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Chiefs’ new chief operating officer
Salary-cap expert Thum is promoted
Peterson makes move with eye toward future
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Even as they announced his promotion to the team’s No. 2 day-to-day position, the Chiefs were careful not to proclaim Denny Thum as their next general manager.
But clearly the move from assistant general manager to chief operating officer makes Thum a more viable candidate to succeed Carl Peterson eventually. Thum will become involved in virtually every aspect of the business, from marketing and sales to salary-cap management and contract negotiation.
Peterson indicated the move was as much for the future as the present and that the Chiefs might be preparing Thum, 54, for something bigger.
“That’s fair to say,” Peterson said. “We’ll see what happens there. You’re getting to the question of whether I’m getting ready to replace myself. I’m not there yet. But we are preparing for the future.”
Peterson said in January that his contract, which runs four more years, would probably be his last. Since then, Peterson has made a series of moves that appear to be aimed at ensuring the Chiefs are in capable hands once he’s gone.
He hired Herm Edwards as head coach, promoted Bill Kuharich to vice president for player personnel and now elevated Thum.
Owner Lamar Hunt said the Chiefs weren’t necessarily grooming Thum as Peterson’s replacement.
“That’s really conjecture for down the line,” Hunt said. “Let’s leave this as what it is today. We wanted to assure Denny is with this organization on a long-term basis. This is a reward for Denny for his years with the organization.”
Thum joined the Chiefs in 1974 as an accountant and worked his way to his spot as Peterson’s main adviser on most football-related financial matters. He is generally acknowledged around the league as one of the better salary-cap managers.
Thum in recent years talked to other NFL teams about vacant general-manager positions. He turned down an offer in 2000 from the Saints to be their vice president and GM.
“People in the National Football League know who Denny is,” Peterson said.
Thum, with his financial background, hasn’t been intimately involved in many football decisions. His hiring as president would necessitate the need for a general manager with a football background.
Last winter’s promotion of Kuharich could push him into the circle of candidates. Kuharich is a former general manager of the Saints.
“I’ve got two very talented people here in Denny Thum and Bill Kuharich as well as a lot of other people,” Peterson said. “I want to take advantage of their talents and also give them an opportunity.
“We all know Lamar Hunt and Clark Hunt and the Hunt family will be making decisions on who will be running the Chiefs both from the football side and from the business side. It will be their decision. Will that be one of these individuals? Both of them? I can’t tell you.
“But I want to give them the opportunity to grow in their jobs.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansa...rce=rss&channel=kansascity_kansas_city_chiefs
Salary-cap expert Thum is promoted
Peterson makes move with eye toward future
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Even as they announced his promotion to the team’s No. 2 day-to-day position, the Chiefs were careful not to proclaim Denny Thum as their next general manager.
But clearly the move from assistant general manager to chief operating officer makes Thum a more viable candidate to succeed Carl Peterson eventually. Thum will become involved in virtually every aspect of the business, from marketing and sales to salary-cap management and contract negotiation.
Peterson indicated the move was as much for the future as the present and that the Chiefs might be preparing Thum, 54, for something bigger.
“That’s fair to say,” Peterson said. “We’ll see what happens there. You’re getting to the question of whether I’m getting ready to replace myself. I’m not there yet. But we are preparing for the future.”
Peterson said in January that his contract, which runs four more years, would probably be his last. Since then, Peterson has made a series of moves that appear to be aimed at ensuring the Chiefs are in capable hands once he’s gone.
He hired Herm Edwards as head coach, promoted Bill Kuharich to vice president for player personnel and now elevated Thum.
Owner Lamar Hunt said the Chiefs weren’t necessarily grooming Thum as Peterson’s replacement.
“That’s really conjecture for down the line,” Hunt said. “Let’s leave this as what it is today. We wanted to assure Denny is with this organization on a long-term basis. This is a reward for Denny for his years with the organization.”
Thum joined the Chiefs in 1974 as an accountant and worked his way to his spot as Peterson’s main adviser on most football-related financial matters. He is generally acknowledged around the league as one of the better salary-cap managers.
Thum in recent years talked to other NFL teams about vacant general-manager positions. He turned down an offer in 2000 from the Saints to be their vice president and GM.
“People in the National Football League know who Denny is,” Peterson said.
Thum, with his financial background, hasn’t been intimately involved in many football decisions. His hiring as president would necessitate the need for a general manager with a football background.
Last winter’s promotion of Kuharich could push him into the circle of candidates. Kuharich is a former general manager of the Saints.
“I’ve got two very talented people here in Denny Thum and Bill Kuharich as well as a lot of other people,” Peterson said. “I want to take advantage of their talents and also give them an opportunity.
“We all know Lamar Hunt and Clark Hunt and the Hunt family will be making decisions on who will be running the Chiefs both from the football side and from the business side. It will be their decision. Will that be one of these individuals? Both of them? I can’t tell you.
“But I want to give them the opportunity to grow in their jobs.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansa...rce=rss&channel=kansascity_kansas_city_chiefs