Clark Hunt Voted To Keep Scott Pioli, According To Report

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

According to Bob Gretz of BobGretz.com, Kansas City Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt voted to retain former GM Scott Pioli but was out-voted by other team officials.

From Gretz:

"It happened near the end of the disastrous 2012 Chiefs season. Whether the moment came during a face-to-face meeting or over a conference call isn’t known. But the key members of the Hunt Family football franchise took a vote.The voters numbered six, including Lamar Jr., Sharron, Clark and Daniel Hunt – all four of the team’s owners. Also part of the moment was Lee Derrough, former president & CEO of Hunt Midwest Enterprises and now a trustee of the Lamar Hunt and family interests in Kansas City. The sixth person involved was team president Mark Donovan.The subject was the future of Scott Pioli as the franchise’s general manager. How much discussion, if any, that went on is not clear. What is known is that a vote was taken on whether to keep Pioli, or fire him after four years in charge of the Chiefs.The vote was 5-1, in favor of dumping Pioli. The only vote in his favor came from Clark Hunt."

If Gretz goes on to elaborate, I can’t tell you what he says because his site has a paywall but if this report is true, it may disappoint some Chiefs fans that are feeling a little more happy with Hunt’s job performance.

Just a week ago, we ran a story praising Hunt for the job he has done restructuring the organization following the disastrous 2012 season. Part of that praise was that Hunt recognized he had made a mistake with Pioli and made the hard decision to move on.

"When the season ended, Hunt acted swiftly. Head coach Romeo Crennel got the axe and Scott Pioli was put on notice that his days were likely numbered. I found it somewhat interesting that Hunt kept Pioli on board through the interview with eventual head coach Andy Reid. It was clear that Pioli didn’t get the job done and that it was time to move on but in the end, Hunt allowed Pioli to exit gracefully in what was trumpeted as a “mutual parting.” It was a kind way to deal with an employee that had taken the organization to new depths of futility and embarrassment, both on the field and off. To me, it indicated that perhaps the accusations that Hunt was nothing but a cold-hearted businessman that was only interested in money, were misguided."

Now it seems that, if Hunt had his way, Scott Pioli would still be the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs.

One could argue that by putting it up for a vote that Hunt still exhibited leadership and that that leadership led to making what most believe was the best decision for the Chiefs.

Still, it is a bit concerning that the man charged with running the organization couldn’t see that Pioli needed to go.

What do you think, Addicts? Is this much ado about nothing or does the fact that Hunt wanted to keep Pioli make you fearful of his future decision-making?