The Kansas City Chiefs made a surprising decision this week to fire general manager John Dorsey, who had been with the team in that role since 2013. Typically moves of that nature come immediately after the season — not two months after the NFL Draft.
Something had to have been up, right?
If so, Dorsey wasn’t aware of it. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Dorsey was “blindsided” by the Chiefs’ decision to let him go.
Spoken with several sources about #Chiefs firing John Dorsey. He didn't know it was coming. Whatever issues developed, this blindsided him.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) June 23, 2017
Dorsey has been considered one of the better front office executives in football. While Andy Reid gets a lot of the credit (and got a contract extension the day the GM was fired), the Chiefs are 43-21 since Dorsey took over the roster and have made the playoffs three times.
There has been a lot of speculation as to why Dorsey was shown the door. Some wondered if the manner in which he informed Jeremy Maclin of his release played a role, but that’s highly unlikely. The most popular theory is that Dorsey, who has ties to the Packers and lives in Green Bay, is waiting for his mentor Ted Thompson to retire so he can become the GM of his hometown team.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star speculated that Dorsey may have asked for too much money from the Chiefs knowing he will eventually land a job in Green Bay regardless. Mellinger made it clear that he was only guessing, however.
Whatever the case, it’s hard to believe that the decision to fire a GM in June was strictly business related.
