Arrowhead advantage: NFL decisions made this week set stage for success

Manner, approach again in 2007 — at this writing, 14 years in the past — Kansas City Chiefs proprietor Clark Hunt mentioned that he wished his franchise to be just like the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’m a powerful believer that continuity on the head teaching place is essential to long-term success,’’ mentioned Hunt at the time. “Most likely you may level to the Pittsburgh Steelers as the very best instance of that. They do a terrific job of drafting gamers, growing them and taking part in them and so they have large continuity with their head coaches. They’ve a system and an strategy about how they do it and it’s vital we develop that sort of mindset right here.’’

Once more, on the time, the Steelers’ strategies had led to solely three head coaches, 23 playoff appearances and 5 Super Bowl championships since 1972. The Steelers would go on so as to add a sixth title in February of 2009 — a month after Hunt thought to take step one in that path — by bringing on Scott Pioli to interchange longtime govt and “king” (for lack of higher phrases) Carl Peterson.

Pioli came highly acclaimed by New England Patriots head coach Invoice Belichick, who had watched him develop from assistant director to vp of participant personnel. Belichick’s advice couldn’t have been larger — and it could have been tough to not belief the phrases of any individual who had made 4 Tremendous Bowl journeys during the last decade, successful three.

The Pioli period, as we all know in the present day, didn’t result in the kind of shift in franchise path for which Hunt hoped. The Chiefs returned to the playoffs for the primary time in 4 seasons in 2010, however the Wild Card loss that adopted was — by far — his tenure’s excessive level. An eventual very public energy wrestle between normal supervisor and head coach and a reported emphasis on operational secrecy and intimidation overshadowed any progress. For now well-known reasons both on and off the field, the Chiefs’ underwent their worst season ever in 2012, once they completed 2-14.

A brand new hope

Photograph by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photos

5 years after Hunt proclaimed he wished his group to be extra just like the one in Pittsburgh, he was again to sq. one. However the Chiefs’ proprietor didn’t want a 3rd time to seek out his attraction. Bringing aboard present Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been his single biggest determination in what has been 15 years as chairman of the membership.

The story is now Kansas City legend: Hunt secured the recently-fired Reid by assembly him at a Philadelphia airport, speaking via their visions for hours and making certain that Reid didn’t board flights to Arizona or San Diego. Reid got here with 14 years of head teaching expertise, having constructed a profitable program with the Philadelphia Eagles that had led to 4 straight journeys to the NFC championship sport within the early 2000s.

“I had been within the league some time, so I had recognized the household earlier than I got here right here,” Reid mentioned this week. “I’ve mentioned this earlier than which is true, I sat in these proprietor conferences and there have been just a few individuals I checked out and I’d go, ‘Boy, if one thing ever occurred, I’m working for a terrific proprietor (Jeffrey Lurie), but when one thing ever occurred right here, I may see myself working for these individuals. They’re simply good individuals.’

“The Hunts have been a type of households. I knew Clark, I knew his dad and I’m not going to say it was a no brainer since you’ve obtained to consider every thing, however I already had the solutions to the take a look at sort of simply by figuring out them.”

About 9 days after Hunt employed Reid, he employed John Dorsey, the longtime Packers expertise evaluator who had labored with Reid within the mid-to-late Nineties. Studying from his earlier regime, Hunt set a construction the place each Reid and Dorsey would report on to him — as would crew president Mark Donovan.

Pondering again to his 2013 determination in mid-November, Hunt mentioned he couldn’t be happier with the best way it performed out.

“The brief reply is I smile a complete lot extra,” he mentioned. “Should you simply take into consideration the journey that we’ve been on during the last eight years, once we employed Andy, we have been clearly coming off of a number of very tough seasons and the turnaround with Andy was virtually speedy, going 9-0 his first season in Kansas Metropolis.”

The muse

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports activities

Reid and Dorsey overturned the roster in 2013, buying and selling for Alex Smith, giving the Chiefs stability at sports activities’ most vital place for the primary time since Trent Inexperienced. Dorsey drafted Eric Fisher and Travis Kelce — and found The Magnificent Seven.

Beneath Reid’s steering, the group’s tradition had immediately modified for the higher. Reid and Dorsey rebuilt the crew’s basis from 2013 to 2017 — and through the 2017 offseason, Hunt made one other tough determination by saying goodbye to Dorsey for a homegrown Reid expertise: Brett Veach. Veach had began as Reid’s teaching intern in Philadelphia in 2004, adopted Reid to Kansas Metropolis as a personnel analyst in 2013 and had been the co-director of participant personnel previous to his promotion to normal supervisor.

Reid credit Veach with discovering quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Texas Tech product who had bad mechanics and threw from too many different arm angles. Dorsey executed a key commerce with the Buffalo Bills on draft night time — and the remainder, as they are saying, is historical past.

Hunt’s determination to go together with Reid led to Dorsey after which Veach, who has proven a pointy eye for expertise and has reconstructed the crew’s cap technique, managing to seek out methods to maintain the Chiefs’ core gamers underneath contract for years to return.

“To his credit score, he’s achieved nothing however get higher, and that’s helped our soccer crew get higher,” Hunt added on Reid, “Clearly, that crescendoed with the Tremendous Bowl victory this previous February, and I’m excited to look to the longer term as a result of I don’t assume there’s been any change in his vitality stage, and simply the best way the gamers reply to him, they’re excited to return to follow day by day, excited to play for him and absolutely on board with our objectives to win world championships.”

A important week within the NFL

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports activities

Most who observe skilled soccer to any diploma rightfully would have scoffed at Hunt’s use of the plural — championships — had he mentioned it in 2007 or 2013.

In 2021, it’s not outlandish in any respect. In a approach, it’s anticipated.

All of it goes again to 2013. Hunt knew what he wished: championships. And he positioned a guess on a person who — largely — had solely turn into out there as a result of he had but to win one.

Quick ahead to this week, when there are the annual six or so head coaching jobs available. A number of groups are additionally hiring normal managers. Hunt’s timeline makes for the right instance as to why selections being made this week couldn’t be of better significance.

For the Chiefs, they now not need to look to different franchises such because the Steelers as a mannequin for achievement. Because of Hunt — and Reid, Dorsey, Veach and Mahomes — the Chiefs have turn into the mannequin.