Carl Peterson Concludes 20-Year Tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs

Jan 06, 2009, 3:20:03 PM

Today, the Kansas City Chiefs organization bids a fond farewell to Carl Peterson who leaves behind a tremendous legacy after serving as the Chiefs top executive for the past 20 years. Founder Lamar Hunt hired Peterson as President, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer on December 19, 1988. Hunt later promoted Peterson to the post of Chief Executive Officer in May of ‘94.

“On behalf of my family and the entire Kansas City Chiefs organization, I want to thank Carl for his two decades of service to the Chiefs,” Chairman of the Board Clark Hunt said. “Both Carl and I agreed that immediately initiating the search for the next Chiefs General Manager would be the best thing for the future of the organization, and he will be resigning following the 2008 season.”

“I am proud of my association with the Kansas City Chiefs and our many accomplishments over the last 20 years,” Peterson said. “I thank the Hunt family for the opportunity to lead the Chiefs organization and sincerely appreciate all the coaches, players, administrators and Chiefs employees with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my time here. Most importantly, I want to thank Chiefs fans around the country for their passionate support through the years. Chiefs fans are the finest in all of professional football.”

During his tenure Peterson served as the club’s driving force and was responsible for the franchise’s return to prominence both on and off the field. In the 15 seasons prior to Peterson’s arrival, Kansas City had made just one playoff appearance and hadn’t hosted a postseason contest since ‘71. Peterson proceeded to guide the club through one of the most successful eras in its history. During his 20-year association with the Chiefs, Kansas City amassed a 176-143-1 (.552) regular season record, made nine playoff appearances, won the AFC West four times and reached the AFC Championship Game in ‘93. During that 20-year span, the Chiefs finished first or second in the AFC West on 13 occasions. Only Pittsburgh (15), Green Bay (14) and Miami (14) produced more winning seasons than Kansas City (13) dating back to ‘89.

Peterson leaves behind a lasting legacy that has seen the Chiefs transform from a franchise that lacked a national presence as it struggled on and off the field before Peterson’s arrival, to one of pro sports’ finest and most respected entities. Under Peterson’s guidance, the Chiefs built and maintained one of the most loyal national fan followings and strongest season ticket bases of any pro sports team.

Peterson revitalized the gameday environment at Arrowhead Stadium, helping develop one of the best and loudest gameday atmospheres in the entire league. During his watch the Chiefs consistently filled the NFL’s third-largest stadium despite operating in the league’s sixth-smallest market. Kansas City has sold out 149 consecutive contests at Arrowhead, a streak that dates back to ‘91, and the club boasts individual season ticket holders from 48 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Dating back to ‘90, only Denver, Pittsburgh and Green Bay can top the 104-47 (.691) regular season record the Chiefs compiled at Arrowhead. Kansas City produced a winning record at home in 16 of his 20 campaigns, a mark only Pittsburgh could match dating back to ‘89.

Perhaps Peterson’s most lasting impact on professional football is the long lineage of players, coaches and staff who received an opportunity in the NFL thanks to him. Peterson considered it the ultimate compliment when other clubs inquired about the services of his staff, many of whom ascended to leadership positions with other organizations after spending time working in Kansas City.

A number of assistant coaches with the Chiefs during Peterson’s tenure ascended to coordinator and head coaching positions in the league. Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards (’89) and Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis (’91) both received Minority Coaching Fellowships with the Chiefs and went on to become NFL head coaches.

Edwards and Lewis aren’t the only playoff-caliber NFL head coaches that Peterson extended an opportunity to during his Kansas City tenure. A pair of Super Bowl champion head coaches received coaching opportunities from Peterson in the early stages of their coaching careers. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher served as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from ‘89-91, while Colts head coach Tony Dungy enjoyed a stint as the Chiefs defensive backs coach during that same time span.

Peterson’s first head coaching hire in Kansas City drastically changed the Chiefs on-field fortunes. The appointment of head coach Marty Schottenheimer in ‘89 led to a decade of success matched by few teams from ‘90-99. During that timeframe, the Chiefs posted a 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. 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.

Whether on the field, on the sidelines or in the front office, the area where Peterson always truly excelled in was his ability to unearth talent via a variety of fashions. Peterson 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 also 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 rushing, RB Priest Holmes in 2001. Four-time Pro Bowl G Brian Waters (FA-00) and two-time Pro Bowl FB Tony Richardson (FA-95) were also notable Peterson acquisitions.

Peterson and his staff discovered major contributors throughout the NFL draft, beginning with his initial draft pick in Kansas City which the club utilized on the late nine-time Pro Bowl LB Derrick Thomas in ‘89. Other notable Peterson draftees include: 12-time Pro Bowl G Will Shields (D3-93), 10-time Pro Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez (D1-97), two-time Pro Bowl RB Larry Johnson (D1-03) and WR Dwayne Bowe (D1-07) who owns more catches and receiving yards than any other player in his first two seasons with the Chiefs. In total, Chiefs players accumulated a total of 70 Pro Bowl selections in the unrestricted free agency era (’93-present).

Off the field, a plethora of successful philanthropic efforts have been guided by Peterson. Spearheaded by the efforts of Peterson and his wife, Lori, the Chiefs organization has raised a net of over $20 million for local charities since ‘98. 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 Presidents’ Organization. He also serves on the Board of The Third and Long Foundation, which was founded by the late Derrick Thomas.

A longtime advocate of youth and international football initiatives, Peterson served on the NFL Youth Football Funding Board and was actively involved with NFL Europe (formerly the World League of American Football) as a member of the NFL Europe Working Executives. The Chiefs actively utilized NFL Europe to develop players who later made significant impacts for the team such as: WR Willie Davis, WR Dante Hall, LB Mike Maslowski, LB Tracy Simien, LB Gary Stills and G Brian Waters.

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 received during his Chiefs tenure 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 served on the following NFL Committees: NFL Management Council/C.E.C. Senior Executive Group, College and Pro Relations.