Carl PetersonWell, the deed is done and Kansas City has gotten what most Chiefs fans would have listed at No. 1 on their Christmas list: Carl Peterson resigned today as president and general manager of the franchise he has run since December, 1988 -- almost 20 years on the button.The details are just starting to circulate and we don't yet know whether Peterson really wanted to resign or was simply allowed to resign. We may never know the answer to that. It seems clear that yesterday's debacle against the Chargers was kind of a point of no return.
At the same time, Clark Hunt doesn't seem like the kind of guy to make a kneejerk decision based on one game so you have to think that this was coming after the season anyway. Peterson has been publicly villified for the last few years as the Chiefs fell further and further away from Super Bowl contention while, at the same time, continuing to technically sell out Arrowhead Stadium, raising parking prices and reaping the sums from a taxpayer initiative that is giving the stadium a facelift. However, I think right now, the best thing to do is to step back and have some appreciation for some of the things Peterson has accomplished in two decades with the franchise.
In the 15 years or so in the decade before Peterson's arrival, the Chiefs were one of the worst-run and least successful teams in the NFL. KC football fans like to fancy themselves among the heartiest and most fanatic NFL rooters around, but as late as 1988, you could walk up and buy a ticket on game day with no problem.
From 1974 to 1988, the Chiefs went 86-137-1. Since then, they've gone 176-141-1. During the former period, the Chiefs made the playoffs once. Since then, they've made it nine times. Yes, the glory days were awhile ago but they were indeed glorious. Maybe the franchise never reached the Super Bowl under Peterson, but they were in a position to get there on at least three separate seasons, probably more. Many NFL cities (Cincinnati? New Orleans? Phoenix?) would trade that track record for theirs in a second.
The Chiefs have sold out every game at Arrowhead Stadium since September 1, 1991. The season before that, the Chiefs averaged under 60,000 fans per game, or about 75 percent of capacity. Fans all over the city sometimes had to resort to long drives to watch the team because the games were blacked out on local television. Compare that to now: Even during this year's abysmal season, the Chiefs are fourth in NFL attendance. FOURTH!
Yeah, I know that the actual number of fannies in seats is down, which impacts parking, concession and souvenier revenue, but the ticket dollars are still pouring in and the television ratings remain strong. Think about how much more engrained in the community the Chiefs are as compared to 1988. Since that year, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles and Anaheim have all lost franchises. The way things were going before Peterson, who is to say that Kansas City wasn't on track to be one of the casualties? It might be a stretch, but I don't think it's completely outlandish to suggest that Carl Peterson helped ensure the NFL's long-term presence in this city. And you know what this city is without the Chiefs or the Royals? Not a city I'd want to live in.
Much of the criticism of Peterson over the last decade stems from a perceived emphasis on the bottom line of the financial reports as opposed the bottom line of the league standings. Personally, I don't buy that. I think that, all along, Peterson has been trying to piece together a championship team. It's not that he wasn't trying to get to the Super Bowl it's just that as time passed, he didn't know how to get there.
The NFL is a rapidly changing game, on the field and off it. Innovation in game management and personnel management often wins out, then is copied and spread through the league until the next Big Thing comes along. At some point, when something is not working, new blood is needed. To knowingly make the same mistakes over and over is one definition of insanity and the Chiefs crossed that threshhold a couple of years ago. It was time for Peterson to go. But, on this day when many Chiefs fans are rejoicing, let's not forget that for many years, the times called for a man like Peterson and Kansas City is a better football town because of his presence.