ESPN - Jeff Chadiha - Flaws of Chiefs' GM exposed

[Hammock Parties]

****ing axe smiteth thee, Pioli.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/85...-pioli-exposed

Scott Pioli is yet another flop to come out of the Patriots' organization

If you need any more evidence that Bill Belichick is the smartest football man of his generation, just take a quick gander at the disaster that is the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli earned his stripes as Belichick's vice president of player personnel during the New England Patriots' run to three Super Bowl wins between 2001 and 2004. He was hailed as a savior in Kansas City, the man who would bring The Patriots Way to a floundering franchise. Aside from one overrated AFC West championship in 2010, all Pioli has done is remind everybody why he was lucky to be connected to Belichick in the first place.

Pioli has become such a laughingstock in Kansas City that the biggest story in town is whether Chiefs owner Clark Hunt actually has extended his general manager's contract. There have been reports of such a deal. There have been denials by the franchise. The bottom line is that it's an issue because the Chiefs no longer can sell Pioli to their fan base. The very possibility that he might still run the organization after this year might empty a lot of seats at Arrowhead Stadium.

It shouldn't be surprising that Pioli -- who is largely responsible for a team that is 1-5 and nose-diving toward its third losing season since his arrival in 2009 -- has been such a disappointment in Kansas City. We all know the history of the men who leave Belichick's nest and try to fly by themselves. Only a select few are talented enough to thrive without his presence. Most tend to end up looking just as fraudulent as Pioli now appears.

The list has grown long and familiar by now. Charlie Weis flopped at Notre Dame and now presides over a woeful Kansas team that claims to be playing something resembling football. Romeo Crennel bombed in Cleveland and will have a hard time holding onto his current job as Chiefs head coach after this season. There's also Eric Mangini, formerly of the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, and current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who lasted two years as Denver's head coach before nearly ruining Sam Bradford as the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator last year. Both were rising stars who flamed out without Belichick standing behind them.

If not for Atlanta general manager Thomas Dimitroff -- the Patriots' former director of college scouting and a man who has astutely assembled the league's best team so far this season -- there wouldn't be any major success stories coming out of those New England glory years. This is also why Pioli's troubles have become so glaring. He was supposed to be the prize of that organization. If a team couldn't have a head coach like Belichick or a quarterback like future Hall-of-Famer Tom Brady, it could at least have Pioli.

Now we all can see how silly that notion was. The first three major decisions Pioli made with the Chiefs went as follows: (1) He hired Todd Haley as head coach. (2) He traded for quarterback Matt Cassel. (3) He used the third overall selection in the 2009 draft on defensive end Tyson Jackson. The team ultimately fired Haley last December after an ugly, heavily publicized rift developed between him and Pioli. Cassel was just benched this week after producing 14 turnovers in his first five starts. Jackson remains on the roster, which is the only noteworthy thing that can be said about his NFL career thus far.

Pioli's reign looks even worse when considering other variables beyond those three substantial whiffs. His draft record is spotty: only safety Eric Berry and outside linebacker Justin Houston have matured into difference-makers. When he's spent money in free agency, his moves have been largely uninspired or unproductive. If not for several holdovers from the Carl Peterson/Herm Edwards regime -- including running back Jamaal Charles, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe and linebackers Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali -- there would be no stars in Kansas City.

About the only thing Pioli did bring from New England was the same controlling nature that people familiar with the Patriots know very well. Multiple team sources say he's turned off longtime employees with a bullying management style. Published reports accuse him of lecturing staffers for not picking up candy bar wrappers in the hallways and chafing at the way assistant coaches park in the team's lot. During his first season with the team, Pioli sent emails warning employees to keep their window blinds drawn when the team was practicing, according to another team source. Those who didn't comply could expect somebody -- presumably a security guard -- to help them follow the rules.

It's hard to believe all those measures haven't helped the Chiefs become a competitive football team. Sure, they got that title back in 2010, but this much we all know: A last-place schedule can do wonders for a dysfunctional franchise. It says more that the Chiefs followed that success with the soap opera that was the Haley-Pioli feud and that this team is 8-14 since that supposed breakout year. Pioli's supporters can cling to that title all they like. It doesn't diminish everything else that has happened during his time in Kansas City.

He owes even more than we ever imagined to Belichick. Pioli was involved with one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. He had a chance to learn how a Hall of Fame coach operates and what a Pro Bowl quarterback can do to make up for weaknesses within a franchise. Pioli may have done some things to help the cause back then. But there's no reason to believe he'd be sitting where he is today if he'd made his bones in Buffalo or Tampa Bay.

At the end of the day, Pioli happened to be in the right place at the right time, and he ultimately cashed in on perception. That's not an unfamiliar story to anybody who knows how the world works. But every man eventually is judged on his own merits. From this vantage point, Pioli falls right in line with all the other failures who benefited from Bill Belichick's greatness.

[cabletech94]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Is soccer season over?

what the hell is soccer?

[The Bad Guy]

This guy has also been putting Pioli on blast since right after the playoff loss to Baltimore.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

Whitlock had this guy tabbed early in 2009 for a fraud.

Whitlock and Whitlock alone

[notorious]

The mass media likes to pile on when it's a sure thing.


This is going to end soon.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by notorious

The mass media likes to pile on when it's a sure thing.


This is going to end soon.

I have my doubts but I hope you're right.

Every time I think the Hunt family will do the "right" thing, I usually have to wait a few years.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I have my doubts but I hope you're right.

Every time I think the Hunt family will do the "right" thing, I usually have to wait a few years.

I hear ya, man.
Our only saving grace is that Clark took over in 2007 and a year later, he stripped Carl Peterson of his decision making powers and handed the draft to Bill and Herm.

Hopefully, he is just giving this season time to turn things around and by looking at the next 3 games that doesn't appear to be happening any time soon. From here out, the fail will be in the national spotlight.

Its gonna be hard for Clark to not fire Pioli after the Pittsburgh game. I truly believe that and have called the following Tuesday as the date of his dismissal.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I have my doubts but I hope you're right.

Every time I think the Hunt family will do the "right" thing, I usually have to wait a few years.

I hope so, too. Look back at ESPN and JoPa, Steroids, etc. The floodgates opened once they found out attacking was acceptable and the cool thing to do.

The Chiefs are but a stale fart in the wind on the national level, though.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Its gonna be hard for Clark to not fire Pioli after the Pittsburgh game. I truly believe that and have called the following Tuesday as the date of his dismissal.

Clark is giving Pioli one last, desperate chance to turn it around.

I agree with the timeline.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Its gonna be hard for Clark to not fire Pioli after the Pittsburgh game. I truly believe that and have called the following Tuesday as the date of his dismissal.

This would be epic, but I fully expect Scott to be around until the end of this season.

I'll be shocked, otherwise.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by notorious

I hope so, too. Look back at ESPN and JoPa, Steroids, etc. The floodgates opened once they found out attacking was acceptable and the cool thing to do.

The Chiefs are but a stale fart in the wind on the national level, though.

I'm not sure if I buy that argument in 2012.

1977? 1980? 1984? Sure.

With a 24 hour news cycle, which includes not only the NFL Network, ESPN and local news, we now have CBS Sports Channel, NBC Sports channel and various regional Fox Sports channels, not to mention Social Media.

The heat is on, without a doubt. The question is, at least for me, does Clark feel it?

[notorious]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The heat is on, without a doubt. The question is, at least for me, does Clark feel it?

You're right. We both know the answer to that question.


I think Pioli lasts until the evening after our final game this season.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by notorious

You're right. We both know the answer to that question.


I think Pioli lasts until the evening after our final game this season.

I should re-phrase my question: Does Clark feel it so much that he's willing to eat millions and make a change?

I hope that you're right but something tells me that IF this team can pull out a few more wins (highly unlikely), he may be able to self-justify just one more year.

[notorious]

Clark might be snakebit right now, too. He is probably thinking,"I just hired the can't miss GM of the century, and he failed. I don't know what I am doing."

In business, that is a scary place to be.

[BossChief]

Clark has to understand that with multiple teams already releasing their GMs, the good replacements will start to dry up the longer he waits to pull the trigger.

That is a big part of the date of dismissal I predicted.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I should re-phrase my question: Does Clark feel it so much that he's willing to eat millions and make a change?

I hope that you're right but something tells me that IF this team can pull out a few more wins (highly unlikely), he may be able to self-justify just one more year.

I think that's the way the cards are falling right now.

Pioli is hoping for a few mid-season wins so he can do the "We're seeing some positive results and how 'bout that Romeo?" dance. That, he hopes, will quiet the madding crowd and buy him more time. The fact is, it probably would.

FAX