Chiefs Hire John Dorsey As General Manager

John Dorsey, a longtime personnel man for the Green Bay Packers, has been hired as the new general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs will be hosting a press conference today in which Dorsey will be officially introduced.

After a five year playing career in Green Bay, Dorsey joined the Packers’ front office, where he moved up the ranks and became a key contributor to the organization. Dorsey served as the director of college scouting from 2000 through 2012, a period in which the Packers built a talented team through the draft that consistently made the playoffs and won the 2011 Super Bowl. Dorsey spent last season as the director of football operations.

Dorsey also has a close relationship with new Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Reid was an assistant coach for the Packers from 1992 through 1998, a period in which Dorsey worked as a college scout.

The hiring of Dorsey should be considered a home run by Chiefs fans. The Packers won the Super Bowl in 2011 with a starting lineup nearly entirely made up of players the team drafted, including Pro Bowl caliber players such as Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, B.J. Raji, James Jones, Casey Hayward and others. The Packers have consistently drafted well and signed undrafted free agents that have become productive NFL starters, such as Tramon Williams and Sam Shields. Poor drafting was one of the biggest criticisms of former GM Scott Pioli’s tenure, as the Chiefs often used high selections on average to below-average players and failed to build a deep roster that could sustain injuries.

As the Chiefs start their rebuilding process, the team will need to draft well and add young talent to the roster. Dorsey is the right man for the job, and Chiefs fans have reason to be optimistic that things may start to turn around.

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Kansas City Selected To Host 2013 MLS All-Star Game

After hosting the 2012 MLB All-Star game, Kansas City has been selected to host another all-star game this summer. MLS commissioner Don Garber confirmed yesterday that his league will be having its all-star game this summer at Kansas City’s Livestrong Sporting Park.

Since its opening, Livestrong Park has grown into one of the top venues to watch a soccer game in the country. Sporting KC fans have quickly become one of the most supportive and passionate fan bases in the MLS, and US men’s and women’s national games held at Livestrong have also been a success.

Peter Vermes, the head coach of Sporting KC, will coach the MLS all-star team in the game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on a Wednesday night, and will be broadcast on ESPN and Univision. The match will also be shown in more than 100 countries.

Tickets start at $50 for the members’ stand and rise as high as $115 for seats in the west stands. Tickets for the Shield Club start at $160. A special presale for tickets has already begun, and it is possible that the entire stadium sells out quickly.

At this point, it is not clear who the MLS all-stars will actually play in the game. Since 2003, the MLS all-stars have faced top club teams from around the world, including seven matches against teams from the English Premier League. The MLS all-stars hold a 6-2-1 record all time in this format. If a European team is selected for this game, it likely will not be announced for at least another month, when these clubs begin planning and announcing their United States tours.

Is Kansas City becoming a soccer town? With the Chiefs and Royals both stuck in mediocrity, Sporting KC has given fans a winner to cheer for. In this case, the support Kansas City residents have shown for Sporting and the US national teams has been rewarded.

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Chiefs Interview Brad Childress & Doug Pederson

New Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has begun the process of filing out his staff, and it appears that he may be offering some positions to several former coworkers. Reid has talked to former Eagles assistants Doug Pederson and Brad Childress about joining him in Kansas City.

Pederson could be in the mix to serve as the team’s offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach. He has served as an assistant for the Eagles for the past four seasons, earning a promotion to quarterbacks coach before the 2011 season. In his playing days, Pederson served as Brett Favre’s backup QB in Green Bay for several seasons, and found brief playing time for both the Eagles and Browns later in his career.

It is unknown what role Childress would hold on Reid’s staff, but he doesn’t appear to be in the mix for either the offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach positions. Childress worked with Reid for seven seasons in Philadelphia, three as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator. He was hired by the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 to become the team’s head coach, a position he held for nearly five seasons. Childress spent last season as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns.

Earlier, it was believed that former Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmer would be a candidate for the offensive coordinator position, but it appears that he is no longer being considered. Shurmer served as an offensive assistant for Reid in Philadelphia for 10 seasons before taking the Browns’ head coaching job in 2011.

It shouldn’t be surprising to Chiefs fans that Reid has been interviewing coaches he has worked with in the past. However, it is important for the new head coach to also consider what kind of team he will have and be willing to hire coaches he doesn’t have a prior working relationship with. The Chiefs will be looking to rebuild through the draft, and it is important that Reid hire coaches that excel at developing young players, especially at quarterback.

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Who Will Be The Chiefs' Next General Manager?

Now that Andy Reid is officially the Chiefs head coach, the team has turned its focus on hiring a new general manager to replace the recently-fired Scott Pioli. So far, three prime candidates have emerged, and the team will likely make a decision relatively soon.

John Dorsey, the director of football operations for the Green Bay Packers, may be the hottest name at the moment. Dorsey has been a part of the Packers’ front office for 21 years, a span in which Green Bay has won two Super Bowls and has perennially been one of the strongest organizations in the NFL. Dorsey has worked under Ron Wolf, the GM who turned the Packers from a laughingstock into a juggernaut in the 90s, and Ted Thompson, the Packers current GM that has assembled a deep and talented roster. The Packers have routinely drafted well and found pro bowl caliber undrafted free agents, two key areas the Chiefs must be effective in while rebuilding.

Dorsey is also a top candidate for the vacant GM position with the New York Jets; however his wife is a University of Kansas grad and an attorney with a law firm based out of Kansas City. Hopefully, this could be enough to sway Dorsey to come to KC if he gets offers from both the Chiefs and the Jets.

Tom Heckert is the other main candidate for the position. Heckert served as Cleveland’s GM for the past two seasons, and did a good job of adding young talent to a struggling franchise. Heckert found himself without a job when Jimmy Haslem bought the team this year and cleaned house, suggesting that Heckert hasn’t been working in the most ideal situation over the past two years. Heckert spent several years in Philadelphia as well, and already has a strong relationship with Reid. His previous experience as a GM and ability to work with Reid make him an attractive candidate.

Tom Gamble is also in the mix, although many think that he is third on the Chiefs’ list behind Dorsey and Heckert. Gamble has worked in scouting and personnel for the Colts, Eagles and 49ers, and has a knack for finding talent in the draft.

The Chiefs have strong candidates for the position, although they will have to compete with the Jets as they are also searching for a new GM.

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Kansas City Police Vehicles Burglarized

Seven vehicles were burglarized yesterday, including six police vehicles, in the area of east 76th street and Breckenridge Avenue in southeast Kansas City.

Kansas City Police Major Anthony Ell, who lives in the neighborhood in which the vehicles were located, suspects that the thieves were after police radios, bullet-proof vests, uniforms and weapons. The Kansas City police department has not released what was specifically taken from the vehicles. The thieves were able to burglarize the police vehicles by smashing out the windows.

Ell stated that it would be difficult for the thieves to use the stolen radios and computers without the proper police codes. The primary concern for the police department has to be any missing weapons and uniforms, as the thieves can now impersonate an officer.

Four unmarked Kansas City police cars were also burglarized; however the KC Police Department has stated that no weapons were taken from these vehicles. The seventh vehicle that was broken into was a civilian vehicle.

For those that are forced to park their car outside of a garage, this crime spree should serve as a reminder to never leave valuable items in your car overnight. The police department must also bear some responsibility – police cars are stocked with weapons, uniforms and other items that cannot fall into the wrong hands, and officers need to take further measures in regards to securing their vehicles. Police cars will always be a main target of thieves, especially when they parked sitting in a dark neighborhood and unattended.

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