Chiefs Mellinger: Pioli has time to reflect on where it went wrong - Page 2

FloridaMan88 · 01-05-2013, 11:17 PM

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/05...-headline.html

Pioli has time to reflect on where it went wrong

By SAM MELLINGER

The Kansas City Star

The truth set in at some point in Philadelphia. There is no way to get inside a man’s mind, of course, but Scott Pioli likely came to know his time in charge of the Chiefs had expired outside of a conference room at a Philadelphia airport. It must’ve been there that Pioli understood he was still the Chiefs general manager in technical terms, but no longer in practice.

Behind the closed doors in front of Pioli, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt ate up the biggest chunk of a nine-hour meeting alone with Andy Reid. If there was any remaining doubt about who would be in charge, it died in those hours. Pioli used to be the one in that meeting, the one asking the tough questions and making the big decisions.

Now, though, he was left sitting outside, waiting. Like everyone else.

Pioli – part of a five-man traveling party with Hunt, Chiefs president Mark Donovan, vice president Ted Crews and Hunt Sports Group executive Ryan Petkoff – got some facetime with Reid. But it was clear to everyone involved who was in charge. Hunt took the time. Hunt asked the important questions. Hunt would make the decision. Pioli waited to be told.

The first major football hire done without Pioli’s input would also be the last one done with him as an employee. Pioli was professional, but nobody could ignore the awkward setup. He sat outside, researching on his phone or computer, working on contingency options in case Reid did not agree to come to Kansas City – just like the others who would not be making the decision.

The next day, on Friday, the Chiefs announced what they called a mutual decision for Pioli to walk away from the biggest job of his 20-year career in professional football. The Chiefs went 23-41 in his time in charge, the worst four-year stretch since Hunt’s father founded the team in 1960.

Pioli, seen as an egomaniac by so many, left the Chiefs humbled. He thanked Hunt for the opportunity, and told people he was sorry for failing. One of the most dramatic, tumultuous, miserable, and at times tragic eras in franchise history ended in a thank you and apology.

The announcement of the inevitable end to Pioli’s rule included a short statement from both him and Hunt, but Pioli has not spoken publicly. Nobody knows for sure what is next for him, but indications are that he’ll take some time off. Right now, he is resting. Decompressing, as one person put it. It’s a lot to take in.

Pioli and his wife have a young daughter and a home in Nantucket, which he bought years ago in steps – first the land, then the construction – after an old football friend told him everyone in the business needed a place to stay after being fired.

The consensus among NFL people is that he won’t have trouble finding another job whenever he wants one, perhaps even another GM position in the future though, as one friend of Pioli’s put it, “he obviously made some mistakes and will learn from it like we all do.”

The friend made it clear that Pioli wanted to make it work with the Chiefs, even after this awful season, saying Pioli had grown to love Kansas City. He made friends here, many of them outside of football, and became involved in the local arts scene and an organization that promotes women’s sports.

What turned out to be the worst year of Pioli’s professional life began with such promise. He lost about 30 pounds in the offseason, enough that he had to buy new clothes, and in training camp publicly welcomed higher expectations. And why not? Four years into the job he had what he considered his best roster. He hired a new coach. Sports Illustrated, among other national outlets, picked the Chiefs to win the division.

But the bad news started, literally, as soon as the season did. Tamba Hali was suspended for the first game and Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez, the Hall of Fame tight end Pioli traded shortly after arriving in Kansas City, dunked the ball through the goalposts after a touchdown in a blowout loss to the Falcons. The next week, Dwayne Bowe – the recovering knucklehead – pointed to the back of his jersey in another blowout loss that turned fan frustration from code orange to red.

Meanwhile, Pioli was dealing with personal stress. There was a report that he was offered a contract extension, which a source close to the Chiefs adamantly denied to the Star. He was deposed at least once in an age discrimination lawsuit stemming from ongoing intra-office drama, much of which was detailed by the Star. In what would later be seen as a tragic prequel, a team employee killed a woman and then himself.

Then, of course, Pioli was face-to-face with Jovan Belcher in the parking lot outside the Chiefs facility one morning, a few steps away when Belcher knelt behind a car and shot himself shortly after murdering his longtime girlfriend.

Pioli has always been fiercely private – even innocuous quotes would usually be given only off-the-record – but seemed to keep relatively good spirits until the end was imminent.

If his final season is remembered as the worst in franchise history – and it is – his final days will be remembered for confusion. Hunt announced Romeo Crennel’s firing on Monday, which led to many inside the Chiefs’ offices to wonder about Pioli’s. But Hunt is one of the few men more private than Pioli, so team employees expecting a fresh start had to wait.

That included Pioli, who by all accounts handled his final few days of employment with class, even amid an air of inevitability that he would soon be gone.

Pioli came arrived in Kansas City with the Chiefs in a terrible place. They had just gone 2-14, fans fed up with years of falling behind. The new coach Pioli hired unwittingly set a new hard tone when he told a respected Pro Bowler he could win two games with “22 guys off the street.”

Four years and four drafts later, the Chiefs again won just two games. A rough, overly dramatic, and ultimately alienating time ends with the team in the exact same spot, accomplished men on all sides left to reflect on what went wrong.

FloridaMan88 · 01-05-2013, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAX

I have been in two board meetings when someone was asked to wait outside for awhile. It always ended badly for the excluded party.

But it's one of the most hard-ass things you can do in business; look a grown executive in the eye and tell him to give you some time alone with the "important people" and watch him slink out the door with his buttocks clinched like a fist.

Clark has a mean streak in him, I'm telling you. He didn't have to invite Pioli along for that interview. Then, to purposefully exclude him from the main talks? Ouch and damn.

FAX

Fitting though considering how Fat Scott by all accounts bullied many employees... especially lower level employees within the Chiefs organization.

CaliforniaChief · 01-05-2013, 11:39 PM

Pioli has absolutely no dignity. If it's true that Clark wanted him out all along and tried to convince him to resign and he still went along on these interviews, it speaks of his character...and not in a good way.

It was clear last Monday that Pioli was toast. Clark even slipped once in his interview with Petro. And yet Pioli dragged it out.

jd1020 · 01-05-2013, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Pioli has absolutely no dignity. If it's true that Clark wanted him out all along and tried to convince him to resign and he still went along on these interviews, it speaks of his character...and not in a good way.

It was clear last Monday that Pioli was toast. Clark even slipped once in his interview with Petro. And yet Pioli dragged it out.

Want to share some of your wealth? I mean, you must be insanely rich to say "No thanks" to 20M dollars.

GloryDayz · 01-05-2013, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FAX

I have been in two board meetings when someone was asked to wait outside for awhile. It always ended badly for the excluded party.

But it's one of the most hard-ass things you can do in business; look a grown executive in the eye and tell him to give you some time alone with the "important people" and watch him slink out the door with his buttocks clinched like a fist.

Clark has a mean streak in him, I'm telling you. He didn't have to invite Pioli along for that interview. Then, to purposefully exclude him from the main talks? Ouch and damn.

FAX

Prolly just told him to go look for gum wrappers.

FAX · 01-05-2013, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh Janus

Fitting though considering how Fat Scott by all accounts bullied many employees... especially lower level employees within the Chiefs organization.

I don't feel sorry for him. I'm not saying that. I don't. He caused sufficient pain that it's nothing more than justice in my view.

I'm merely reflecting on just how unbelievably embarrassing a moment like that can be. It's probably the most humiliating, humbling experience any person can go through ... particularly if you're a prideful egotist.

I've seen a similar situation bring a grown man to tears.

FAX

FloridaMan88 · 01-05-2013, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Pioli has absolutely no dignity. If it's true that Clark wanted him out all along and tried to convince him to resign and he still went along on these interviews, it speaks of his character...and not in a good way.

It was clear last Monday that Pioli was toast. Clark even slipped once in his interview with Petro. And yet Pioli dragged it out.

It was probably the most comfortable he had been in his 4 years in KC since it allowed him to revert back to his role with the Patriots... standing outside holding Belichick's briefcase as Belichick made all the important decisions.

FAX · 01-05-2013, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Pioli has absolutely no dignity. If it's true that Clark wanted him out all along and tried to convince him to resign and he still went along on these interviews, it speaks of his character...and not in a good way.

It was clear last Monday that Pioli was toast. Clark even slipped once in his interview with Petro. And yet Pioli dragged it out.

Good point.

Clark neutered him in public just days prior. Eviscerated the stupid bastard. Repeatedly.

Then Pioli "tags along" on these interviews?

What kind of person does that? My God. Any prideful human would have told Clark to shove it and left under his own steam.

Pioli must be some kind of weird.

FAX

ChiefMojo · 01-05-2013, 11:50 PM

Just pisses me off!!!!

He came in with such promise but absolutely destroyed the organization very soon after. Sure there were some things he came in and had to clean up on and off the field but there were also big parts of the organization that were working very well (namely relations with the fanbase). He choose to destroy everything... even the stuff he thought was good. There was literally a dark cloud that hung above KC and for sure Arrowhead. The day Pioli was fired, it was like the dark cloud went away, much like in a movie.

In the end the Chiefs franchise turned into the one thing every fanbase hopes they never witness or a part of. I'm sure it is the way the Lions fans felt with Millen in charge. It is the lowest of lows and the only way to fix the mess is to completely clean house and start over... we are doing that right now.

**Munson** · 01-05-2013, 11:50 PM

Pretty much everything that Pioli did in 2009 royally ****ed this franchise.

It was only a matter of time before this team imploded.

Deberg_1990 · 01-05-2013, 11:53 PM

I think I can honestly say now that I would have preferred Carl and Herm for 4 more years over the Scott Pioli regime. That's sad.

ChiefMojo · 01-05-2013, 11:55 PM

You know what was the first moment I knew this franchise was f**ked? It was when I saw the banners go down inside the stadium on gameday. The moment I no longer heard much about player charity stuff publicly. When I saw Gonzo wanting out shortly after the hire and the whole Brian Waters ordeal. We should have known right then something horrible was going on and about to happen in a grand scale.

I really hate myself for saying this but I agree with you... I would have taken four more years of Herm over this mess. At least I was entertained in defeat.

Reerun_KC · 01-05-2013, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I think I can honestly say now that I would have preferred Carl and Herm for 4 more years over the Scott Pioli regime. That's sad.

Hopefully we have paid our restitution for hiring Herman. 4 years should be enough. Hopefully the NFL gods will forgive our stupidity.

Hiring Herman is devastating to your franchise.

ChiefMojo · 01-05-2013, 11:59 PM

Hiring Herm was devastating but not even close as bad as Pioli imo. Herm had some redeeming qualities, Pioli had none.

**cdcox** · 01-06-2013, 12:08 AM

It was time for Herm to go. That was the right decision. Pioli was a reasonable choice for GM. Turned out bad, and we got rid of him at the first reasonable opportunity. Stuff like that happens. It doesn't mean we should have kept Herm. I dare say...

It's a process.

TEX · 01-06-2013, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz_TinBalls

"Scott Pioli likely came to know his time in charge of the Chiefs had expired outside of a conference room at a Philadelphia airport"

awesome.

No $hit. I wonder if somewhere in the back of his mind he thought he would survive and keep his job with simply losing some respinsibility? I hope that was the case

01-05-2013, 11:17 PM
FloridaMan88 Mahomes: We Are All Witnesses Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Miami, FL Casino cash: $3142906	Mellinger: Pioli has time to reflect on where it went wrong http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/05...-headline.html Pioli has time to reflect on where it went wrong By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star The truth set in at some point in Philadelphia. There is no way to get inside a man’s mind, of course, but Scott Pioli likely came to know his time in charge of the Chiefs had expired outside of a conference room at a Philadelphia airport. It must’ve been there that Pioli understood he was still the Chiefs general manager in technical terms, but no longer in practice. Behind the closed doors in front of Pioli, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt ate up the biggest chunk of a nine-hour meeting alone with Andy Reid. If there was any remaining doubt about who would be in charge, it died in those hours. Pioli used to be the one in that meeting, the one asking the tough questions and making the big decisions. Now, though, he was left sitting outside, waiting. Like everyone else. Pioli – part of a five-man traveling party with Hunt, Chiefs president Mark Donovan, vice president Ted Crews and Hunt Sports Group executive Ryan Petkoff – got some facetime with Reid. But it was clear to everyone involved who was in charge. Hunt took the time. Hunt asked the important questions. Hunt would make the decision. Pioli waited to be told. The first major football hire done without Pioli’s input would also be the last one done with him as an employee. Pioli was professional, but nobody could ignore the awkward setup. He sat outside, researching on his phone or computer, working on contingency options in case Reid did not agree to come to Kansas City – just like the others who would not be making the decision. The next day, on Friday, the Chiefs announced what they called a mutual decision for Pioli to walk away from the biggest job of his 20-year career in professional football. The Chiefs went 23-41 in his time in charge, the worst four-year stretch since Hunt’s father founded the team in 1960. Pioli, seen as an egomaniac by so many, left the Chiefs humbled. He thanked Hunt for the opportunity, and told people he was sorry for failing. One of the most dramatic, tumultuous, miserable, and at times tragic eras in franchise history ended in a thank you and apology. The announcement of the inevitable end to Pioli’s rule included a short statement from both him and Hunt, but Pioli has not spoken publicly. Nobody knows for sure what is next for him, but indications are that he’ll take some time off. Right now, he is resting. Decompressing, as one person put it. It’s a lot to take in. Pioli and his wife have a young daughter and a home in Nantucket, which he bought years ago in steps – first the land, then the construction – after an old football friend told him everyone in the business needed a place to stay after being fired. The consensus among NFL people is that he won’t have trouble finding another job whenever he wants one, perhaps even another GM position in the future though, as one friend of Pioli’s put it, “he obviously made some mistakes and will learn from it like we all do.” The friend made it clear that Pioli wanted to make it work with the Chiefs, even after this awful season, saying Pioli had grown to love Kansas City. He made friends here, many of them outside of football, and became involved in the local arts scene and an organization that promotes women’s sports. What turned out to be the worst year of Pioli’s professional life began with such promise. He lost about 30 pounds in the offseason, enough that he had to buy new clothes, and in training camp publicly welcomed higher expectations. And why not? Four years into the job he had what he considered his best roster. He hired a new coach. Sports Illustrated, among other national outlets, picked the Chiefs to win the division. But the bad news started, literally, as soon as the season did. Tamba Hali was suspended for the first game and Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez, the Hall of Fame tight end Pioli traded shortly after arriving in Kansas City, dunked the ball through the goalposts after a touchdown in a blowout loss to the Falcons. The next week, Dwayne Bowe – the recovering knucklehead – pointed to the back of his jersey in another blowout loss that turned fan frustration from code orange to red. Meanwhile, Pioli was dealing with personal stress. There was a report that he was offered a contract extension, which a source close to the Chiefs adamantly denied to the Star. He was deposed at least once in an age discrimination lawsuit stemming from ongoing intra-office drama, much of which was detailed by the Star. In what would later be seen as a tragic prequel, a team employee killed a woman and then himself. Then, of course, Pioli was face-to-face with Jovan Belcher in the parking lot outside the Chiefs facility one morning, a few steps away when Belcher knelt behind a car and shot himself shortly after murdering his longtime girlfriend. Pioli has always been fiercely private – even innocuous quotes would usually be given only off-the-record – but seemed to keep relatively good spirits until the end was imminent. If his final season is remembered as the worst in franchise history – and it is – his final days will be remembered for confusion. Hunt announced Romeo Crennel’s firing on Monday, which led to many inside the Chiefs’ offices to wonder about Pioli’s. But Hunt is one of the few men more private than Pioli, so team employees expecting a fresh start had to wait. That included Pioli, who by all accounts handled his final few days of employment with class, even amid an air of inevitability that he would soon be gone. Pioli came arrived in Kansas City with the Chiefs in a terrible place. They had just gone 2-14, fans fed up with years of falling behind. The new coach Pioli hired unwittingly set a new hard tone when he told a respected Pro Bowler he could win two games with “22 guys off the street.” Four years and four drafts later, the Chiefs again won just two games. A rough, overly dramatic, and ultimately alienating time ends with the team in the exact same spot, accomplished men on all sides left to reflect on what went wrong.
Posts: 38,262

01-05-2013, 11:39 PM	#17
CaliforniaChief #RIPAce Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal Casino cash: $12422899	Pioli has absolutely no dignity. If it's true that Clark wanted him out all along and tried to convince him to resign and he still went along on these interviews, it speaks of his character...and not in a good way. It was clear last Monday that Pioli was toast. Clark even slipped once in his interview with Petro. And yet Pioli dragged it out.
Posts: 17,319

01-05-2013, 11:50 PM	#23
ChiefMojo Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $10004935	Just pisses me off!!!! He came in with such promise but absolutely destroyed the organization very soon after. Sure there were some things he came in and had to clean up on and off the field but there were also big parts of the organization that were working very well (namely relations with the fanbase). He choose to destroy everything... even the stuff he thought was good. There was literally a dark cloud that hung above KC and for sure Arrowhead. The day Pioli was fired, it was like the dark cloud went away, much like in a movie. In the end the Chiefs franchise turned into the one thing every fanbase hopes they never witness or a part of. I'm sure it is the way the Lions fans felt with Millen in charge. It is the lowest of lows and the only way to fix the mess is to completely clean house and start over... we are doing that right now.
Posts: 2,283

01-05-2013, 11:50 PM	#24
Munson Roy E. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Olathe, KS Casino cash: $11939646	Pretty much everything that Pioli did in 2009 royally ****ed this franchise. It was only a matter of time before this team imploded.
Posts: 22,726

01-05-2013, 11:53 PM	#25
Deberg_1990 In Search of a Life Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: San Antonio Tx. Casino cash: $3914454	I think I can honestly say now that I would have preferred Carl and Herm for 4 more years over the Scott Pioli regime. That's sad. __________________ Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning: Matt once made a very nice play in Seattle where he spun away from a pass rusher and hit Bowe off his back foot for a first down. One of the best plays Matt has ever made.
Posts: 66,914

01-05-2013, 11:55 PM	#26
ChiefMojo Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $10004935	You know what was the first moment I knew this franchise was f**ked? It was when I saw the banners go down inside the stadium on gameday. The moment I no longer heard much about player charity stuff publicly. When I saw Gonzo wanting out shortly after the hire and the whole Brian Waters ordeal. We should have known right then something horrible was going on and about to happen in a grand scale. I really hate myself for saying this but I agree with you... I would have taken four more years of Herm over this mess. At least I was entertained in defeat.
Posts: 2,283

01-05-2013, 11:59 PM	#28
ChiefMojo Happy, Happy, Happy!!! Join Date: Jan 2009 Casino cash: $10004935	Hiring Herm was devastating but not even close as bad as Pioli imo. Herm had some redeeming qualities, Pioli had none.
Posts: 2,283

01-06-2013, 12:08 AM	#29
cdcox www.nfl-forecast.com Join Date: Sep 2000 Casino cash: $2331769	It was time for Herm to go. That was the right decision. Pioli was a reasonable choice for GM. Turned out bad, and we got rid of him at the first reasonable opportunity. Stuff like that happens. It doesn't mean we should have kept Herm. I dare say... It's a process.
Posts: 45,536