watermock
03-26-2007, 01:22 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/images/kansascity/kansascitystar/news/peterson_and_hunt_03-25-2007_H0RGEG6.jpg
The spin and self-delusion in this article is gut splitting to the point of tears.
What's with the Cosa Nostra look with King Karl as well? Clark looks like he graduated from special ed.
Carl Peterson has been with the organization for a long time, and we have some continuity of having a head coach in his second year.
:spit:
Herm Edwards joined the Chiefs last year as head coach. He said the tone of his routine postgame discussions with ownership varied little whether the Chiefs won or lost or whether he spoke with Lamar or Clark.
!Booya!
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
DAVID EULITT | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) is maintaining the franchise’s stability, which means president/GM Carl Peterson will be sticking around awhile.
PHOENIX | Clark Hunt has been in charge for more than three months, and he is deeply disappointing those who might be waiting for the Chiefs to veer off the course set by his father.
He’s no Dan Snyder, the reactive Washington owner who orders and pays for a revamped roster after each losing season.
He’s no Jerry Jones, who in Dallas plays de facto general manager, acquiring players even when it’s against the advice of his coach.
We already suspected that of Lamar Hunt’s son. What we perhaps didn’t know is that Hunt appears content to make no immediate imprint.
He certainly isn’t doing things typical of new owners, like planning a uniform change. A traditionalist like his father, Lamar, Hunt wants the Chiefs to look much the same as they have since their arrival in Kansas City more than 40 years ago.
The NFL’s annual meetings begin today, and they will be the first for the Chiefs since the death of their founder in December. Lamar Hunt did skip a couple of such gatherings in recent years because of his failing health.
Word is already out about the new guy, who really isn’t that new. Clark Hunt has been groomed for this moment for years.
The league’s 31 teams will find the Chiefs operating much the same as ever. If you didn’t already know about the change at the top in Kansas City, you won’t discover it this week — or probably anytime soon.
“Clark has been involved for a while now. It’s not like he’s a rookie,” Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said. “I’ve had a lot of exposure to him. I’ve sat next to him in quite a few meetings. Our teams play each other two times every year. He’s got a lot of the same qualities his father did.
“I don’t think it could be any more seamless for Kansas City. The Chiefs will continue to get great leadership. Clark fits right in. I didn’t see any difference in the Chiefs’ situation or their position on matters.”
It was carefully planned that way, of course, crafted during long family discussions as the Hunts plotted the course of the franchise after Lamar was no longer involved. The pendulum of control had been swinging slowly but surely from Lamar to Clark over the last several years.
Any natural tendency there might be for a new owner to put his mark on things has been stifled. Whatever changes there might be are subtle.
“We have a lot of stability on the football side of the business,” Hunt said, indicating president/general manager Carl Peterson will continue to run the football operation for at least another three years, when his contract expires.
“ There’s not a whole lot different on that front. You need to have talented football people running the football side of the operation. If you look around the NFL, owners who get too involved in the football side tend to do more harm than good.”
That sounds like something Lamar would have said, and it’s not his only touch that still pervades the owner’s suite at Arrowhead Stadium.
The timing of the Chiefs’ decision to investigate the selling of Arrowhead’s naming rights, coming closely on the heels of Lamar’s death, makes it appear to be Clark’s idea.
But the discussions originated years ago. Arrowhead will remain as part of the stadium’s name, something the traditionalist in Lamar believed in.
Peterson consults with Clark Hunt, as he did with Lamar, before making major contract and draft decisions. He must get Hunt’s approval to trade away draft picks.
“Clark has never said no to me specific to contracts or any of that,” Peterson said. “I don’t anticipate that. I’m keeping him abreast of exactly what we’re doing and what we’re spending and why we’re spending it, as I did with his father.”
Lamar Hunt was famous — or infamous to many Chiefs fans — for his patience. It was legendary, with Hunt sticking with losing administrations for long periods in the last half of the 1970s and most of the ’80s.
He steadfastly backed Peterson since his hiring in 1989. While the Chiefs have consistently filled Arrowhead and had their on-field successes, they’ve been unable to get to a Super Bowl under Peterson and haven’t won a playoff game in 13 years.
“I would say if you put my father out on one end of the patience scale and I’ll let you pick your favorite owner to put on the other end of the scale, I’m certainly closer to my father at his end,” Hunt said. “I wouldn’t be at the midpoint of the scale. I’d be somewhere between the midpoint and my father.
“I think a lot of his patience as it relates to his sports franchises was born from experience in watching too many owners and too many teams change their coaching staff or their football personnel too frequently. It’s a business that lends itself to a certain level of continuity. He just felt that continuity had a better chance of paying off in terms of success on the field than changing your staff or people every couple of years.
“Our philosophies are very much alike on that point.”
But Hunt also said he has cranked up the pressure on Peterson, minus any ultimatums or threats, for the Chiefs to advance deeper into the playoffs.
If the change in ownership manifests itself in any way for Peterson, this might be it. Faithful encouragement, even in the darkest of times, was Lamar’s favorite — and perhaps only — motivational tactic.
Peterson recalled the difficult periods immediately after home playoff losses that followed recent 13-3 seasons. Each time, fuming at himself over whatever role he might have played in the failure, Peterson went to visit Lamar Hunt.
Hunt offered nothing but support.
“Does Clark have that same perspective?” Peterson said. “I guess we’ll find out. But up to this point, he’s never expressed anything to me different than what his father did.”
“Even after we lost or we went through that losing streak toward the end of the season, it was always, ‘We’re going to be OK.’ That’s what’s great about him,” Edwards said. “He learned from his dad. What helps, too, is that he was an athlete. He understands that stuff. You work hard so (losing streaks don’t) happen, but sometimes they happen.”
Lamar Hunt wasn’t just an advocate of revenue-sharing among NFL teams, but he invented the concept as it related to TV money in the old AFL, which he founded along with the Chiefs.
But he often deferred to the wishes of the league as a whole on matters that might not make the most sense to the Chiefs.
Clark hasn’t shown that same tendency. He emerged as a leading advocate for increased revenue sharing. Much of the money generated from stadium luxury boxes, for instance, is not subject to sharing.
He hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion forcefully, if behind closed doors.
“That’s probably true, but it’s true for a lot of us,” Bowlen said. “I still believe we have to have greater revenue-sharing among the teams.”
That Clark Hunt revealed himself to be much like his father, while no surprise to Bowlen, was refreshing nonetheless. Bowlen has seen many new owners join the NFL during his many years with the Broncos.
Few are willing to live with the revenue-sharing policies that made the NFL what it is today.
“He’s made it a smooth transition as far as the representation of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Bowlen said. “I’ve watched him develop over the last few years. This didn’t happen overnight. He was quiet at first. It takes awhile to figure out how everything works. He spent a few years learning all of that.”
The spin and self-delusion in this article is gut splitting to the point of tears.
What's with the Cosa Nostra look with King Karl as well? Clark looks like he graduated from special ed.
Carl Peterson has been with the organization for a long time, and we have some continuity of having a head coach in his second year.
:spit:
Herm Edwards joined the Chiefs last year as head coach. He said the tone of his routine postgame discussions with ownership varied little whether the Chiefs won or lost or whether he spoke with Lamar or Clark.
!Booya!
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
DAVID EULITT | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt (right) is maintaining the franchise’s stability, which means president/GM Carl Peterson will be sticking around awhile.
PHOENIX | Clark Hunt has been in charge for more than three months, and he is deeply disappointing those who might be waiting for the Chiefs to veer off the course set by his father.
He’s no Dan Snyder, the reactive Washington owner who orders and pays for a revamped roster after each losing season.
He’s no Jerry Jones, who in Dallas plays de facto general manager, acquiring players even when it’s against the advice of his coach.
We already suspected that of Lamar Hunt’s son. What we perhaps didn’t know is that Hunt appears content to make no immediate imprint.
He certainly isn’t doing things typical of new owners, like planning a uniform change. A traditionalist like his father, Lamar, Hunt wants the Chiefs to look much the same as they have since their arrival in Kansas City more than 40 years ago.
The NFL’s annual meetings begin today, and they will be the first for the Chiefs since the death of their founder in December. Lamar Hunt did skip a couple of such gatherings in recent years because of his failing health.
Word is already out about the new guy, who really isn’t that new. Clark Hunt has been groomed for this moment for years.
The league’s 31 teams will find the Chiefs operating much the same as ever. If you didn’t already know about the change at the top in Kansas City, you won’t discover it this week — or probably anytime soon.
“Clark has been involved for a while now. It’s not like he’s a rookie,” Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said. “I’ve had a lot of exposure to him. I’ve sat next to him in quite a few meetings. Our teams play each other two times every year. He’s got a lot of the same qualities his father did.
“I don’t think it could be any more seamless for Kansas City. The Chiefs will continue to get great leadership. Clark fits right in. I didn’t see any difference in the Chiefs’ situation or their position on matters.”
It was carefully planned that way, of course, crafted during long family discussions as the Hunts plotted the course of the franchise after Lamar was no longer involved. The pendulum of control had been swinging slowly but surely from Lamar to Clark over the last several years.
Any natural tendency there might be for a new owner to put his mark on things has been stifled. Whatever changes there might be are subtle.
“We have a lot of stability on the football side of the business,” Hunt said, indicating president/general manager Carl Peterson will continue to run the football operation for at least another three years, when his contract expires.
“ There’s not a whole lot different on that front. You need to have talented football people running the football side of the operation. If you look around the NFL, owners who get too involved in the football side tend to do more harm than good.”
That sounds like something Lamar would have said, and it’s not his only touch that still pervades the owner’s suite at Arrowhead Stadium.
The timing of the Chiefs’ decision to investigate the selling of Arrowhead’s naming rights, coming closely on the heels of Lamar’s death, makes it appear to be Clark’s idea.
But the discussions originated years ago. Arrowhead will remain as part of the stadium’s name, something the traditionalist in Lamar believed in.
Peterson consults with Clark Hunt, as he did with Lamar, before making major contract and draft decisions. He must get Hunt’s approval to trade away draft picks.
“Clark has never said no to me specific to contracts or any of that,” Peterson said. “I don’t anticipate that. I’m keeping him abreast of exactly what we’re doing and what we’re spending and why we’re spending it, as I did with his father.”
Lamar Hunt was famous — or infamous to many Chiefs fans — for his patience. It was legendary, with Hunt sticking with losing administrations for long periods in the last half of the 1970s and most of the ’80s.
He steadfastly backed Peterson since his hiring in 1989. While the Chiefs have consistently filled Arrowhead and had their on-field successes, they’ve been unable to get to a Super Bowl under Peterson and haven’t won a playoff game in 13 years.
“I would say if you put my father out on one end of the patience scale and I’ll let you pick your favorite owner to put on the other end of the scale, I’m certainly closer to my father at his end,” Hunt said. “I wouldn’t be at the midpoint of the scale. I’d be somewhere between the midpoint and my father.
“I think a lot of his patience as it relates to his sports franchises was born from experience in watching too many owners and too many teams change their coaching staff or their football personnel too frequently. It’s a business that lends itself to a certain level of continuity. He just felt that continuity had a better chance of paying off in terms of success on the field than changing your staff or people every couple of years.
“Our philosophies are very much alike on that point.”
But Hunt also said he has cranked up the pressure on Peterson, minus any ultimatums or threats, for the Chiefs to advance deeper into the playoffs.
If the change in ownership manifests itself in any way for Peterson, this might be it. Faithful encouragement, even in the darkest of times, was Lamar’s favorite — and perhaps only — motivational tactic.
Peterson recalled the difficult periods immediately after home playoff losses that followed recent 13-3 seasons. Each time, fuming at himself over whatever role he might have played in the failure, Peterson went to visit Lamar Hunt.
Hunt offered nothing but support.
“Does Clark have that same perspective?” Peterson said. “I guess we’ll find out. But up to this point, he’s never expressed anything to me different than what his father did.”
“Even after we lost or we went through that losing streak toward the end of the season, it was always, ‘We’re going to be OK.’ That’s what’s great about him,” Edwards said. “He learned from his dad. What helps, too, is that he was an athlete. He understands that stuff. You work hard so (losing streaks don’t) happen, but sometimes they happen.”
Lamar Hunt wasn’t just an advocate of revenue-sharing among NFL teams, but he invented the concept as it related to TV money in the old AFL, which he founded along with the Chiefs.
But he often deferred to the wishes of the league as a whole on matters that might not make the most sense to the Chiefs.
Clark hasn’t shown that same tendency. He emerged as a leading advocate for increased revenue sharing. Much of the money generated from stadium luxury boxes, for instance, is not subject to sharing.
He hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion forcefully, if behind closed doors.
“That’s probably true, but it’s true for a lot of us,” Bowlen said. “I still believe we have to have greater revenue-sharing among the teams.”
That Clark Hunt revealed himself to be much like his father, while no surprise to Bowlen, was refreshing nonetheless. Bowlen has seen many new owners join the NFL during his many years with the Broncos.
Few are willing to live with the revenue-sharing policies that made the NFL what it is today.
“He’s made it a smooth transition as far as the representation of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Bowlen said. “I’ve watched him develop over the last few years. This didn’t happen overnight. He was quiet at first. It takes awhile to figure out how everything works. He spent a few years learning all of that.”