The Kansas City Chiefs must have figured if the Green Bay Packers were playing in the NFC playoffs on Saturday night, they were making a wise choice for their next general manager.

The Chiefs announced during the first half of the Packers’ game against the San Francisco 49ers that they had hired longtime Green Bay personnel man John Dorsey to replace Scott Pioli, who was fired after four tumultuous years and a 2-14 finish this past season.

The team announced the hiring on Twitter, but did not make Dorsey, Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt or new coach Andy Reid available to comment. An introductory news conference was scheduled for Monday.

Hunt did describe his ideal GM candidate in an interview earlier in the week: ”First of all, someone who’s a sharp talent evaluator,” he said. ”I’d like someone who’s been part of a successful program from a talent standpoint. Someone who’s a good communicator, a good manager, and last but really not least, someone who will work well with Andy.”

Hunt may as well have been describing Dorsey, a linebacker for the Packers in the 1980s.

Dorsey was instrumental in helping build Green Bay into a perennial contender, first as a college scout from 1991-97 and then as director of college scouting from 1997-98 – a period that roughly coincided with Reid’s time as a Packers assistant coach.

Dorsey spent one season with the Seattle Seahawks before returning to Green Bay, where he was director of college scouting from 2000-12 and director of football operations this season.

During that time, the Packers have won six division titles, a conference championship and the 2010 Super Bowl. They’ve also made nine playoff appearances in the past 12 seasons.

Dorsey helped select quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft, and has been a part of several other solid draft choices: linebacker Nick Barnett in 2003, wide receiver Greg Jennings and linebacker A.J. Hawk in 2006, wide receiver Jordy Nelson and tight end Jermichael Finley in 2008, and defensive tackle B.J. Raji in 2010.

All that success in the NFL draft should come in handy. The Chiefs, with the league’s worst record, will have the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history.

One of their most pressing needs is an upgrade at quarterback, where Matt Cassel and his six-year, $63 million contract were benched last season. Brady Quinn started half the season and fared little better, while third-string quarterback Ricky Stanzi never saw the field.

Reid said recently he’s going to examine the players on the roster, and then consult with the GM – whoever it ended up being – on what other options are available.

That may include selecting a quarterback with the first pick in the draft.

”You don’t build your team in free agency. That’s not how you go about it,” Reid said. ”I’ve experienced that. I’ve seen it first-hand. You can afford to bring a guy in here or there, but you better have that nucleus of guys that you kind of raised up, and then what’s important about that is you better make sure you have the right guy. And that’s the general manager’s responsibility. You have to identify the right guy.”

Hunt and Reid both insisted that the coach will not have final say on personnel decisions, and that the general manager will be responsible for building a winning roster.

The Chiefs have won the AFC West twice since 1997, and haven’t won a playoff game since ’93.

”You’d love to get good players. That’s the primary thing,” Reid said. ”As the general manager comes in, that’s what he’s going to do. That’s his responsibility. He’s going to narrow that whole field down, makes sure he brings in good football players.”

Dorsey will report directly to Hunt, just as Pioli and other GMs have in the past. But during a massive overhaul of the Chiefs’ front office, the chairman said he’s altering the organizational structure so Reid also reports directly to him.

In the past, Chiefs coaches always reported to the general manager.

”The general manager has say over personnel. The coach has say over coaching the football team. And I want them to be able to work together,” Hunt said. ”That’s the most important thing.”

— Associated Press —

Andy Reid is wasting about as much time putting together his first coaching staff in Kansas City as he did in finding his new job.

The Chiefs coach announced Friday that former Eagles coach Doug Peterson would be his offensive coordinator and longtime Jets assistant Bob Sutton the defensive coordinator, along with the majority of the staff Reid hopes will turn around a 2-14 franchise.

The moves come one week after Reid was hired by the Chiefs to replace the fired Romeo Crennel and less than two weeks after he was dismissed following 14 seasons with the Eagles.

Reid announced that Matt Nagy will coach the Chiefs’ quarterbacks after two seasons as the Eagles’ offensive quality control coach. Eric Bieniemy will work with running backs, Tom Melvin the tight ends, and David Culley will be an assistant head coach and work with wide receivers.

Reid has not announced an offensive line coach. Tommy Brasher will work with the defensive line, but Reid has not announced coaches for linebackers, defensive backs or special teams.

“I’m pleased we were able to get all of these coaches on board,” Reid said. “I have relationships with each of them, and I know their past experiences, work ethics and coaching styles. These are high-character coaches, and each one brings something different to the table.”

Pederson spent 12 seasons playing quarterback in the NFL, most of them with Green Bay. But he started the first part of the 1999 season for Philadelphia, when Reid has just been hired. He then helped tutor Donovan McNabb, the Eagles’ second overall pick in the draft.

Pederson retired in 2004 and began his coaching career, spending two years as Reid’s quality control coach and the past two seasons working with the Eagles’ quarterbacks.

“Doug has been around the game a long time, and he has great vision,” Reid said. “As a former player in this league, he sees the game from a different perspective, and that will be a great benefit for our players. He has a knack for developing talent.”

Pederson will inherit an offense that was among the NFL’s worst last season with quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn. Pederson and Reid both said they’ll examine the QB options already on the roster, but they’ll also consider free agency, the trade market and using their No. 1 pick in the draft on upgrading the position.

“It’s something I’ve studied the last few days, ever since Coach Reid and I talked about coming in,” Pederson said on a conference call with reporters. “It’s a very talented group. It could be an explosive group,” he said. “There’s some weapons there on offense. Very similar to the circumstances we had this past year in Philadelphia.”

Sutton will take over a defense that fared only slightly better than the Chiefs’ offense.

A longtime college coach, Sutton spent nine seasons as the coach of Army before spending the past 13 seasons with the Jets. He was their linebackers coach from 2000-05, defensive coordinator for three years and senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for two years. He spent the past season as Rex Ryan’s assistant head coach.

“Bob is a creative coach that is going to give our defense a variety of looks and packages,” Reid said. “He has a lot of experience and is well respected across the league.”

Bieniemy has spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Colorado. Melvin, Culley and Brasher all spent time with Reid in Philadelphia.

Reid also announced that Barry Rubin would serve as the Chiefs’ head strength coach and Travis Crittenden would be his assistant. Reid’s son, Britt Reid, and Corey Matthaei will be in charge of quality control, and Mike Frazier will be their statistical analysis coordinator.

— Associated Press —