Dear Clark Hunt, This Is What People Think Of Your Business
Dear Clark Hunt,
As I hope you know by now, fans of your team are fed up. Many believe that you don’t care as long as you are making a profit. That may or may not be true. Time will tell and your actions (or lack there of) over the coming weeks will speak volumes to those of us that live and die by this team.
If you do truly care about the product you are putting out and the feelings of the fans that support your team with their time, money, and passion you won’t need any more motivation to make some changes. However, if you are only driven by the almighty dollar, as your detractors say, here is a little added incentive for you.
While you may always have the big fat check from the NFL TV contracts, my guess is that a successful business man like yourself understands that in order to make as much money as possible on a product, that product must have a positive public perception. Otherwise, not only will local ticket sales tail off, but the money that comes in via merchandising, advertising, sponsorships, etc. will also suffer.
With that in mind I’d like to draw your attention to what the national perception of your team is. Here is a collection of comments, rankings, and observations from various national media members that have all come out in the past few days. This is what the country now thinks of your multi-million dollar company.
Gregg Rosenthal – NFL.com
“Seventy-nine teams have started 1-5 since the NFL’s new playoff format began in 1990. None of them have made the playoffs. The 2012 Kansas City Chiefs are not the team that is going to break this streak………..It’s not just about the 1-5 record. It’s how the Chiefs have lost, by 28 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 18 points to the Buffalo Bills and 17 points to the San Diego Chargers. They aren’t competitive against mediocre teams…………Pioli is highly unlikely to change head coaches again if he sticks around. So this is more about chairman Clark Hunt. The Chiefs want to be a stable franchise. We sense Hunt would like to show patience with Pioli. The rest of this season is about Pioli’s future. If the Chiefs remain a dumpster fire and finish with just a few wins, it will be hard to keep Pioli around.”
NFL.com Power Rankings:
Ranked #32
“This is getting ugly very, very fast. Brady Quinn continued the underwhelming quarterback play, which isn’t surprising. What is surprising is how the defense has been getting torched this season. Tampa Bay produced 463 yards of offense despite only having the ball for 26 minutes. That speaks to lots of big plays or “chunk” yardage, like Mike Williams’ 62-yard touchdown catch. Or another 62-yard grab by Tiquan Underwood (Tiquan Underwood?!). Or Doug Martin’s 42-yard catch-and-run. Take your pick. Oh, and on the subject of picks, the Chiefs aren’t getting enough of those, either — at least not enough to make up for all the yards allowed.”
ESPN Power Rankings:
Ranked #32
“The wheels have come off, and it doesn’t matter who the starting quarterback is.”
ESPN’s Bill Williamson (AFC West Blogger) reacting to Power Rankings:
His range for KC (31-32)
“The film doesn’t lie. The Chiefs are awful right now. This ranking won’t make the team’s beleaguered fans any happier.”
Yahoo! Sports Power Rankings:
Ranked #31
“The banner people got their wish, and you’re not going to believe this, but Brady Quinn playing in place of Matt Cassel did not magically solve all the Chiefs problems. I know, I was surprised, too. The Chiefs are off this coming week, and then come back to the face the Raiders, renewing a rivalry every bit as exciting as the one between Jacksonville and Tennessee.”
Yahoo’s Michael Silver:
“While Pioli has failed at building a strong organization, he has succeeded in helping Hunt save tens of millions of dollars over the past few seasons by taking advantage of the uncapped year (and other CBA-related nuances) to penny-pinch on payroll. If and when Pioli does sign an extension, that will be the real reason why.”
Pro Football Talk Power Rankings (done by alleged Pioli buddy Mike Florio)
Ranked #32
“With the first pick in the 2013 draft . . . .”
Doug Tucker, AP and Yahoo! Sports:
“Six weeks after launching the season with quiet hopes of winning the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs have staggered into their bye week 1-5. It’s not just any old 1-5. It’s an ugly 1-5. Every loss but one has been a blowout. The offense has not scored a touchdown in the last eight quarters. Their lone victory came on an overtime field goal in New Orleans. Not once has Kansas City been ahead on the scoreboard when the ball was snapped.”
Clark Judge, CBSSports.com:
“Romeo, Romeo, where aren’t thou? At the bottom of the heap, that’s where.”
Jen Floyd Engel, Fox Sports:
“As it turns out, Brady is that good. He and coach Bill Belichick are why the Patriots have been so good for so long. This does not qualify as earth-shattering or soul-crushing news unless, of course, you are the Kansas City Chiefs (or more succinctly, their fans) and you bought into this idea that Scott Pioli was really why New England won, was the genius behind the genius and was going to bring “The Patriot Way” to KC once he was hired as general manager………This is how Pioli ended up in KC, where he has proven himself not to be a genius or really even very good at his job. This is his fault, kind of, insomuch as he has been unable to land himself another Brady. Nothing can take away from Pioli’s obvious role in all of those Super Bowl rings and years of success in New England. He played a part for sure. As we watch this ugly train wreck go down in Kansas City, let us also remember the absurd amount of luck that came in finding Brady.”
Are you getting the picture, Clark? These aren’t just comments about a team losing, many of them are actually mocking your team for how bad they are.
Do you see what has happened to the national perception of your business? You have a bigger problem than just some fans cheering your injured QB or griping about the team on a blog. The value of your franchise is starting to decline because EVERYONE now sees that the quality of this organization is suffering. Not just a little, but so much that the Kansas City Chiefs are becoming a national punch line.
Sadly, the bad perception of your organization may run even deeper than the fans and the national media. Ask yourself this, Clark, why wouldn’t Peyton Manning even consider talking to your team about coming to KC? Why wouldn’t Jeff Fisher even interview for a coaching position with the Chiefs? It seems that the NFL’s best and brightest don’t think much of this business that you are running either.
It’s time to step up, Clark. I don’t care if you do it for fans like me who live and die with every win and loss, for your own bottom line, or just because you have a big ego and don’t want to be associated with losing and made fun of. The point is that there is NO sensible reason to just stay the course right now. This course is one that is running your biggest money maker into the ground.
It’s time to fire Scott Pioli and get this team headed in a new direction.
That’s not just fan rhetoric, Clark, it’s also good business.
As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!