Go back and look at those early 1970's drafts. They were pitiful. He was a product of Lamar being loyal to friends to the detriment of the company. He ruined at least 10 years of Chiefs football for me as a young man.

#5: Don Rossi: One year and done. Not long of a record to do much harm or good. Texans were up against the Cowboys, not sure if Rossi quit or was bumped out by Lamar. I'll have to study up on him.

#6: Jim Schaaf: Ruined my 20's. Was responsible for Bill Kenney being Chiefs QB. Was responsible for the Blackledge draft disaster in 1983. Only great offensive player was Delaney, who died tragically. Chiefs had great defenses during this era, but would always go Oh for October, then win just enough games in December to screw up their draft choice. Mediocre was as good as they could get. Saw many 20,000 fan crowds in Arrowhead during this regime. Let Marv Levy get away after the NFL strike. Levy left here and took Buffalo to four Super Bowls. We got John Mackovic instead. Good riddance.

#7: Scott Pee-holi: Only got the job because he lived off Hoodie's reputation in New England, and because the Big Tuna was his Father in Law. Toxic mixture with Haley; paranoid, micro manager, focused on shit like candy wrappers in the hallway. Oversaw the Belcher murder/suicide and starting QBs like Croyle, Quinn, Thiggy, Huard and the infamous Tyler Palko. Silver lining is Clark learned a valuable lesson, and didn't let a bad situation get worse.

[Boon]

Used dog shit > Pisshole

Truth.
Mother f***** = shit
He sucks the big one.