John Dorsey called becoming the general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs the ”perfect storm.” The word ”serendipity” may have been more appropriate.

The longtime Packers personnel man met his wife, Patricia, on a blind date orchestrated by former Chiefs executive Lamonte Winston several years ago. Patricia had attended the University of Kansas and lived in Kansas City, and Dorsey remembers being smitten by her.

”I’ll be honest with you, the moment I met her, I knew I’d marry her. That’s the truth,” he said. ”And I could see that she didn’t walk away from me, so that was good.”

Dorsey was also smitten by Kansas City.

Even though he played for the Packers during the 1980s, and got his start in their scouting department, he still considered the Chiefs his ”dream job.” So when chairman Clark Hunt called looking for a replacement for the fired Scott Pioli, Dorsey couldn’t turn down the chance.

Dorsey was officially introduced as the Chiefs’ new general manager on Monday.

”I was like, ‘If this could possibly work out, would we be at peace with this whole thing?”’ Dorsey said. ”Once Trish was at peace with it, and I was at peace with it, that was a good thing. And then we had to make sure Clark Hunt said yes. And my gosh, when he said yes, I looked right at her, and I said, ‘You would not believe what that phone call just was.”’

It was the culmination of more than two decades of work in Green Bay, where Dorsey was instrumental in putting together drafts that helped the Packers win nine division championships, three conference titles and Super Bowls in 1996 and 2010.

”I didn’t know a lot about him other than his reputation,” Hunt said. ”I can’t tell you how excited he was. He said, ‘This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.”’

Dorsey takes over a team that was 2-14 last season, the worst finish in franchise history and tied for the worst record in the NFL. There are problems at quarterback, holes up and down the roster and several top players about to become free agents.

But he also inherits a franchise that will have the No. 1 pick for the first time, and that has plenty of salary cap space to begin plugging all those holes.

”We would like to be consistently competitive in this division, this conference and ultimately the Super Bowl. That’s why we’re here, to do the job,” Dorsey said. ”I’m going to do everything within my God-given ability to make sure we have a competitive team in the NFL.”

Dorsey will have final say over all personnel matters, but he’ll likely get plenty of input from new coach Andy Reid, whom he worked with in Green Bay during the 1990s.

The former Eagles coach was introduced as Romeo Crennel’s replacement a week ago.

”I’m happy to work with John again,” Reid said. ”I’ve known John for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s a talented individual with a strong work ethic.”

He’s also a ”people person,” Hunt said, someone who can bridge divides.

Hunt interviewed Dorsey for about six hours last Tuesday. The discussions continued for several days before Dorsey, who had bypassed other GM overtures in the past, finally decided to move into the hot seat in Kansas City.

”In his interview, although it went on for a while, he showed a high degree of enthusiasm the whole way,” Hunt said, ”which showed to me that Kansas City was a priority for him.”

Dorsey said he spent an hour with the personnel staff Monday, and that his next order of business is to evaluate the current roster. He wants to meet with the coaching staff to discuss their philosophy, and then outline a plan for free agency and begin meeting about the draft.

The draft, of course, is where Dorsey burnished his reputation.

He began his career as a college scout in Green Bay, and later rose to director of college scouting. During his years with the Packers, Dorsey helped to scout and draft quarterback Aaron Rodgers, defensive tackle B.J. Raji, linebackers Clay Matthews and A.J. Hawk, and wide receivers Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings and Randall Cobb.

”John has been a loyal member of the Packers family and the Green Bay community for more than half of his life,” Packers GM Ted Thompson said in a statement. ”The Chiefs have hired a good man, and John has earned this opportunity.”

Dorsey didn’t get into details about what the next few months will hold for the Chiefs, though there are several personnel decisions that must be made soon.

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and left tackle Branden Albert are among several key players who can become free agents, and could potentially be franchised. Other players will also be available on the free-agent market, though Dorsey warned about the flaws of building a team in that way.

”I like to be selective in free agency,” he said. ”I always believe you can still get value within that philosophy, and you can still acquire players.”

The Chiefs are also in desperate need of an upgrade at quarterback, where Matt Cassel was benched last season and Brady Quinn fared little better.

Kansas City has only drafted one quarterback in the past six seasons – Ricky Stanzi in the fifth round. The Chiefs also haven’t picked a quarterback higher than the third round since 1992, and in the first round since choosing Todd Blackledge in ’83.

”Any time when you begin to build a franchise, let’s be real, the quarterback is a very important part,” Dorsey said. ”As you note the last couple weeks in the playoffs, the quarterback position is a very important position to the long-term success of the organization.”

— Associated Press —

The first call that Andy Reid received came from Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt.

Reid had just been dismissed after coaching the Eagles for 14 seasons, and was back at his office after addressing his team one last time. The phone rang and Hunt was on the other end, asking whether Reid would be interested in a face-to-face meeting two days later.

“There are certain families that stand out, and the Hunt family is just tops,” Reid said of the family that founded the franchise 53 years ago. “They’re phenomenal.”

The meeting was set for Wednesday in Philadelphia, and Reid’s agent Bob LaMonte figured it would take about three hours. But when Reid got in front of Hunt, the two hit it off so well that time kept slipping away — four hours, then six, then eight hours of conversations.

After nine hours, it became clear that Reid would be the Chiefs’ next coach.

He was introduced on Monday at a packed news conference at Arrowhead Stadium, taking over a once-proud franchise that went 2-14 last season and hasn’t won a playoff game since 1993.

“There was a certain energy that started with Clark and radiated through the other people I met with, and it was just great,” Reid said. “You got the feeling that this was right. It was the right thing to do. It made the decision easy. I crossed my fingers that I’d be offered the job.”

Reid agreed to a five-year deal, a person with knowledge of the contract told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not disclosed.

He takes over for Romeo Crennel, who was fired Monday after his first full season.

“Sometimes change is good,” said Reid, who coached the Eagles to a 4-12 record this season, dragging down his career record of 130-93-1. “It could be tremendous for the Philadelphia Eagles, and at the same time, I think it’s going to be tremendous for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Reid said he’s met with the current Chiefs assistant coaches, but would not say whether any of them will be retained. Reid did say he plans to bring along some of his staff from Philadelphia, and quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson is one of the hot names.

Reid also said he’ll sit in on interviews for the Chiefs’ general manager, but he’ll leave the final decision up to Hunt. The Chiefs parted ways with Scott Pioli on Friday after four tumultuous seasons, just hours before Reid agreed to his deal.

Among the candidates for the job are former Browns general manager Tom Heckert and longtime Packers personnel man John Dorsey, both of whom have a history with Reid.

Reid said he’s already started to dig into the current Chiefs roster — he had already watched video of all 16 games last season by the time he was interviewed. And he said he’s buoyed by the fact that the Chiefs have five players who were voted to the Pro Bowl, and they’ll have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft for the first time in franchise history.

That should allow Reid and the Chiefs’ retooled front office to start filling holes, the biggest of which is at quarterback, where Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn struggled all season.

“I’m going to dig in and look at that and we’ll build that thing,” Reid said. “We’ll see how that works out, but I need to spend some time at that.”

Reid certainly has experience in rebuilding a franchise.

The Eagles were 3-13 before he arrived in 1999. He drafted Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 pick in that year’s draft, won five games the following year and then went 11-5 and finished second in the NFC East — the first of five straight seasons in which he won at least 11 games.

“When I look at the Chiefs, I look at the bigger picture. What are they truly about? What are they made of?” Reid said. “Every organization goes through a lull, personnel changes, players grow old, they change. Maybe a draft pick here or there didn’t work, a free agent didn’t work. That happens. What’s the grit of the organization?

“I’ve been in this thing long enough to appreciate that,” Reid said. “I came from a great organization. I wanted to make sure I had that opportunity to be again in a great organization.”

That’s part of the reason that Reid did his homework on the Chiefs.

In the time between Hunt’s initial phone call and that first meeting in Philadelphia, Reid reached out to former Eagles and Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. Reid wanted to know about the Hunt family, about the organization and whether it might be the right fit.

“I just told him to go. That was the first thing,” Vermeil told The Associated Press. “He asked, ‘Well, can I win there?’ And I said, ‘Andy, you can win anywhere.'”

He ultimately chose to win in Kansas City.

After that lengthy meeting in Philadelphia, Hunt said he still wasn’t sure whether Reid was truly on the hook. But the following day, Reid canceled an interview with Arizona and decided not to pursue interest from San Diego, and instead scheduled a trip to visit Kansas City.

When he arrived on Friday, he was tailed to Arrowhead Stadium by helicopters from local television stations. Every step he took was watched by fans that had been pining all season for change. A few of them even showed up with footballs, hoping to land his autograph.

He signed his name, adding “Go Chiefs.”

Reid said he didn’t consider taking some time off, despite a trying season on and off the field. His oldest son, Garrett, died during training camp after a long battle with drug addiction.

“I’m ready to go. This is what I do,” he said. “Never took that into consideration.”

It was something Hunt considered during that initial meeting. But it didn’t take long for the soft-spoken coach with the bushy mustache — “Big Red” to those who know him well — to set the Chiefs chairman at ease, and convince Hunt he was the right man for the job.

“It was a very hard year on all of us, my family, the fans, everyone,” Hunt said. “When you’re not successful in the National Football League, change is coming. And I’m glad 2012 is in the rear-view mirror. We’re onto 2013, and in Andy, we already have our first victory.”

— Associated Press —

The Kansas City Chiefs fired coach Romeo Crennel on Monday, but made no move on embattled general manager Scott Pioli despite a 2-14 season marked by blowout losses, fan rebellion and a murder-suicide involving one of their players.

Crennel was fired after one full season as coach, and one day after Kansas City matched the fewest wins in franchise history with an embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. “I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Chiefs. The entire football operation will remain under review and there may be additional changes to come.”

Hunt said that “no final determination has been made” about Pioli’s future.

The Chiefs’ only victories this season came against New Orleans and Carolina, the latter coming one day after linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death and then drove to the team’s practice facility and turned the gun on himself as Crennel and Pioli looked on.

Crennel seemed to know the end was coming Sunday night when he was asked to defend his job and said, “If your criteria is wins and losses, there’s not much defense.”

Kansas City will have the No. 1 pick in the draft after the most disappointing season in its 53-year history. The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired. They were 2-12 in 1977, the only other time they’ve failed to win at least three games.

“Words can’t describe it, to be honest with you,” cornerback Brandon Flowers said. “We have to do the best we can to block this out and start from scratch next year.”

With five players voted to the Pro Bowl last week, there are certainly pieces in place for the Chiefs to make rapid improvement. But four of them were inherited by Pioli’s regime, and that haul of Pro Bowl players may have been Crennel’s biggest indictment.

The only other teams with at least five players voted to the all-star game made the playoffs.

The Chiefs’ inept offense managed 18 touchdowns in 16 games, finished minus-24 in turnover ratio and lost nine times by two touchdowns or more. Along the way, they broke an 83-year-old NFL record by not holding a lead in regulation until their ninth game.

Crennel, whose career record as a head coach is 28-55, was hired in 2010 to be the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator. Respected by his players, he was appointed interim coach last December when Pioli fired Todd Haley with three games left in the season.

Crennel immediately brought a sense of stability to a floundering franchise, defeating the previously unbeaten Green Bay Packers and winning at Denver in the season finale – after which, players spontaneously started chanting his name in the visiting locker room.

“That’s my guy. Everybody knows that,” defensive tackle Shaun Smith said. “That’s not only my coach, that’s my role model. My father figure. We don’t just talk football, we talk life.”

With the support of the players, Pioli made Crennel the permanent coach a few weeks later, giving him another opportunity as a head coach after going 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns.

The season wound up being a disappointment from the start.

The Chiefs were blown out by the Falcons in their opener, trounced on the road by the Bills and needed an 18-point comeback to force overtime in their win over the Saints.

Then a stretch of eight consecutive defeats.

Empty seats began to multiply at Arrowhead Stadium, once one of the most intimidating venues in the NFL. An organized fan rebellion paid for banners to be towed behind airplanes asking for Pioli to be fired, and the majority of fans dressed in black for a home game against Cincinnati.

Nothing Crennel did seemed to work, either.

He began the season as the defensive coordinator, but fired himself and turned those duties over to linebackers coach Gary Gibbs. He benched Matt Cassel, in the fourth year of a $63 million contract, and went with Brady Quinn, who played just as poorly the rest of the season.

Injuries were numerous, turnovers plentiful, penalties crippling and blown assignments became the hallmark of a team that was rarely in games into the fourth quarter.

Then came the morning of Dec. 1, when tragedy struck.

Belcher, a part-time starter, shot the mother of his 3-month-old daughter, Kasandra Perkins, multiple times at a home not far from Arrowhead Stadium. The linebacker then sped to the team’s practice facility and was confronted by Pioli, who tried to talk him out of more violence.

After thanking Pioli and Crennel for his chance in the NFL, Belcher shot himself in the head.

The Chiefs played the following day against Carolina, and Crennel was praised for the way he stoically led a team in turmoil. Kansas City put together its best performance in a 27-21 victory.

It wound up being their last win, though.

The Chiefs were blown out by Cleveland, shut out by Oakland and beaten by the Colts before an embarrassing season finale against the Broncos.

It was enough to finish Crennel, and enough to put Pioli’s future in jeopardy.

“I want our fans to know that I will do everything I can to provide them a dramatically better team,” Hunt said, “both next season and in the seasons to come.”

— Associated Press —

Peyton Manning figured one one-handed catch deserved another.

So, up the ladder he went – throwing the ball high in the back of the end zone to Demaryius Thomas.

Thomas leaped and brought it down with his right hand, then got both feet down inside the line for a touchdown. With that, he joined Eric Decker in Denver’s one-handed-touchdown club Sunday and gave the Broncos another otherworldly highlight to go with their home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after a 38-3 runaway over the Kansas City Chiefs.

”They claim they can do that all the time,” said cornerback Champ Bailey, who got to watch the replays of both catches about a half-dozen times on the scoreboard. ”They say they practice that. I don’t see it. But as long as they do it on Sunday, I’m all for it. Those are some great, hard-working boys and I expect nothing less.”

Manning, in search of his fifth MVP award and, yes, a second Super Bowl title, finished 23 for 29 for 304 yards, three scores and a 144.8 passer rating. One of his main competitors for the award, Adrian Peterson of the Vikings, ran for 199 yards to reach 2,097 for the season in a 37-34 win over Green Bay that secured a playoff berth.

That one went down to the wire. Manning was out of his game by the fourth quarter.

This was the second straight Sunday he used a grey-and-orange glove to prepare for the cold, playoff weather he could face at home the next two games.

”I threw it OK today, I guess,” said Manning, who finished the season with 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns and a 105.8 passer rating, all second best in his 15-year career.

Thanks to Houston’s 28-16 loss to Indianapolis before the Broncos kicked off, Denver (13-3) will be the top seed for the sixth time. The Broncos made the Super Bowl four of the previous five times they’ve had home-field advantage.

Though the Chiefs (2-14) gave the Broncos as tough a tussle as anyone during their 11-game winning streak – in a 17-9 loss last month – this wasn’t expected to be much of a game. It wasn’t.

Leave it to Manning, ever the perfectionist, to ramp up the degree of difficulty.

On the 16-yard touchdown to Decker, Manning slightly overthrew the pass but Decker reached out with his left hand, brought the ball into his helmet, had it pinball against his facemask twice, then cradled it with both hands as he was falling to the ground.

”Peyton throws the ball up, giving us a chance to make a play. It’s our job to catch it,” Decker said.

The 13-yard touchdown to the 6-foot-3 Thomas mirrored a TD pass Manning threw to Decker last week against Cleveland: high in the back of the end zone where only his receiver could catch it.

”That was probably the limit right there,” Manning said. ”But I’ve seen him in practice. He can jump. He can really elevate. It’s hard to throw it over his head, I’ll say that.”

The Thomas touchdown made it 28-3 and the celebration was on. The only trip the Broncos will have to make on their road to a championship would be to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. They’ll open the playoffs at home Jan. 12 against Baltimore, Cincinnati or Manning’s old team, the Colts.

Coach John Fox, in search of his second trip to the Super Bowl, won his 100th career game. Thomas and linebacker Wesley Woodyard congratulated him with a big splash of orange Gatorade at the end.

”It’s an accomplishment, but it’s something that was a lot of people’s work. It wasn’t one guy,” Fox said.

Nor would Manning take all the credit for all he’s accomplished in this, a comeback season in which he didn’t know what to expect.

This marked his 73rd three-touchdown game, surpassing the record held by Brett Favre. Manning closed the regular season only 41 yards short of his career high.

”It’s been a gratifying regular season,” Manning said. ”I will admit that. It is certainly more than I expected. I’m grateful and humble for it.”

On the other end of the spectrum are the Chiefs, who, like the Broncos, had five Pro Bowlers on their roster, but finished with 119 yards of offense and wrapped up the first pick in next year’s draft.

Coach Romeo Crennel watched the game from the sideline, leaning on a crutch, after having his knee drained of fluid earlier in the week. Many in Kansas City expect him to be unemployed soon.

”I told him it’s been a long one,” Chiefs defensive lineman Shaun Smith said about his postgame conversation with Crennel. ”Sorry it didn’t turn out the way (we wanted). I have faith in you and that’s all that matters.”

The Broncos swept their division games for the first time since 1998 – the last time they won the Super Bowl.

John Elway retired after that one. Now, he’s back, running Denver’s front office, and he signed Manning with only one goal in mind: a third Lombardi Trophy.

For a brief glimmer, this could have been a game. The Broncos led 7-0 when Ronnie Hillman fumbled and Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers picked it up and was sprinting toward the end zone.

Manning cut off the Flowers return, allowing tight end Joel Dreessen to drag down Flowers at the 12. The Chiefs settled for a field goal and the Broncos scored the next 31 points.

— Associated Press —