Chiefs GM John Dorsey becomes third Executive of the Year award recipient fired in 2017

Nobody knows what the hell is going with the Kansas City Chiefs. They started the month by cutting Jeremy Maclin, and now they’ve just let go of general manager John Dorsey. I doubt anyone could’ve seen this move coming.

While head coach Andy Reid was given a contract extension, Dorsey was given the boot. Two seasons ago, the Chiefs broke their 22-year winless postseason drought with a shutout road triumph over the Houston Texans, and last season they won the AFC West and earned a first-round bye. The Chiefs made the playoffs in three of the four years under Dorsey, who built what one could consider the AFC equivalent of the Seahawks defense, especially in the secondary. Marcus Peters and Eric Berry are outstanding at their respective positions, and Berry agreed to a new six-year, $78 million contract earlier this offseason.

It is baffling that Dorsey has been let go, and I’m sure more details will come out soon, but he’s now the third PFW Executive of the Year winner fired just this year.

2009 — Bill Polian, Indianapolis Colts (Fired in 2012)
2010 — Scott Pioli, Kansas City Chiefs (Fired in 2013)
2011 — Trent Baalke, San Francisco 49ers (Fired in 2017)
2012 — Ryan Grigson, Indianapolis Colts (Fired in 2017)
2013 — John Dorsey, Kansas City Chiefs (Fired in 2017)
2014 — Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys (will never be fired)
2015 — Mike Maccagnan, New York Jets (on thin ice)
2016 — Reggie McKenzie, Oakland Raiders (safe)

Dorsey really doesn’t belong with Grigson or Baalke in terms of being found out as not being a good GM, but he joins those two in the unemployment line.

One thing that may interest Seahawks fans is Dorsey’s close historical connections with John Schneider. They were part of the Packers staff in the 1990s. Dorsey joined Mike Holmgren in Seattle as Director of player personnel, but lasted just one season before resigning. Who was his successor (also for just one season)? John Schneider.

This 2014 article written just days before Seattle’s 24-20 loss at Kansas City has some background on their time in Green Bay:

“It’s no secret John and I both started at Green Bay,” Dorsey said Wednesday. “Groomed under Ron (Wolf), groomed under Ted (Thompson), so there is a like-mindedness of how you go about certain ways.”

Schneider joined the Packers staff as an intern in 1992, a year after Dorsey became a scout for Green Bay following his playing career. Schneider became a fulltime staff member as a pro personnel assistant in 1993.

The men worked closely with then-Packers coach Mike Holmgren, who had current Chiefs coach Andy Reid on staff, in addition to Wolf and Thompson.

“Our principles and foundations were taught at a very young age,” Dorsey said of Schneider. “We have an understanding what we like in players. He sees what I see, I’m sure, because we used to sit and talk a lot about players. That’s natural when you’re doing personnel.”

“Our principles and foundations were taught at a very young age,” Dorsey said of Schneider. “We have an understanding what we like in players. He sees what I see, I’m sure, because we used to sit and talk a lot about players. That’s natural when you’re doing personnel.”

Notable Seahawks picked up by the Chiefs included Jaye Howard, Ron Parker, and Spencer Ware, and just last month they signed Stanley Jean-Baptiste, so you can tell the pipeline is there. On the flipside, Kansas City traded Kelcie McCray to Seattle in the 2015 season, and McCray was a solid contributor during this time in the Emerald City.

Unless there’s something we don’t know, Dorsey will surely find work elsewhere in an executive role with the Seahawks, since he loved bringing them on board in KC. Maybe it’s a good thing Schneider never won Executive of the Year, because that seems to be something of a curse.