Pioli's big day at Iowa

[Hammock Parties]

Interesting article, nice peek inside NFL life. Oh, and **** Scott Pioli.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/24...-scouting.html

IOWA CITY, IOWA -- At precisely 8:15 on a recent weekday morning, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and four other men climbed out of a silver Chevy Suburban on the campus of the University of Iowa.

With Pioli are head coach Romeo Crennel and two position coaches: Jack Bicknell Jr., who coaches the offensive line, and Nick Sirianni, who coaches the wide receivers. They are here to attend Iowa’s pro day, during which the school’s draft prospects will audition for jobs in the NFL.

Center Casey Wiegmann, who is likely to retire after 16 NFL seasons, has tagged along because he once played for the Hawkeyes — and because he suddenly has some free time on his hands.

Free agency may be in full swing, but this trip is one of many important steps for the Chiefs as they evaluate talent before the NFL draft. The Hawkeyes have several pro prospects, and Pioli and the coaches have come from Kansas City to look. But they’re not alone. An Iowa official says every NFL team save Washington has at least one representative on hand.

But by comparison, the Chiefs have brought a large group — and Crennel is the only NFL head coach present. That’s an indication that the Chiefs, who selected a player from Iowa in each of the past two drafts, have more than passing interest in Iowa’s program.

The Hawkeyes have perhaps seven or eight players who could be drafted, but the fact that the Chiefs’ offensive line and wide receiver coaches made the trip indicates a special interest in Iowa linemen Riley Reiff, Adam Gettis and Markus Zusevics and wide receiver Marvin McNutt.

Reiff is one of the top tackles available and might have been the Chiefs’ first-round choice next month had they not recently signed free agent Eric Winston. The other three prospects will probably be available in the middle to late rounds.

This day, like pro days at other schools across the country, is part of the long process of preparing for the draft, but the process actually began long ago. In fact, the Chiefs also have Terry Delp, one of their scouts, on campus, but he traveled alone and his mission is mainly to start looking at Iowa’s juniors in preparation for next year’s draft.

The Chiefs can obtain the numbers from this pro day — 40-yard dash times, bench-press reps, etc. — and watch video of Iowa’s prospects without leaving Kansas City, but Pioli sees value in making the trip.

“Having people see things in person is so critical,” Pioli said. “You get to see how other people respond to them, how their teammates respond to them and how they respond to their teammates. You can tell whether they have leadership ability or they are selfish. These are things you can’t always get by watching video. You get a better sense of reality by being here and observing.”

The group wanders over to Iowa’s sprawling football facility. Among Chiefs officials, only Pioli has been there before, so Wiegmann leads the way.

“I don’t know where I’m going,” Crennel says. “I’m just following Casey.”

Wiegmann gets the party where it needs to be, and the first opposing scout the group comes across is Luke Palko, the brother of former Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko. Luke Palko works for the Arizona Cardinals.

The coaches want to watch some video of Iowa’s players before the day’s activities begin. Wiegmann leads the way to the film room.

Pioli, meanwhile, catches up with some old friends. One is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. The two met years ago when Ferentz coached at the University of Maine. He interviewed Pioli for an assistant coaching job but gave the position to someone else.

Some years later, when Pioli was working as a scout for the Cleveland Browns, his job one day was to drive to the airport and pick up Ferentz, who was coming in to interview for a job with the Browns. Ferentz jokes that he thought Pioli might drive him off a cliff that day as payment for not giving him the job in Maine, but Pioli got Ferentz safely to Browns headquarters, and Ferentz was eventually hired. The two went on to become friends.

Pioli then visits for about 20 minutes with Ferentz’s son, Brian, Iowa’s new offensive line coach. Brian Ferentz was trying to find a spot as an offensive lineman in the NFL several years ago when Pioli, then with the Patriots, called to offer him a job.

As a scout, not a player.

“He ended my playing career,” Brian Ferentz said. “I knew it was over when he offered me that job.”

Pioli eventually joins the coaches in the film room and, after watching for a few plays, has a comment about Iowa’s linemen.

“When they come out of here, they’re all so good technically,” he says. “You have to do less teaching than with 90 percent of the other kids.”

Later, Pioli would elaborate.

“So many other teams runs spread offenses, and you don’t see a lot of guys playing the same type of game that’s being played in the National Football League,” Pioli said. “That’s not the case here. The other thing is, with offensive linemen out of Iowa, Kirk is an offensive line coach. Think of all the great offensive linemen that have come through here. I’ve watched him develop players. He’s a great teacher of fundamentals and techniques. They will understand the things we’re trying to teach at the next level much quicker.”

It’s ironic, then, that the Chiefs have selected an Iowa player in each of the past two drafts and neither was an offensive lineman. Tight end Tony Moeaki was a third-round choice in 2010 and quarterback Ricky Stanzi was a fifth-round pick last year.

Those selections were the product of Pioli’s relationship with Ferentz and the other Iowa coaches.

“I know I certainly will feel better about players from this program because it’s like an NFL program,” Pioli said. “Kirk runs things here like an NFL program. The other thing is, the players that come out of here, I know there’s not going to be a lot of surprises with them. I’m going to know what they are and who they are.

“I know I’m getting honesty from Kirk and their other coaches. There are other places I go where it’s the same way.”

Pioli doesn’t go to every school’s pro day, but the Chiefs will have either a coach or scout at every one that features, in their opinion, at least one draftable player.

Pioli will attend between five and 10 pro days this season. Every year, he tries to carve out time to get to Iowa.

“They’ve got a lot of good players,” he said. “They play against good competition. Part of it is also that because of the relationships here, I can get a lot of work done not only on the Iowa kids but some of the other kids at other Big Ten schools. They know a lot about the players they have to play against, as well.”

The group watches video of Iowa’s games against Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. The latter two games are especially valuable to the coaches because they can watch Gettis, one of the offensive linemen they like, go against two of the country’s best defensive tackles — Jerel Worthy of Michigan State and Devon Still of Penn State.

Pioli and the coaches run back most plays several times as they dissect a player’s abilities and liabilities. They discuss things only a coach or scout could be interested in, such as the size of a particular player’s hands.

The group then joins coaches and scouts from other NFL teams in Iowa’s massive weight room, where they watch the draft prospects bench 225 pounds as many times as they can. After that, they head to Iowa’s indoor practice bubble, where it feels like 90 degrees on a humid day, and watch the players perform various agility drills.

That’s where Pioli checks his phone for NFL news and learns that quarterback Peyton Manning will join one of the Chiefs’ division rivals, the Denver Broncos.

As always, Pioli perks up when the offensive linemen go through their drills. Pioli was a defensive lineman in college at Central Connecticut State but coached the offensive line for one season at Murray State and has an affinity for the position. During training camp, he spends much of his time at practice watching the linemen.

Finally, at 5 p.m., it’s time to head back to the Chevy Suburban and, eventually, Kansas City. These long days can be tedious for those without a passion for scouting, which Wiegmann clearly doesn’t have. At one point, he wonders how anyone can do this job day after day, school after school, as some Chiefs scouts do.

For those who do have the passion, days like this are a labor of love.

“This was a good day, a productive day,” Pioli says. “There’s free agency going on right now, so this is a time where you don’t want to be out of the office for long. But this trip was worth it.”

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