The Chiefs announced Thursday that the team would part ways with general manager John Dorsey. It was a surprising move given his success with personnel. However, a report from the Kansas City Star’s Terez Paylor reveals that Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt found Dorsey’s management style and approach to communication to be incompatible with the daily operations of the organization.
Why the Chiefs fired general manager John Dorsey
Dorsey’s communication and management style were factors in the team’s decision.
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Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Dorsey’s management style made him difficult for some inside the building to work with, according to Paylor’s report.
After the season, Dorsey made the decision to fire director of football administration Trip MacCracken and director of pro scouting Will Lewis. Both MacCracken and Lewis had been with the Chiefs for at least four years.
“Those decisions were totally John’s,” a source told Paylor. “That’s the kind of stuff he does.”
And while Andy Reid approaches his job in a structured way, Dorsey was more flexible.
“He’s not a big disciplinarian or big on chain of command,” a source said, via Paylor, “so people did what they wanted.”
Still, Reid and Dorsey always presented a unified front during their time working together in Kansas City. And Paylor spoke with sources inside the organization who enjoyed working with Dorsey.
“He was always great to us …,” a team source said. “You hate to see something like this happen.”
Dorsey was well-respected across the NFL, also.
“I loved him,” one league source said of Dorsey. “Blunt, honest and a great talent evaluator. Losing him and (Chris) Ballard in one offseason is insane.”
Ballard was the Chiefs’ director of football operations. He was hired by the Indianapolis Colts this offseason to replace Ryan Grigson as the team’s general manager. Had he stayed in Kansas City, Ballard would be the most likely candidate to replace Dorsey.
The decision to move on from Dorsey was a shock primarily because of the timing. Teams don’t fire general managers in June. It leaves them with fewer options for replacements. It was also odd that the announcement about Dorsey was made immediately after the team extended the contract of Reid.
Both Reid and Dorsey had one year left on their respective contracts. Hunt said at the owners’ meetings in May that the team hoped to extend Dorsey and Reid.
Instead, Dorsey is out the door, and his leadership and communication styles are apparently the reason.
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