John Dorsey enters his sixth season with the Lions after joining the club in 2021. He provides more than three decades of NFL experience and works closely with all areas of the club's player personnel department. Throughout his career, Dorsey has proven to be a key contributor to all aspects of NFL roster construction. He has been an asset during his tenure in Detroit, helping the club reach historic levels of success. With his assistance, the Lions have recorded four consecutive winning seasons, while his assistance to the player personnel staff in 2024 helped Detroit secure back-to-back NFC North Division titles for the first time in club history. The team's 15-2 record in 2024 also marked the most regular-season wins for the franchise. Dorsey's fingerprints on the 2023 roster helped the Lions to a 12-5 record. At the time, the club's 12-5 record tied the single-season franchise record for wins in a season. The 2023 season was also the third season in club history to have multiple playoff games won, and the first time it occurred in a season for the franchise since 1957. The 2023 roster construction was pivotal in helping Detroit clinch its first Division Championship since 1993 and advance to its first NFC Championship since 1991.
Before joining the Lions, Dorsey served as general manager for the Cleveland Browns (2018-19) and Kansas City Chiefs (2013-17). Throughout his time in the NFL ranks, he has helped his teams to 19 playoff berths, 11 divisional titles, three conference championships, and two Super Bowl wins.
In each season from 2015-18, Dorsey selected a rookie who made a Pro Bowl (CB Denzel Ward in 2018, RB Kareem Hunt in 2017, WR Tyreek Hill in 2016, and CB Marcus Peters in 2015). He also selected QB Baker Mayfield (who set a then-NFL rookie passing touchdown record in 2018), QB Patrick Mahomes (2018, 2022 NFL MVP), Pro Bowl TE Travis Kelce and DT Chris Jones (Pro Bowl 2018).
In his first season with the Browns in 2018, Dorsey built a roster that recorded the best turnaround in team history, posting a 7.5 game-win improvement. In two seasons, he also orchestrated trades for Pro Bowl WR Jarvis Landry, former first-round CB Damarious Randall, All-Pro WR Odell Beckham Jr., and Pro Bowl DE Olivier Vernon.
Dorsey's rosters in Kansas City finished with a 43-21 (.672) record, the fourth-highest winning percentage in the NFL during that span. In 2016, the Chiefs went 12-4, won the AFC West title, and finished 6-0 in divisional play. After starting 1-5 in 2015, Kansas City recorded one of the greatest turnarounds in a single season in NFL history as the team won its final 10 regular season games and appeared in the postseason. In his first year with the Chiefs, Dorsey was named the 2013 Executive of the Year by the PFWA after helping the club to an 11-5 record after the team went 2-14 the year before his arrival. Each player selected in the first round from Dorsey's five drafts with Kansas City went on to earn Pro Bowl honors.
Eventually spending 21 years as an executive with the Green Bay Packers, Dorsey entered the NFL ranks as a college scout in Green Bay from 1991-96. He then served as the director of college scouting (1997-98, 2000-11) and director of football operations (2012) for the Packers. He also had a one-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks as director of player personnel in 1999.
After being selected by Green Bay in the fourth round of the 1984 draft, Dorsey appeared as a linebacker in 76 career regular season games. He was named a special teams captain and set the Packers' single-season club record with 35 special teams tackles in 1984.
Dorsey played collegiately as a linebacker at Connecticut and was named the Yankee Conference Defensive Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons. He earned Division I-AA All-America honors and finished as the conference's all-time leading tackler. He graduated with degrees in economics and political science. A native of Leonardtown, Md., Dorsey is married to his wife, Patricia. Together, they have four children, Bryant, Austin, Catherine, and Jack.
