Meet the candidates to be the Kansas City Chiefs next GM

Name: Brett Veach

Current role: Kansas City Chiefs, Co-Director of Player Personnel

Enter the odds-on favorite for a number of reasons: Brett Veach. Veach was mentioned this spring as a potential early candidate for the Buffalo Bills job, but that turned out to be a media leak of some kind since the Chiefs Co-Director of Player Personnel never even earned a first interview (or the chance to decline one). Maybe that last bit of info was just never made public, but the early blip about the Bills is all we have to go on in terms of how Veach is viewed around the NFL.

The path of least resistance for Chiefs owner Clark Hunt would be to hire from within. It would likely bode well for all of the team’s current front office execs for Hunt to honor their work even as he fired their boss and many would likely receive a promotion in the process. The selection of Veach, or even Mike Borgonzi for that matter (the other Co-Director), would also allow the Chiefs to move forward with as little drama as possible. There’s little for the media to applaud in this instance, but it’s also impossible to critique. It’s a blank slate with little room for commentary. That’s a nice way out for Hunt of the current drama.

But is that the best move for the team? To Hunt’s credit, he certainly gets his man. No single NFL GM has ever been as hot as Scott Pioli at the time and Hunt reeled him in. When Andy Reid came available, by far the most credible head coach to hit the “available” ranks in years who was actually interested in coaching more (unlike names like Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden), Hunt got him as well. If Veach gets the job, you have to believe it’s about more than keeping the peace. It will be because he’s the right man at the right time.

The latest: Veach should have an early interview as the in-house favorite.