Chiefs' Peterson officially steps down

Jan 6, 2009 - 11:03 PM KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) -- Carl Peterson officially stepped down as president, general manager and chief executive officer of the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.

The announcement was a more formality for the team, who on December 15 announced that Peterson, one of the longest-tenured executives in the NFL, would be leaving at the end of the season.

Peterson recently completed his 20th season as GM of the Chiefs, who have fallen on hard times in the past two seasons, losing 21 of their last 23 games.

"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," team chairman 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."

Peterson presided over one of the more successful decades in the franchise's storied history. However, his departure could spell the demise of head coach Herman Edwards, who was hired by Peterson in January 2006.

Hired by club founder Lamar Hunt in December 1988, Peterson built a Chiefs team that produced winning records in 13 of his first 18 seasons.

During the 1990s, Kansas City posted a gaudy 102-58 record - one of just seven teams in the league to accumulate 100 wins in that span.

"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 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."

Overall in Peterson's tenure, the franchise posted a 176-143-1 record and captured four AFC West titles.

Before falling on hard times in the past two seasons, Kansas City owned one of the most intimidating home-field advantages, amassing a 107-37 mark from 1989-2006 at Arrowhead Stadium, tying division rival Denver for the league's top home winning percentage during that stretch.

However, the Chiefs have reached the AFC championship game just once under Peterson, who pushed to bring in Edwards as the 10th coach in franchise history.

Replacing the retiring Dick Vermeil, Edwards coached the Chiefs to a 9-7 mark and a playoff berth in his first season. But Kansas City stumbled badly in 2007, losing its final nine games en route to a 4-12 record.

Despite a number of close calls, the losing has continued this season. The Chiefs (2-14) registered the fewest wins in team history in a 16-game season.