Chiefs Kent Babb dismantles Fat Scott - Page 15

FloridaMan88 · 09-16-2012, 05:36 PM

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/16...-big-with.html

Chiefs will never win big with Pioli in charge

By KENT BABB

The Kansas City Star

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Scott Pioli pushed his way through a doorway, into the Ralph Wilson Stadium tunnel and then, alone, disappeared into the Chiefs’ locker room.

As the team he built was enduring the final minutes of death-by-Ryan Fitzpatrick, an embarrassing 35-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ general manager walked toward a few minutes of solitude. Days like this are lonely when you’re the king, and maybe he embraced what is obvious to so many others who saw Sunday’s loss: that another team he constructed looks lost and unprepared. No injuries and no excuses, no former head coach to blame, and no safety net below the Chiefs’ most powerful football man.

The Chiefs’ problems are with their coaches and players, but the bigger issue is about the man who brought in those coaches and players. Yes, this game and this season are on Pioli, and there’s no denying that anymore. And there’s no more denying another truth, whether you’re ready to read it or not: The Chiefs will never win big while Pioli is this team’s boss. His priorities are too misguided, his insecurities and denial too immense to allow Kansas City’s favorite team to win the Super Bowl that he was brought here to claim.

Pioli is now in his fourth year of trying to justify the hype that earned him accolades in New England, respect within the NFL, and a multi-million-dollar job as a GM. Expectations were unreachable, maybe, but Pioli has done himself no favors by obsessing over trivial details, spending too much time trying to feed his addition to his own reputation, and engineering a team using the “discount football” philosophy that has made the Hunt family richer but has gotten the Chiefs only marginally closer to a Super Bowl.

Days like Sunday should be behind the Chiefs. This roster is so much better than the one Pioli inherited in January 2009. He’s responsible for that, too. But how much better could it be if Pioli weren’t so consumed by off-the-field nonsense? He arrived nearly five years ago and promised to curb a culture of losing. Instead, Pioli now oversees an organization shadowed in a culture of misplaced priorities and anxiety — and, yes, more losing.

Now in his fourth season as GM, Pioli has spent too much time trying to justify his decisions, rather than trying to improve them.

He whines to outsiders that the Chiefs’ salary-cap shortcomings are misunderstood? Well, spend more money, as team chairman Clark Hunt has said Pioli is authorized to do. Pioli excuses himself for his biggest mistakes, such as saying he just didn’t do his homework before hiring former coach Todd Haley? Well, why not? And he says privately that drafting a quarterback in the early rounds isn’t the point; it’s about drafting the right one. Well, Scott, then draft the right one. These things are big parts of Pioli’s job, but instead of acknowledging that, he chooses to tell himself — and, through back channels, you — that things are just fine.

In Scott We Trust? Not anymore.

Pioli cares more than you can imagine about what others think; about how his gilded reputation still shines nearly five years after it landed him this job.

He calls opinion-makers in Kansas City to plead with them to share his side of the story in exchange for a nibble of access, and he spends his own time compiling ultimately meaningless statistics in an attempt to spin unpopular draft choices and questionable spending habits into a more favorable light. He hints to anyone who’ll listen — in exchange for agreeing that you didn’t hear it from him — that the Chiefs’ playoff run in 2010 and a brief winning streak last season weren’t a result of Haley’s coaching. Those, he is convinced, were results of the magic of former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis two seasons ago and, last year, the motivating skills of Romeo Crennel. He obsesses over public relations, attempting to manipulate the message large and small. Pioli is as responsible as anyone for the misconception that Haley ruined the Chiefs and that, by firing him last December, Pioli helped to save it. How does that narrative look after the Chiefs’ second consecutive blowout loss?

Pioli craves credit and validation on good days, and he wants to hide and blame others after days like Sunday.

He worries so much about trivial matters that it’s impossible to think that such an emphasis hasn’t been an obstacle to the Chiefs’ success. He was concerned enough about what cornerback Brandon Flowers might’ve thought if Pioli had signed Brandon Carr to a richer contract that this factored into his decision to let Carr leave Kansas City and sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

Win, and nobody cares about how many dollars the Chiefs are under the salary cap, or which coach was responsible for past success, or why a free agent was allowed to walk. Lose, and all anyone wants to talk about is going to war with your first head coach, a new and considerably less shiny reputation built on micromanagement and insecurity, and stubbornly sticking with quarterback Matt Cassel just because you drafted him in New England, traded for him in Kansas City, and signed him to an extension.

Pioli has, for years now, learned from far too many mistakes. Haley. Sticking with Cassel. Thinking he can control every ounce of information. A growing number of unimpressive draft classes. The way front-office employees are treated and how bizarrely secretive everyone is expected to be. Pioli wasn’t brought to Kansas City to learn from trial and error; he was hired because he was advertised as being smart enough to avoid learning things the hard way.

Crennel is now the Chiefs’ head coach, and few people inside or outside the organization after last season would’ve suggested that elevating Crennel would be a mistake. But after an 0-2 start in which the Chiefs’ defense — Crennel’s baby — has allowed 68 points and has no idea why, that hire now looks like another blunder.

Fair or not, Pioli’s job is to anticipate days like this, put aside emotion and past allegiance in New England and with the New York Giants, and hire a coach who can take on one of the NFL’s most talented rosters and avoid this kind of start. This is the tradeoff of cashing those big paychecks, of sitting in that sprawling office, and taking on the role of one of sports’ most powerful men.

Pioli is a very bright man. He has made the Hunts a mountain of money and built the Chiefs into a team that should begin each season as a trendy playoff choice, and those things are enough to keep him employed for the foreseeable future. He has a cushion of otherwise undeserved job security because of this and because the Chiefs believe you’ll keep filling Arrowhead Stadium, keep tuning in to disasters like the one broadcast in Kansas City on Sunday, and keep believing that better days are ahead.

Maybe they are, but assembling a team at a discount and prioritizing things that don’t really matter only builds a team with a limited ceiling. As long as Pioli is in that office, your expectations should have a low ceiling, too.

**Easy 6** · 09-16-2012, 09:44 PM

Its truly eye opening to see how much bile Pioli has created within the media he so strongly tries to manage... to parrot what many others are saying... 'holy crap, Jwhit was right, SP can be a very petty man'.

kcxiv · 09-16-2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

God damn you are an idiot. You think Haley picked the players? With Mr. Micromanage around? Maybe Pioli said hey I can get Palko really cheap, you ok with him?

like i said im still 100 percent convinced that Todd Started Palko because he wanted to be fired, He knew his tenure with the Chiefs was over and he wanted out fast as possible.

I already seen all i need to know about the QB when we had an average qb in Orton, everything on offense was drastically different. No sacks, Line looked good. BARRY Freaking Richardson even looked decent.

**Dave Lane** · 09-16-2012, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fruit Ninja

like i said im still 100 percent convinced that Todd Started Palko because he wanted to be fired, He knew his tenure with the Chiefs was over and he wanted out fast as possible.

Who else was he going to start? Stanzi? As much as I'd love to believe he was a savior, I think he has been totally exposed.

FAX · 09-16-2012, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott free

Its truly eye opening to see how much bile Pioli has created within the media he so strongly tries to manage... to parrot what many others are saying... 'holy crap, Jwhit was right, SP can be a very petty man'.

It's pretty amazing.

I admit it ... I was absolutely thrilled when Clark hired Pioli. Thrilled. Then, when Whittles went all Egoli on him, I thought Whittles was just angry that Pioli could eat more breadsticks than him in a single sitting.

As it's turned out, Pioli really is insane and Whittles was right all along. It's amazing how a person (like myself) can convince themselves of a fact that isn't really a fact, after all. Rather, it is simply perception and lacks a basis in reality.

I have to wonder if I've done the same thing with my neighbor's cat. I came to believe that, besides being obnoxious and smelly, that cat was inherently evil. In retrospect, perhaps covering the cat with roofing tar and affixing it upside down to their front door wasn't such a great idea.

FAX

kcxiv · 09-16-2012, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Who else was he going to start? Stanzi? As much as I'd love to believe he was a savior, I think he has been totally exposed.

Well, yes, why not? he's the guy they drafted to potentially be there for years. Why not? Palko was the worst QB i have EVER seen start a game and i have been watching the NFL for a long long time. I never seen someone with such poor accuracy. lol

Even at the end of one of the games, they asked Haley why didnt you play Stanzi and Haley replied back with, i dont know.

Reerun_KC · 09-16-2012, 09:54 PM

FAX is a.genius. always makes me.smile.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAX

It's pretty amazing.

I admit it ... I was absolutely thrilled when Clark hired Pioli.

What's amazing were the people that were so angry with me (and a few others) that truly disliked the hire of not only Pioli, but Haley as well.

Crazy how it's all come back around.

**Dave Lane** · 09-16-2012, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAX

It's pretty amazing.

I admit it ... I was absolutely thrilled when Clark hired Pioli. Thrilled. Then, when Whittles went all Egoli on him, I thought Whittles was just angry that Pioli could eat more breadsticks than him in a single sitting.

As it's turned out, Pioli really is insane and Whittles was right all along. It's amazing how a person (like myself) can convince themselves of a fact that isn't really a fact, after all. Rather, it is simply perception and lacks a basis in reality.

I have to wonder if I've done the same thing with my neighbor's cat. I came to believe that, besides being obnoxious and smelly, that cat was inherently evil. In retrospect, perhaps covering the cat with roofing tar and affixing it upside down to their front door wasn't such a great idea.

FAX

Tarring and sticking a pussy is almost always a good idea. However in true confession time I have to admit to all the same Pioli issues. Loved the hire. Visions of sugar plum Super Bowls were dancing in my head. Was stubborn about it too. Wasn't till the article on Arrowheadauchwitz that my opinion really turned. That and realizing he had been undermining his HC that had just got us to the playoffs.

Reerun_KC · 09-16-2012, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

What's amazing were to people that were so angry with me (and a few others) that truly disliked the hire of not only Pioli, but Haley as well.

Crazy how it's all come back around.

Been there and done that with Herman, now reliving it with Crennel. Amazing how history repeats.itself.

**Dave Lane** · 09-16-2012, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fruit Ninja

Well, yes, why not? he's the guy they drafted to potentially be there for years. Why not? Palko was the worst QB i have EVER seen start a game and i have been watching the NFL for a long long time. I never seen someone with such poor accuracy. lol

Even at the end of one of the games, they asked Haley why didnt you play Stanzi and Haley replied back with, i dont know.

He was told by Pioli Stanzi couldn't play year one. Period.

**DaneMcCloud** · 09-16-2012, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Been there and done that with Herman, now reliving it with Crennel. Amazing how history repeats.itself.

Ah, no.

The entire forum wasn't on your ass. People didn't make up Photoshopped pictures of "The Four Horseman" and all that nonsense.

You're just a guy that hates black NFL head coaches.

Big difference.

Reerun_KC · 09-16-2012, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Ah, no.

The entire forum wasn't on your ass. People didn't make up Photoshopped pictures of "The Four Horseman" and all that nonsense.

You're just a guy that hates black NFL head coaches.

Big difference.

....

hater.

**The Bad Guy** · 09-16-2012, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackBob

It's alot more than that. It's Bowman, Aldon Smith, and Justin Smith too. They built a good o-line and got lucky with their QB. They were built well. It's more that than anything imo.

It's the coaching putting those pieces into great positions.

If Harbaugh didn't go there, you likely don't see anywhere close to this result.

**Bowser** · 09-16-2012, 10:09 PM

I'll admit to loving the Pioli hire, and even more so the Haley hire. That was before I understood how the Patriots/Parcells connections worked, and how utterly chickenshit of a hire it was.

FAX · 09-16-2012, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

What's amazing were to people that were so angry with me (and a few others) that truly disliked the hire of not only Pioli, but Haley as well.

Crazy how it's all come back around.

This will, no doubt, bring out the haters en masse ... but, I still like Haley.

I have a lot of reasons, but I generally liked his attitude toward the game. I'm not so sure about the paranoia and the need to make his personal calls from a burn phone, but I think he will have a long and successful career in the NFL.

Frankly, it is my view that Haley was probably the best decision Pioli has made to date. Things would likely have turned out much better for everyone if Pioli had been more supportive and helpful ... as opposed to deceitful ... and under-cutting his own freaking coach.

FAX

09-16-2012, 05:36 PM
FloridaMan88 Mahomes: We Are All Witnesses Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Miami, FL Casino cash: $-697094	Kent Babb dismantles Fat Scott http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/16...-big-with.html Chiefs will never win big with Pioli in charge By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Scott Pioli pushed his way through a doorway, into the Ralph Wilson Stadium tunnel and then, alone, disappeared into the Chiefs’ locker room. As the team he built was enduring the final minutes of death-by-Ryan Fitzpatrick, an embarrassing 35-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Chiefs’ general manager walked toward a few minutes of solitude. Days like this are lonely when you’re the king, and maybe he embraced what is obvious to so many others who saw Sunday’s loss: that another team he constructed looks lost and unprepared. No injuries and no excuses, no former head coach to blame, and no safety net below the Chiefs’ most powerful football man. The Chiefs’ problems are with their coaches and players, but the bigger issue is about the man who brought in those coaches and players. Yes, this game and this season are on Pioli, and there’s no denying that anymore. And there’s no more denying another truth, whether you’re ready to read it or not: The Chiefs will never win big while Pioli is this team’s boss. His priorities are too misguided, his insecurities and denial too immense to allow Kansas City’s favorite team to win the Super Bowl that he was brought here to claim. Pioli is now in his fourth year of trying to justify the hype that earned him accolades in New England, respect within the NFL, and a multi-million-dollar job as a GM. Expectations were unreachable, maybe, but Pioli has done himself no favors by obsessing over trivial details, spending too much time trying to feed his addition to his own reputation, and engineering a team using the “discount football” philosophy that has made the Hunt family richer but has gotten the Chiefs only marginally closer to a Super Bowl. Days like Sunday should be behind the Chiefs. This roster is so much better than the one Pioli inherited in January 2009. He’s responsible for that, too. But how much better could it be if Pioli weren’t so consumed by off-the-field nonsense? He arrived nearly five years ago and promised to curb a culture of losing. Instead, Pioli now oversees an organization shadowed in a culture of misplaced priorities and anxiety — and, yes, more losing. Now in his fourth season as GM, Pioli has spent too much time trying to justify his decisions, rather than trying to improve them. He whines to outsiders that the Chiefs’ salary-cap shortcomings are misunderstood? Well, spend more money, as team chairman Clark Hunt has said Pioli is authorized to do. Pioli excuses himself for his biggest mistakes, such as saying he just didn’t do his homework before hiring former coach Todd Haley? Well, why not? And he says privately that drafting a quarterback in the early rounds isn’t the point; it’s about drafting the right one. Well, Scott, then draft the right one. These things are big parts of Pioli’s job, but instead of acknowledging that, he chooses to tell himself — and, through back channels, you — that things are just fine. In Scott We Trust? Not anymore. Pioli cares more than you can imagine about what others think; about how his gilded reputation still shines nearly five years after it landed him this job. He calls opinion-makers in Kansas City to plead with them to share his side of the story in exchange for a nibble of access, and he spends his own time compiling ultimately meaningless statistics in an attempt to spin unpopular draft choices and questionable spending habits into a more favorable light. He hints to anyone who’ll listen — in exchange for agreeing that you didn’t hear it from him — that the Chiefs’ playoff run in 2010 and a brief winning streak last season weren’t a result of Haley’s coaching. Those, he is convinced, were results of the magic of former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis two seasons ago and, last year, the motivating skills of Romeo Crennel. He obsesses over public relations, attempting to manipulate the message large and small. Pioli is as responsible as anyone for the misconception that Haley ruined the Chiefs and that, by firing him last December, Pioli helped to save it. How does that narrative look after the Chiefs’ second consecutive blowout loss? Pioli craves credit and validation on good days, and he wants to hide and blame others after days like Sunday. He worries so much about trivial matters that it’s impossible to think that such an emphasis hasn’t been an obstacle to the Chiefs’ success. He was concerned enough about what cornerback Brandon Flowers might’ve thought if Pioli had signed Brandon Carr to a richer contract that this factored into his decision to let Carr leave Kansas City and sign with the Dallas Cowboys. Win, and nobody cares about how many dollars the Chiefs are under the salary cap, or which coach was responsible for past success, or why a free agent was allowed to walk. Lose, and all anyone wants to talk about is going to war with your first head coach, a new and considerably less shiny reputation built on micromanagement and insecurity, and stubbornly sticking with quarterback Matt Cassel just because you drafted him in New England, traded for him in Kansas City, and signed him to an extension. Pioli has, for years now, learned from far too many mistakes. Haley. Sticking with Cassel. Thinking he can control every ounce of information. A growing number of unimpressive draft classes. The way front-office employees are treated and how bizarrely secretive everyone is expected to be. Pioli wasn’t brought to Kansas City to learn from trial and error; he was hired because he was advertised as being smart enough to avoid learning things the hard way. Crennel is now the Chiefs’ head coach, and few people inside or outside the organization after last season would’ve suggested that elevating Crennel would be a mistake. But after an 0-2 start in which the Chiefs’ defense — Crennel’s baby — has allowed 68 points and has no idea why, that hire now looks like another blunder. Fair or not, Pioli’s job is to anticipate days like this, put aside emotion and past allegiance in New England and with the New York Giants, and hire a coach who can take on one of the NFL’s most talented rosters and avoid this kind of start. This is the tradeoff of cashing those big paychecks, of sitting in that sprawling office, and taking on the role of one of sports’ most powerful men. Pioli is a very bright man. He has made the Hunts a mountain of money and built the Chiefs into a team that should begin each season as a trendy playoff choice, and those things are enough to keep him employed for the foreseeable future. He has a cushion of otherwise undeserved job security because of this and because the Chiefs believe you’ll keep filling Arrowhead Stadium, keep tuning in to disasters like the one broadcast in Kansas City on Sunday, and keep believing that better days are ahead. Maybe they are, but assembling a team at a discount and prioritizing things that don’t really matter only builds a team with a limited ceiling. As long as Pioli is in that office, your expectations should have a low ceiling, too.
Posts: 50,151

09-16-2012, 09:44 PM	#211
Easy 6 pie is never free Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: the drivers seat Casino cash: $-132225	Its truly eye opening to see how much bile Pioli has created within the media he so strongly tries to manage... to parrot what many others are saying... 'holy crap, Jwhit was right, SP can be a very petty man'.
Posts: 98,444

09-16-2012, 09:54 PM	#216
Reerun_KC Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7231160	FAX is a.genius. always makes me.smile.
Posts: 1,529

09-16-2012, 10:09 PM	#224
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $-158384	I'll admit to loving the Pioli hire, and even more so the Haley hire. That was before I understood how the Patriots/Parcells connections worked, and how utterly chickenshit of a hire it was.
Posts: 106,776