Why the Kansas City Chiefs should wait to hire their new GM

The best move the Kansas City Chiefs can make at this point is to appoint Brett Veach as their interim GM and let the season play out.

The Kansas City Chiefs certainly have a decent selection of choices before them at this point for a new General Manager. After firing John Dorsey (we refuse to believe any other story), Clark Hunt has quickly decided on a handful of new options, including in-house favorite Brett Veach. Others include a respect TV analyst and former front office exec who’s familiar with Andy Reid (Louis Riddick), a seasoned, successful front office vet who will get his turn somewhere (Scott Fitterer) and an upcoming option who seems to be ascending the ladder faster than most (Ryan Cowden). If you absolutely have to make a list in late June, that’s not so bad.

All that said, another question needs to be asked: what is the hurry? It’s obvious to think about replacing something that’s been lost. That much is instinctual, but before Clark Hunt decides to change the leadership culture, whether just a bit or drastically, there should be at least a moment to consider whether or not Dorsey even needs to be replaced at this point. What is the hurry?

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Think about this: the roster is largely set. The Chiefs are unlikely to make any big acquisitions (Zach Orr dreams aside) heading into the season, and if Brett Veach is a good candidate for the long-term replacement of Dorsey, then trying him out in the short-term without committing to a full-on restructure seems like a good plan. If you’re already paying a guy to do one job and like him to potentially handle more, then give him more and say, “Let’s see how you handle this.”

If Veach can handle the job, then by all means, hand him the keys in January. If, however, it appears he’s not quite ready for one aspect or another, there’s nothing in Hunt’s way from starting the job search all over again when executives from every NFL team will be available (and ready to move). The issue right now for the Chiefs is that so many potential hires are unavailable because their respective teams won’t allow them to interview. Who can blame them? We’re less than a month from the opening of training camp for most teams.

There’s no reason that the current skeletal structure of the Chiefs front office cannot handle the rigors of the regular season. Maybe it becomes a more collaborative effort. Maybe Andy Reid weighs in a bit more, which is certainly something he’s done before in Philadelphia, on personnel matters. Scouts will continue to prepare for the short- and long-term as normal even as others step up a bit to make final decisions on the roster, to decide on the practice squad, to prepare the parameters of potential extensions for Dee Ford and even Marcus Peters for next season. There’s no reason the current staff cannot handle all of this and more.

Why limit yourself for the sake of immediately filling a role, when a trial period makes so much sense for all parties involved? The one person who likely hates the idea is Veach himself, and that’s understandable. Who wouldn’t want some more security when stepping into a role? But this is a team that has preached about the importance of competition at every position, knowing that it brings out the best in a player. The same is true for an executive and perhaps the Chiefs best move going forward is to let Veach serve as interim GM and see what the full array of options are next winter.

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