Comments on Pioli from Belichik/Kraft

[KcMizzou]

CHIEFS MAKE IT OFFICIAL

Posted by Mike Florio on January 13, 2009, 6:02 p.m. EST

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced that they have hired Scott Pioli to serve as the team’s General Manager.

Pioli, who spent nine years with the Patriots, replaces 20-year G.M. Carl Peterson.

“We are very excited to welcome Scott to the Chiefs,” owner Clark Hunt said. “With his proven track record of success, Scott is the finest player personnel executive in the NFL, and we look forward to his leadership in building a championship organization.”

Pioli, the two-time Sporting News Executive of the Year, acquires full control of a football operation for the first time in his career.

The Patriots, who have lost two key employees in two days, have issued multiple statements regarding the move.

Said owner Robert Kraft: “Scott Pioli was an integral part of the many championships the New England Patriots have celebrated this decade and I would like to thank him for his countless contributions throughout the past nine seasons. Scott is a great evaluator of talent. He is thorough in his evaluations, extremely organized and has done a tremendous job mining all possible resources to help Coach Belichick and his staff field the players needed to win consistently. He has played an important role in building a championship tradition with players that I am proud to call Patriots. On behalf of the entire Patriots organization, I wish Scott continued success in his new role and offer best wishes to his wonderful wife Dallas, and their beautiful daughter Mia. I think Clark Hunt and the Kansas City Chiefs have made a very wise hire.”

Added Belichick: “To sum up in words everything Scott Pioli has meant to this organization and to me personally would be difficult, if not impossible. From the day I met him, he has demonstrated a passion for football and respect for the game that is second to none. It has been extremely gratifying for me to follow Scott’s career ascension from the bottom of the totem pole in Cleveland to his place as a pillar of championship teams in New England. Now with the opportunity to steer his own ship and a vision of building a winner, there is no more capable, hardworking, loyal, team-oriented person than Scott Pioli.

“On a personal level, the Belichick-Pioli bond runs far deeper than our workplace, as we and our families have shared countless memories away from football. Working side by side with one of my best friends for almost two decades is special enough in itself. But to help each other achieve success beyond our dreams is a blessing and something I will always remember and appreciate.”

Wow. Was that Bill Belichick?

Did I say wow?

And so the Chiefs begin the process of returning to competitiveness in one of the least competitive divisions in the NFL. Per various reports, coach Herm Edwards won’t be part of the process.

But Pioli will. And perhaps under his leadership the team will do something it didn’t do during Peterson’s 20 years and hasn’t done in 40 — win a Super Bowl.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/01/13/chiefs-make-it-official/

[dorseybowe]

Jimpiable!

[Hoover]

Those comments show you what a class organization the Patriots are, we can only hope that one day we will be at the same level.

[Ebolapox]

sweet!

[Huffman83]

It's also cool that it was a hire w/ their blessing and support. For the amount of bad press that organization has had in the past few years. They do have a great amount of class.

[StcChief]

Chiefs made a great hire. Let's hope Clark fully supports him on talent needs.

[KcMizzou]

It's also cool that it was a hire w/ their blessing and support. For the amount of bad press that organization has had in the past few years. They do have a great amount of class.Yep. The man just wants the opportunity to grow. Do it himself.

The fact that they're giving him their blessing shows how much respect they have for him.

Very classy, indeed.

[prhom]

So given the Pioli-Belichik connection, is it too soon to start a rumor about Bill replacing Herm as the new Chiefs' HC?!?

[KcMizzou]

So given the Pioli-Belichik connection, is it too soon to start a rumor about Bill replacing Herm as the new Chiefs' HC?!?LMAO

Patsplanet meltdown... for sure.

[Basileus777]

Personal loss in personnel

Belichick, Pioli had a special thing going

By Mike Reiss Globe Staff / January 13, 2009
<!-- end tools -->
<!-- End utility --> <!-- End headTools --> <!-- End articleHeader --> The band is breaking up.



Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick are both Bruce Springsteen fans, but now -- sort of like when Bruce split from the E Street Band -- they're leaving their glory days behind. Pioli is off to Kansas City, agreeing today to a contract to run the Chiefs' football operation.
Together more than nine years in New England, Pioli and Belichick created mostly sweet music, their pairing an integral part of the Patriots' dynastic rise this decade. Pioli and his scouts scoured the country to supply the players, Belichick and his staff coached them up, and the synergy just seemed to work.
Part of what made the arrangement so successful was the relationship.
Pioli knew what type of player Belichick wanted, and clearly communicated that to his scouts. A detailed scouting manual was created so everyone was working off the same script.
In turn, Belichick trusted and valued Pioli's work, which afforded the coach the luxury to focus solely on the here-and-now, the X's and O's to beat that week's opponent. He felt confident that Pioli had things covered long term with college prospects, and that he could be counted on to find the right veteran when the team needed an emergency replacement.
They thought as one, rarely in disagreement on a player.
Pioli also negotiated contracts, working within the "value" framework often cited by Belichick.
As news trickled out today that Pioli was headed to Kansas City, some of the buzz around the league centered on how Pioli would fare on his own, and how the Patriots would fill his void -- both in personnel evaluation and in contract negotiations. One question was if he'd be taking research director Richard Miller, a behind-the-scenes presence who often helped in negotiations, with him to the Midwest.
From the Patriots' perspective, the hope is that the system they have in place and the promotion of director of player personnel Nick Caserio leads to a rather seamless transition. But to suggest the Patriots won't miss a beat dismisses Pioli's role in the team's success, how he organized the schedule of all the scouts, was a strong negotiator, and helped in the evaluation process.
It helps that Caserio was moved from wide receivers coach to the front office earlier this year, a switch that one now wonders if Belichick and the Patriots made with Pioli's possible departure in mind.
Still, you don't just lose a key member of the band and keep producing the same quality music. Time will be needed to get everyone in tune.
Meanwhile, for Pioli, this is a chance to step out on his own and presumably to be compensated handsomely for doing so. In New England, he'd always be attached to Belichick -- not necessarily a bad thing, but also a situation that created a ceiling the 43-year-old Pioli had seemingly reached.
When former Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff experienced instant success in his first season as Atlanta Falcons general manager this year, perhaps that sparked Pioli's desire -- and grew his confidence -- that he could do the same.
So Pioli talked with the Cleveland Browns immediately after the season ended about running their football operation, but Browns owner Randy Lerner prioritized the hiring of a head coach (Eric Mangini) over Pioli. That left Kansas City, a situation that some felt Pioli wouldn't jump to because of his desire for total control and a mega-contract, something the Chiefs weren't offering.
But that wasn't the case.
Pioli once said one of his favorite Springsteen songs is "Prove it all Night", which he felt he always had to do in his role as vice president of player personnel. In leaving the band after nine years, and heading to a promising situation in Kansas City, now he has a chance to prove it on his own.


http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2009/01/13/personal_loss_in_personnel/

[Cappilletti]

Pats fan here, logging in to congratulate the Chiefs on getting Pioli.

We are really, really, REALLY going to miss him. You guys got a great talent evaluator. Not perfect, but very, very good. If I could have any other personnel guy, I would still want Pioli back.

Just don't go and take Matt Cassel away from us, too, at least until we know if Brady's knee will be okay in 2009.

Seriously, you guys just made the Chiefs a LOT better. Looking forward to giving Scott a HUGE standing O the first time you guys come to Foxboro.

[KcMizzou]

Pats fan here, logging in to congratulate the Chiefs on getting Pioli.

We are really, really, REALLY going to miss him. You guys got a great talent evaluator. Not perfect, but very, very good. If I could have any other personnel guy, I would still want Pioli back.

Just don't go and take Matt Cassel away from us, too, at least until we know if Brady's knee will be okay in 2009.

Seriously, you guys just made the Chiefs a LOT better. Looking forward to giving Scott a HUGE standing O the first time you guys come to Foxboro.Thank you, sir. Best sports day in KC for a long a while.

[RippedmyFlesh]

Pats fan here, logging in to congratulate the Chiefs on getting Pioli.

We are really, really, REALLY going to miss him. You guys got a great talent evaluator. Not perfect, but very, very good. If I could have any other personnel guy, I would still want Pioli back.

Just don't go and take Matt Cassel away from us, too, at least until we know if Brady's knee will be okay in 2009.

Seriously, you guys just made the Chiefs a LOT better. Looking forward to giving Scott a HUGE standing O the first time you guys come to Foxboro.
Thanks.
You know how good Pioli is .
You may not realize how bad it was here.
Being a NE fan this is the best way to describe it to you.
If Pioli is the Brady of GMs.....we just replaced michael bishop with Brady.