We’ve all been trying real hard to push Ted Thompson out of town, but Big Ted just won’t acquiesce. So we get to look forward to at least one more year of the Green Bay Packers making the playoffs, but not being stocked with the players they need to win a Super Bowl.
Big Ted’s contract runs through the 2018 draft (unless that status quo-loving twerp Mark Murphy decides to extend it). So there’s been plenty of speculation about when Thompson might be done riding Aaron Rodgers’ coattails
When that speculation arises, one name that always comes up is Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey.
Dorsey played for the Packers and started his career in the front office in Green Bay. He rose as high as director of football operations, which is the job right below GM. It makes sense that Dorsey might want to return to the Packers. After all, he’s done it once before.
Dorsey spent 1999 as director of player personnel in Seattle. He returned to the Packers as director of college scouting in 2000. If you notice, that move was not even lateral. It was backwards.
Regardless, Dorsey now has to discuss his intentions. He did that today with the Kansas City media. Of course, he had glowing things to say.
"This has been the greatest four years of my life."
~ John Dorsey expressing his love for the Chiefs and the KC community.
— Chiefs Reporter (@ChiefsReporter) February 9, 2017
"I want to see baby Jack graduate high school (in KC),'' — GM John Dorsey on whether he's with Chiefs for the long term
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) February 9, 2017
To the first comment, of course they’ve been the greatest four years of his life. He’s doing the job he’s always dreamed of doing. If we were to annotate that, we’d just add, “But I suspect my life would improve even more if I were running the Packers.”
To the second comment, Dorsey’s son is five years old. That would seem to signal that he’s around for the long haul in Kansas City. However, from what we’ve gathered, Dorsey chose his words carefully. At no point did he specifically say anything about the Packers. So if we were to annotate that, we’d add… “unless the Packers offer me their top job.”
You can read Dorsey’s full comments in the Kansas City Star. Perhaps my favorite exchange is this one.
“I like to be thought of as a man who finishes what he starts … I want to see baby Jack graduate high school,” said Dorsey.
When asked to clarify if he wants to see that in Kansas City, Dorsey responded “why not?”
Why not?
“Why not?” is not “Yes, of course.”
Maybe there’s nothing here, but we’ve seen this so many times. You can’t say you’re bolting for another job before you actually turn in your resignation. What’s more, the Packers can’t actually have an agreement with Dorsey in place, at least not a formal one, this far in advance.
They certainly could have shared a wink and a smile at some point, though.