What to expect from Pioli: Explaining the "Patriot Way"

[Kyle DeLexus]

Anyone else have more books or resources like this? I will have a book report to do in one of my classes this semester and these Front Office types of books are perfect.

[greyhoodie]

Originally Posted by MWagg72

Anyone else have more books or resources like this? I will have a book report to do in one of my classes this semester and these Front Office types of books are perfect.

It is not a front office book and may not be as interesting to KC fans because it is about BB and doesn't have much on SP. But "The Education of a Coach" by Halberstam is a great read if you want to know more about the smartest coach in the NFL.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by MWagg72

Anyone else have more books or resources like this? I will have a book report to do in one of my classes this semester and these Front Office types of books are perfect.

Originally Posted by greyhoodie

It is not a front office book and may not be as interesting to KC fans because it is about BB and doesn't have much on SP. But "The Education of a Coach" by Halberstam is a great read if you want to know more about the smartest coach in the NFL.

Greyhoodie is right, it really covers all aspects of the team, but focuses on BB. The good thing is, BB and SP have this vulcan mind-meld thing going on, so most of what applies to BB applies as well to Pioli. There are two chapters that feature Pioli and the scouting department prominently.

As for other books, I HIGHLY recommend "Next Man Up" by John Feinstein.

He follows the Ravens for a year, and it's MUCH more in-depth than Patriot Reign, IMO.

[OnTheWarpath15]

I've got quite a bit to post today...

There are phone calls, draft meetings, contract negotiations and film studies all rolled into Pioli's job. But what it can be reduced to is this: every day he goes to the office wondering how and where he can find the right kind of players for BB and the Patriots.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Regarding the "Patriot Way"

What makes the leaders of Patriots football operations different is the value they place on jobs that have no glamour. They truly respect those who do grunt work, so much so that they are willing to promote them if they show the aptitude to be promoted.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Regarding picking the "right guys" and how they fit into the chemistry of the organization:

They were a close team, something Christian Fauria noticed as soon as he arrived in Foxboro. "It wasn't like this in Seattle," he says. "I'll use Traingin Camp as an example. There was a serving tray where they has the salad, and it was kind of like a divider in the room. There were tables on both sides. I'm telling you, all the white guys were on one side, and the black guys were on the other. Now, I'm not saying it was prejudice or a race issue, but it always seemed to happen that way."

"I don't see that here at all. You see these domino games in the locker room? You have guys like Marc Edwards and Mike Vrabel saying 'slap the domino, mother****er' just like everyone else. Seriously, I think it's a credit to Scott [Pioli]. He really brings good guys in. And I felt that right away. All the guys have the same emphasis on winning."

[OnTheWarpath15]

Regarding player evaluations:

Before they can know what they need, they need to know who they are. This is one of BB's core philosophies, and it is why he's sitting in this Gillette Stadium room with a binder, noteboo, pens, and pages of football statistics. All of the coaches were there. Adams and Pioli was there. For a couple of days Kraft was there too.

Every Patriots player was under discussion. There were strengths and weaknesses for each one. There were comments and sometimes stats on his mental errors, his performance in the weight room, his ability to be coached, his attitude, he ranking compared to others at his position leaguewide and his ability to help the team next year.