For the fourth straight year under the leadership of general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs put together a winning season.
In fact, the Chiefs, who finished with a 12-4 record in 2016—marking just the fifth time in franchise history the team won at least 12 games, have gone 43-21 in the regular season over the past four years, which is only surpassed by the stretch between 1994-'97 (44 wins) as the best period in the 50-plus year history of the organization.
"I think this year, we kind of took a step moving forward by actually capturing the AFC West and getting the home-field advantage," Dorsey explained on Thursday on a conference call with local media. "As those games unfold, there are certain things that transpire. Unfortunately, as hard as it was to swallow this year, it turned out the way that it was, but I was very proud of those guys."
The Chiefs' season was cut short in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs for the second straight year, following an 18-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Dorsey, who once called Kansas City his "dream job," spoke about what he's enjoyed about working with the Chiefs over the past four years.
"We said early, long ago – check your ego, roll your sleeves up, let's move forward and build," Dorsey explained. "That's what we're doing. I can tell you this from my family's perspective and mine – both professionally and personally – this has been the greatest four years of my life. I love this city. I love this team. I love this community. I think this is one of the most stable franchises in the National Football League.
"I think that leadership starts at the top. I think the relationship that (president) Mark Donovan, (head coach) Andy [Reid], (chairman and CEO) Clark [Hunt] and I have is awesome. I love coming to work every day."
While the process of putting together the best roster possible is a never-ending journey, Dorsey and his staff have already begun making their plans for the 2017 season.
"We always try to build and restock the shelves, and that's kind of the phase we're going through now," Dorsey explained. "We just kind of put together our unrestricted free agency plan. Right now, I'm in day nine with the boys in terms of building the draft boards.
"So, we're right into the personnel side of it right now."
Dorsey and his staff will head to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of the month.
