This has been a rather rough offseason for once successful general managers. The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Thursday that they have fired general manager John Dorsey. The two sides were trying to work out a contract extension, but once talks fell apart, the Chiefs decided they did not want to wait through a lame-duck season.
Dorsey’s departure caps off an ugly offseason for some executives that had success in recent years. This offseason has seen the PFWA Executive of the Year for 2013 (Dorsey), 2012 (Ryan Grigson) and 2011 (Trent Baalke) fired. 2010 executive of the year Scott Pioli was fired by the Chiefs four years ago.
All 4 Executives of the Year from 2010-2013 have been fired pic.twitter.com/OqKh5IvsvF
— Sam HawkBadger (@hwkbgr) June 22, 2017
I took a look at recent executive of the year winners, and it might not be too long before another one gets fired. The 2015 winner was New York Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan, following a surprise 10-6 season. Of course, the Jets got the performance of a lifetime from Ryan Fitzpatrick and had a strong defense. I don’t think Maccagnan will be fired after a poor 2017 season, but he could end up on the hot seat sooner rather than later.
The other two Executive of the Year winners since Dorsey are Jerry Jones and Reggie McKenzie. Jones also owns the team, so he’s not going anywhere. McKenzie’s rebuilding job in Oakland is making huge strides. The Raiders made the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and are one of the teams expected to challenge the New England Patriots in 2017. The team is officially rebuilt, and with Derek Carr signing his big extension, they have a solid core in place.