Professional Bio

Entering his 19th season as the Chiefs top executive in 2007, team President, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Carl Peterson unquestionably serves as the driving force of the organization and is regarded as the person most responsible for the club’s return to prominence both on and off the field since he was hired by Founder Lamar Hunt in December of ‘88.

Peterson continued his trend of finding proven winners to guide the on-field fortunes of the Chiefs franchise when he named Herm Edwards the 10th head coach in team history on January 9, 2006. Perhaps no one has a better appreciation of Edwards’ leadership skills than Peterson. His association with Kansas City’s head coach dates back to the late ‘70s when Peterson served as Director of Player Personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles and he successfully recruited Edwards to sign with that club as a college free agent in ‘77. Thirty years after that fortuitous free agent signing, this duo was reunited in Kansas City to begin a new chapter in Chiefs history.

“Herm knows what the National Football League is all about,” Peterson commented at Edwards’ introductory press conference. “He is a man of integrity, family and has great passion for the game. Herm’s teams are always well disciplined and well coached. He has a tremendous respect for what the National Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs organization are all about. He will instill that same appreciation for the game in our players and our entire football team.”

Edwards rewarded that confidence by becoming the first coach in franchise history to guide the squad to the playoffs in his initial season with the club. Under Edwards, the Chiefs became just the fifth squad since to rebound from an 0-2 start to qualify for the postseason. Fittingly, after giving Edwards a chance to prove himself as an NFL player, it was Peterson who also extended Edwards his initial coaching opportunity in the league as the recipient of a Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Chiefs in ‘89.

Kansas City’s head coach is the first graduate of the Minority Coaching Fellowship — a program in which over 1,100 coaches have participated in since ‘87 — to go on to become the head coach of the franchise for which he served his fellowship. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis — like Edwards — received a Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Chiefs in ‘91. In 2005, Lewis guided the Bengals to their first postseason berth since ‘90.

Edwards and Lewis aren’t the only playoff-caliber NFL head coaches to get an opportunity as a young coach under Peterson. The last two coaches to hoist the Lombardi Trophy both got their start as Chiefs assistants. Bill Cowher served as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from ‘89-91, while Tony Dungy enjoyed a stint as the Chiefs defensive backs coach from ‘89-91. Cowher claimed a win in Super Bowl XL with Pittsburgh and Dungy won Super Bowl XLI with Indianapolis.

No matter the challenge, Peterson has a strong track record of guiding the Chiefs in the right direction. He has not only transformed the Chiefs into a model NFL organization, but has also built the franchise into one of pro sports’ finest and most respected entities. When Peterson took over the Chiefs, the franchise had been struggling on and off the field and was without any kind of national presence. Simply put, the club’s reversal of fortunes under Peterson since that time have been dramatic.

Under his continued guidance, the club has built and maintains one of the most loyal national fan followings and strongest season ticket bases of any pro sports team. The Chiefs boast individual season-ticket accounts from 48 states (update - all but Maine and Vermont), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada. Regarded as having one of the best and loudest gameday atmospheres in the entire league, the Chiefs consistently fill the NFL’s third-largest stadium (capacity 79,451), despite operating in the league’s sixth-smallest market. Kansas City has sold out 133 consecutive contests at Arrowhead — including five postseason games — dating back to ‘91.

Despite his many accomplishments in steering the overall fortunes of the franchise, at his essence, Peterson still remains a quintessential football man. During the decade of the ‘90s, few teams could match the level of success exhibited on the playing field by the Chiefs. From ‘90-99, Kansas City posted a stellar 102-58 (.638) record, making Kansas City just one of seven teams in NFL?history to record 100 or more wins over the course of a single decade. Even more impressive was the fact that Chiefs Founder Lamar Hunt and Peterson became just the fourth Owner/General Manager tandem to preside over a team for all 10 years of a 100-win decade.

Dating back to ‘77, teams whose personnel operations have been overseen by Peterson own a combined regular season record of 258-160-2 (.617). During that 26-season span, his teams have produced 20 winning records and have made the playoffs 16 times. During Peterson’s tenure, Kansas City has finished first or second in the AFC?West 13 times. The Chiefs have also made nine playoff appearances over that span, a total only six other clubs can top.

In addition, Kansas City has won four AFC?West titles and reached the only AFC?Championship Game in team history. Those are dramatic numbers when you consider that in the 18 seasons prior to Peterson’s arrival, the Chiefs made just two playoff appearances and enjoyed just five winning years. In its April 2007 issue, Forbes ranked Peterson number 16 on a list of general managers in all of the major professional sports. The list was based on numerous factors, including won-loss record and payroll costs compared to their predecessors.

One of the proudest achievements during his tenure has been the re-establishment of unparalleled fan support. Under Peterson’s leadership, Kansas City has developed one of the NFL’s most distinct homefield advantages at Arrowhead. Dating back to Peterson’s arrival in ‘89 season, no NFL team can top Kansas City’s the Chiefs own a 107-37 (.743) regular season mark at Arrowhead. During that span, the Chiefs have produced a league-best 16 winning seasons at home. The Chiefs have gone 13-3 three times under Peterson’s tenure (’95, ‘97 and 2003), boasting 8-0 regular season marks at Arrowhead each of those years.

Since the start of the ‘89 campaign, Kansas City has produced a winning record in 13 seasons, a mark that ties as the top total in the league. The team’s national popularity has grown tremendously over that 18-year span. Kansas City has been among the NFL leaders in merchandise sales, national TV appearances (81 times, including 26 on Monday Night Football, over the past 14 years) and international exposure (four American Bowl appearances since ‘90).

Whether on the field, on the sidelines or in the front office, the area where Peterson has always truly excelled is in unearthing talent via a variety of fashions. Peterson has pulled the trigger on trades that landed Hall of Fame QB?Joe Montana in ‘93, as well as two-time Pro Bowl QB?Trent Green in 2001 and 11-time Pro Bowl T Willie Roaf in 2002. Peterson was responsible for two of the best unrestricted free agent signings in league history, inking Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen in ‘93 and the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, RB?Priest Holmes in 2001. Peterson and his scouting staff have discovered major contributors throughout the draft, beginning with his initial draft pick in Kansas City which the club utilized on late nine-time Pro Bowl LB Derrick Thomas in ‘89.

Kansas City had four players named to the 2006 AFC Pro Bowl squad: 12-time Pro Bowl G Will Shields (third round - ‘93), eight-time Pro Bowl TE?Tony Gonzalez (first round - ‘97), three-time Pro Bowl G?Brian Waters (free agent - 2000) and RB Larry Johnson (first round - 2003), who earned his second invitation to the Pro Bowl after establishing a single-season club record with 1,789 rushing yards and setting an NFL record with 416 rushing attempts in 2006. Since the advent of free agency in ‘93, the Chiefs have produced 66 Pro Bowl players, a mark that ties as the fourth-highest tally in the league.

Peterson’s track record as a talent evaluator began during his days with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was then selected as the man to build the Philadelphia Stars when the United States Football League was launched in July of ‘82. As the franchise’s President and GM, he proceeded to assemble the most successful team in the league’s three-year existence, capturing the USFL title the final two seasons. The Stars 48-13-1 overall record during regular (41-12-1) and postseason play (7-1) was easily the finest of any USFL club. His efforts were rewarded in ‘83 and ‘84, when he was named The Sporting News’ “USFL Executive of the Year.”

A ‘66 graduate of UCLA, Peterson began his coaching career at two Southern California high schools, Wilson High in ‘66 and Loyola High in ‘67-68. He moved to Cal-State at Sonoma in ‘69, where he was named head coach in ‘70. He returned to his alma mater in ‘72, where he served as the Bruins receivers coach under Pepper Rodgers for two years, then remained on the UCLA staff as receivers coach and administrative assistant to Dick Vermeil when he became the school’s head coach in ‘74 before accompanying Vermeil to the Eagles in ‘76.

Peterson serves on the National Boards for the Maxwell Football Club and Pop Warner Little Scholars Organization. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Pop Warner and is a member of the International World President’s Organization. He also serves on the Board of The Third and Long Foundation, which was founded by the late Derrick Thomas.

Peterson was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of?Fame in 2005. In 2003, he was also inducted into the Long Beach (CA) Century Club Sports Hall of Fame. Other honors he has received include: the 2002 Pop Warner Award for Excellence in Athletics, the 2001 Pro Football Executive Award presented by the All-American Football Foundation, the ‘98 Maxwell Club Reds Bagnell Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Game of Football and the ‘98 Special Achievement Award for Professional Athletics presented by the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission. In addition, Peterson serves on the following NFL Committees:?NFL?Management Council/C.E.C. Senior Executive Group, College and Pro Relations, NFL Europe League Working Executives and the NFL Youth Football Funding Board.

Personal Bio

Spearheaded by the efforts of Peterson and his wife, Lori, the Chiefs organization (players, coaches and front office staff) has raised a net of over $15 million for local charities since ‘98, including a team-record $2.75 million in 2005 (update). Peterson grew up in Long Beach, California and attended both the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and UCLA. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UCLA in ‘66, a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology in ‘67 and earned a Doctorate in Administration in Higher Education at UCLA in ‘70. He is married to the former Lori K. Larson of Kansas City, who is a senior associate with H.O.K. Sports Architects. The Petersons make their home in the historic Country Club Plaza district of Kansas City, Missouri. Carl has one daughter Dawn Peterson Curlewis, who lives in Edinburgh with her Scottish-born husband, Graham and their sons Aiden and Finn.