Several media outlets reported that two years ago Saunders was promised, or at least led to believe, that he would be head coach when Dick Vermeil retired. Saunders at that time chose to stay with Kansas City and rejected an offer to become head coach at Nebraska.

“Al Saunders was never promised the head coaching job of the Kansas City Chiefs,” Peterson said in a hastily organized conference call with reporters from the Kansas City Star and The Associated Press. “I’m telling you he wasn’t. I really take offense that’s in the paper as true. It’s not.”