كارل بيترسون

واجه بيترسون مهمة إعادة بناء فريق كانساس سيتي تشيفز. ففي المواسم السبعة عشر السابقة (1972-1988)، تعاقب على تدريب الفريق خمسة مدربين رئيسيين مختلفين، وثمانية لاعبين أساسيين في مركز صانع الألعاب، ولم يحقق سوى أربعة مواسم فائزة، وتأهل مرة واحدة فقط إلى الأدوار الإقصائية (1986). وبعد تلك المشاركة في الأدوار الإقصائية عام 1986، قامت إدارة الفريق بإقالة المدرب الرئيسي جون ماكوفيتش . وفي 24 يناير، تم الإعلان عن تعيين مارتي شوتينهايمر مدربًا رئيسيًا سابعًا لفريق كانساس سيتي.

في الجولة الأولى من اختيار اللاعبين الجدد في دوري كرة القدم الأمريكية للمحترفين عام 1989، استخدم بيترسون الاختيار الرابع لاختيار لاعب خط الوسط ديريك توماس من جامعة ألاباما . على مدى العقد التالي، اشتهر توماس في مدينة كانساس سيتي بأدائه المميز على أرض الملعب (134 تدخلًا ناجحًا لإسقاط حامل الكرة في 179 مباراة ضمن الموسم العادي ومباريات الأدوار الإقصائية، وتسع مشاركات في مباراة المحترفين). نجح بيترسون في اكتشاف لاعبين مميزين في جميع مراحل اختيار اللاعبين الجدد، بما في ذلك اختيارات الجولة الأولى مثل توماس (1989)، وديل كارتر (1992)، وجيروم وودز (1996)، وتوني غونزاليس (1997). توماس وغونزاليس عضوان في قاعة مشاهير كرة القدم الأمريكية للمحترفين. خلال المواسم العشرة الأولى تحت قيادة بيترسون، حقق فريق كانساس سيتي تشيفز سجلًا إجماليًا بلغ 104 انتصارات و65 خسارة وتعادلًا واحدًا (في الموسم العادي ومباريات الأدوار الإقصائية)، متوجًا بثلاثة ألقاب في القسم وسبع مشاركات في الأدوار الإقصائية.

After 10 seasons as head coach, Schottenheimer resigned following the 1998 season, the only one in a decade in which the Chiefs did not finish with a winning record. Peterson selected defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham to be head coach, and over two seasons the Chiefs finished with a 16–16 record. In the early days of 2001, Peterson learned that his former boss Dick Vermeil was interested in returning to coaching. After winning the Super Bowl in the 1999 season with the St. Louis Rams, Vermeil had retired for a second time. But he decided to return to the league, and he directed the team for five seasons (2001–05) and the team posted a 44–37 record, including a 13-3 division title year in 2003 that ended with a home loss in the AFC Divisional Playoffs to Indianapolis, 38–31.

When Vermeil retired for the third—and final—time as an NFL head coach, Peterson reached for a familiar name as his replacement: Herm Edwards. The pair had known each other since the days when UCLA assistant coach Peterson tried to recruit California high school player Edwards to become a Bruin. Later, Peterson signed Edwards as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles. He worked for the Chiefs as a scout for two years and was then hired in 1993 as the team's secondary coach. Edwards' tenure started strong when the Chiefs went 9–7 in the 2006 season, earning a spot in the playoffs where they lost in an AFC Wild Card Game to Indianapolis, 23–8. With the team's roster aging, Edwards began a building project, working with player personnel director Bill Kuharich to get more young talent on the field. The team went 4-12 (2007) and 2-14 (2008) in the next two seasons, and on December 15, 2008, Chiefs Chairman and Part Owner Clark Hunt announced Peterson's resignation, effective January 15, 2009.^[2]

In Peterson's 20 years with the Chiefs, they had six losing seasons, a record of 176–143–1, nine playoff seasons, in which they posted only a 3–9 record and just one AFC Championship appearance—in 1993. Over 20 years, eight players who wore a Chiefs uniform under Peterson's direction were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Besides the three Peterson draft choices that have been honored (Derrick Thomas in 2009, Will Shields in 2015 and Tony Gonzalez in 2019), center Mike Webster (1989–90) was inducted in 1997, QB Joe Montana (1993–94) in 2000, RB Marcus Allen (1993–97) in 2003, QB Warren Moon (1999–2000) in 2006 and LT Willie Roaf (2002–05) in 2012.

The Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972. To help him turn around the team's business, Peterson hired telecom executive Tim Connolly, who became the executive vice-president of administration. They began making changes inside and outside Arrowhead Stadium. There was a new partnership with Ticketmaster to make access to buying seats easier and the Chiefs improved handicap access. They moved the team's radio broadcast rights to an FM-music channel, 101 the Fox, in hopes of reaching a younger demographic that wasn't buying tickets. It was only the second NFL team to have its games carried on FM. Peterson began having his radio show every week during the season, giving fans access to the decision maker, something they never had during the previous administration. Peterson also reached out to Chiefs alumni who were no longer involved with the franchise. He formed the Chiefs Ambassadors, a group of former players who became involved in team functions, talking and helping current players, and also holding charitable events in the Kansas City community. The Ambassadors are still active and the idea has been copied by other NFL teams.

In 1988, the Chiefs reported 23,594 seats sold on a season ticket basis. That was out of a stadium capacity of over 78,000. The team averaged 50,781 fans per regular season home game. With the off-field changes, and growing success on the field, slowly fans started returning to Arrowhead. By 1991, the season ticket sales reached 52,867 seats, with an average attendance at home games of 74,762. In 1991, the Chiefs sold out their home opener against Atlanta, first in a string of 149 consecutive sellouts. They led the NFL in attendance for six straight years (1994–99) and the AFC in paid attendance every year from 1992 through 2008.

In June 2009 at the request of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Peterson became the chairman of USA Football. He replaced the late AFL quarterback and U.S. Congressman Jack Kemp, in the role after Kemp's death.^[8] Peterson previously served on the NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) Board of Directors, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation formed by the NFL and the NFLPA in 1998. The NFL Foundation committee was formed in 2013 to oversee much of the work previously established by the NFL YFF. Retired four-star Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno replaced Peterson as Chairman of USA Football in January 2017.

طلب المفوض روجر جوديل من بيترسون الانضمام إلى عدة لجان داخل دوري كرة القدم الأمريكية للمحترفين، بما في ذلك لجنة تُعنى بتقديم المعلومات الأساسية والتوصيات بشأن التعيينات المحتملة لمنصبي المدير العام والمدرب الرئيسي. كما طُلب منه العمل كمستشار للجنة اختيار قاعة مشاهير كرة القدم الأمريكية للمحترفين، والتي ساهمت في إنشاء فئة خاصة من المكرمين بمناسبة الذكرى المئوية لتأسيس الدوري.

طلب ستيفن روس، المدير التنفيذي للعقارات في نيويورك، من بيترسون أن يكون مستشارًا له في شؤون فريق ميامي دولفينز وشركة إعلامية تُدعى فانفيجن. كان روس قد استحوذ على حصة أغلبية في فريق دولفينز عام ٢٠٠٩، وشملت تلك الصفقة جهاز فانفيجن، وهو جهاز محمول يُتيح للجماهير في الملاعب والصالات الرياضية وحلبات السباق بثّ التلفزيون المباشر ومصادر معلومات أخرى. وقد ساعد بيترسون في تعريف روس بشخصيات بارزة في دوري كرة القدم الأمريكية (NFL) على أمل إقناعهم بالاشتراك في الخدمة.