Chiefs Jo Po on Pioli News Conference

T-post Tom · 01-15-2009, 12:39 AM

Nails...

Pioli reveals little in news conference
By JOE POSNANSKI
The Kansas City Star

There's one overwhelming goal that every new coach or manager or general manager has in his introductory news conference: Say nothing. New Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli met that goal on Wednesday. He surpassed it. He said less than nothing. He has a chance to be one of the great ones.

You may think I’m joking, but no, I’ve sat through enough introductory news conferences over the years to know that there is nothing at all to be gained by making promises or getting into specifics or revealing too much of the plan at the start. Carl Peterson may or may not have promised a Super Bowl in five years in his opening statement — there’s no record of him saying it — but it does not matter. The “Carl five-year plan” became part of his aura, and people never let him forget it.

Scott Pioli did not lay out a five-year plan or a 10-year plan or any plan at all. He did not guarantee anything but hard work. He did not mention a single Chiefs player’s name the entire news conference. He handled it all just right.

The truth is, Scott Pioli doesn’t know anything about the Chiefs yet. He hasn’t studied the tape. He hasn’t evaluated the players. He hasn’t spent time with coach-in-limbo Herm Edwards or any of his resume-preparing assistant coaches. He doesn’t know how much of a pain in the neck Larry Johnson plans to be or if Tony Gonzalez is going to plead for a trade or if Glenn Dorsey can thrive in a better defensive system or what the heck to do with quarterback Tyler Thigpen. He no doubt has some opinions about these things, but there’s no point in going public with those now. He might change his mind.

So, Wednesday’s news conference was what these big introductory news conferences always end up being … only more. It was a whole lot of nothing. Scott Pioli is not just the hottest GM prospect in the NFL. He’s not just the guy who helped build the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. He’s not just famous around the league for his work ethic and keen ability to evaluate players. He was also trained in the fine art of speaking without saying — by the Master Bill Belichick himself.

“We want players who are big, strong, smart, fast, tough and disciplined,” Pioli said, finally bringing an end to the era of Chiefs executives who searched desperately for players who are small, weak, stupid, slow, fragile and unruly.

“I can promise you there will be no one in the league who will work harder,” Pioli said, a refreshing change from all those football coaches and executives who take extra vacation time.

“Everybody is going to know their role and do their job,” Pioli said, and “a challenge is a challenge,” and “I love challenges,” and “the key is getting it right,” and “Kansas City is a great community.”

And then there was what he said when asked whether he would fire Herm Edwards. He said that there is a process and he’s only starting that process because there are a lot of things that he has to process before the process will be done, so he would go through the process and process the information that needs to be processed and after the process had taken its course and he had processed everything processible, he would talk about the process …

It was a dazzling performance. When the news conference ended, we knew absolutely nothing more about Scott Pioli or his plan for the Chiefs than we had when it started. In some ways, we knew less than we did at the start. And that was the whole point.

We did pick up a few tidbits. Pioli seems like a nice enough guy. He has a 5-year-old daughter. He likes Italian food (and he will no doubt enjoy Garozzo’s and Osteria Il Centro, among others). He had a nine-hour interview with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. He does not expect to be nearly as much of a public presence as Carl Peterson. He’s ready to go to work.

“I’m not here to collect talent,” he says. “I’m here to build a football team.”

There is every reason to believe Pioli will be successful. For one thing, he has already been successful, wildly successful, with the Patriots. For another, he has worked with a rather remarkable group of football winners — Belichick, of course, his father-in-law, Bill Parcells, Nick Saban, and so on. He was involved when the Baltimore Ravens drafted Ray Lewis, when the New York Jets went to the AFC championship game, and when the Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round. He has learned some things.

And on top of that, this is a good situation … and Pioli knows it. The Chiefs have a committed owner, a renovated stadium, a passionate fan base and millions of dollars of cap room. There just is not much more a football GM needs.

So I think this will work out great. Now, how exactly is it going to work? That’s all guesswork. I suspect he will want his own coach, though he did not say that. I suspect he will try to find a franchise quarterback, though he did not say that either. I suspect he will reorganize and restructure and modify the way the Kansas City Chiefs find players — I think the Chiefs will look and play a very different style from the one we have seen the last few years.

“There needs to be changes,” was all he would say about that, and that’s all that had to be said. It was just his first day. There are no answers yet. We have to wait for the process to unfold.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...ry/981973.html

L.A. Chieffan · 01-15-2009, 12:42 AM

why isn't there good italian food in KC?

i saw casino, there was wops all over the place.

T-post Tom · 01-15-2009, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

why isn't there good italian food in KC?

i saw casino, there was wops all over the place.

What ya got against the 'Olive Garden'?

J/K:
Accurso's
Anthony's
Bice Bistro
Brio Tuscan Grill
Buca di Beppo
Bugatti's (Ameristar. Still there?)
Cafe Trio
Café Verona
Carmen's
Cascone's
Cinzetti's
Figlio
Garozzo's
Genovese
Il Trullo
Jasper's
Lidia's
Mezzaluna
Milano
NoRTH
Osteria
Paulo & Bill
Ricco's
V's
To name but a few.

Reerun_KC · 01-15-2009, 12:47 AM

Good read!

I was over all impressed with the presser, disappointed that he didnt kick Herm in the nuts for all the misery we have endured... Hopefully that is soon...

I feel good about the hire and direction...

kcxiv · 01-15-2009, 12:53 AM

How this is a article i enjoyed reading and it told me absolutely nothing! hah

teedubya · 01-15-2009, 12:53 AM

I still can't believe we actually got Scott ****ing Pioli. It's like ****ing Christmas.

DaWolf · 01-15-2009, 12:56 AM

I just watched the presser on the website, and I must say that I took the inference out of the news conference that Herm is done. They're not going to disrespect him by canning him day one, but it sounded an awful lot to me like Pioli knows what kind of a head coach he is looking for, and he's going to make sure he gets the right one. And for that guy to be Herm, well Herm sure as hell would need to wow him when they sit down to "talk." He disagreed with the contention that Edwards made about the team being a few players away, said there needed to be a lot of changes, and even had the owner saying that he's now going to keep "an open mind" in terms of Edwards' future, certainly no ringing endorsement from Clark. I give Herm two days max...

**Tribal Warfare** · 01-15-2009, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs

I still can't believe we actually got Scott ****ing Pioli. It's like ****ing Christmas.

No that was King Carl's firing, this is more like awesome birthday present

tk13 · 01-15-2009, 01:22 AM

Yeah, people who hang on the press conferences probably aren't gonna like this era of Chiefs football. I don't think anybody says less with more than the Patriots and Belichick. They don't give away anything.

HMc · 01-15-2009, 01:45 AM

It amuses me that pro sports in the USA seem obsessed with press conferences. Whether its a post game press conference or about iverson missing practice or whatever.

We really don't have them here at all, and if we do they're only when something notable occurs rather then 2 or 3 of them per week. What exactly does one gain from the majority of them? Fack all, it seems to me, besides a quick injury update. The rest is mindless blabber.

I think they do them for coaching appointments of the national teams, but besides that the reporters just talk to the coach after training on the practice field.

HIChief · 01-15-2009, 02:13 AM

There is a saying "Acta Non Verba" meaning deeds, not words. If that's all we get from Hunt, Pioli, and Co. together with as steady record of winning, I will be exstatic.

**HemiEd** · 01-15-2009, 02:28 AM

I loved this line, exactly what I was thinking reading the News Conferance thread:

“We want players who are big, strong, smart, fast, tough and disciplined,” Pioli said, finally bringing an end to the era of Chiefs executives who searched desperately for players who are small, weak, stupid, slow, fragile and unruly.

Mecca · 01-15-2009, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I loved this line, exactly what I was thinking reading the News Conferance thread:

“We want players who are big, strong, smart, fast, tough and disciplined,” Pioli said, finally bringing an end to the era of Chiefs executives who searched desperately for players who are small, weak, stupid, slow, fragile and unruly.

The Chiefs have had their fair share of stupid, unruly and fragile players...they told us one of them was our franchise QB.

Hammock Parties · 01-15-2009, 02:34 AM

There's truth in that line, though.

Small: Croyle, Dorsey, Edwards
Weak: Hali
Stupid: Take your pick
Slow: Hali, Pollard, Bell, Law
Fragile: Croyle, Hali
Unruly: LJ

Mecca · 01-15-2009, 02:36 AM

I think it'll be pretty interesting to see how many guys we were told were the future get cut.

01-15-2009, 12:39 AM
T-post Tom Threepeat! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Milk/Honey/Gazland Casino cash: $3577293	Jo Po on Pioli News Conference Nails... Pioli reveals little in news conference By JOE POSNANSKI The Kansas City Star There's one overwhelming goal that every new coach or manager or general manager has in his introductory news conference: Say nothing. New Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli met that goal on Wednesday. He surpassed it. He said less than nothing. He has a chance to be one of the great ones. You may think I’m joking, but no, I’ve sat through enough introductory news conferences over the years to know that there is nothing at all to be gained by making promises or getting into specifics or revealing too much of the plan at the start. Carl Peterson may or may not have promised a Super Bowl in five years in his opening statement — there’s no record of him saying it — but it does not matter. The “Carl five-year plan” became part of his aura, and people never let him forget it. Scott Pioli did not lay out a five-year plan or a 10-year plan or any plan at all. He did not guarantee anything but hard work. He did not mention a single Chiefs player’s name the entire news conference. He handled it all just right. The truth is, Scott Pioli doesn’t know anything about the Chiefs yet. He hasn’t studied the tape. He hasn’t evaluated the players. He hasn’t spent time with coach-in-limbo Herm Edwards or any of his resume-preparing assistant coaches. He doesn’t know how much of a pain in the neck Larry Johnson plans to be or if Tony Gonzalez is going to plead for a trade or if Glenn Dorsey can thrive in a better defensive system or what the heck to do with quarterback Tyler Thigpen. He no doubt has some opinions about these things, but there’s no point in going public with those now. He might change his mind. So, Wednesday’s news conference was what these big introductory news conferences always end up being … only more. It was a whole lot of nothing. Scott Pioli is not just the hottest GM prospect in the NFL. He’s not just the guy who helped build the three-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. He’s not just famous around the league for his work ethic and keen ability to evaluate players. He was also trained in the fine art of speaking without saying — by the Master Bill Belichick himself. “We want players who are big, strong, smart, fast, tough and disciplined,” Pioli said, finally bringing an end to the era of Chiefs executives who searched desperately for players who are small, weak, stupid, slow, fragile and unruly. “I can promise you there will be no one in the league who will work harder,” Pioli said, a refreshing change from all those football coaches and executives who take extra vacation time. “Everybody is going to know their role and do their job,” Pioli said, and “a challenge is a challenge,” and “I love challenges,” and “the key is getting it right,” and “Kansas City is a great community.” And then there was what he said when asked whether he would fire Herm Edwards. He said that there is a process and he’s only starting that process because there are a lot of things that he has to process before the process will be done, so he would go through the process and process the information that needs to be processed and after the process had taken its course and he had processed everything processible, he would talk about the process … It was a dazzling performance. When the news conference ended, we knew absolutely nothing more about Scott Pioli or his plan for the Chiefs than we had when it started. In some ways, we knew less than we did at the start. And that was the whole point. We did pick up a few tidbits. Pioli seems like a nice enough guy. He has a 5-year-old daughter. He likes Italian food (and he will no doubt enjoy Garozzo’s and Osteria Il Centro, among others). He had a nine-hour interview with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. He does not expect to be nearly as much of a public presence as Carl Peterson. He’s ready to go to work. “I’m not here to collect talent,” he says. “I’m here to build a football team.” There is every reason to believe Pioli will be successful. For one thing, he has already been successful, wildly successful, with the Patriots. For another, he has worked with a rather remarkable group of football winners — Belichick, of course, his father-in-law, Bill Parcells, Nick Saban, and so on. He was involved when the Baltimore Ravens drafted Ray Lewis, when the New York Jets went to the AFC championship game, and when the Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the sixth round. He has learned some things. And on top of that, this is a good situation … and Pioli knows it. The Chiefs have a committed owner, a renovated stadium, a passionate fan base and millions of dollars of cap room. There just is not much more a football GM needs. So I think this will work out great. Now, how exactly is it going to work? That’s all guesswork. I suspect he will want his own coach, though he did not say that. I suspect he will try to find a franchise quarterback, though he did not say that either. I suspect he will reorganize and restructure and modify the way the Kansas City Chiefs find players — I think the Chiefs will look and play a very different style from the one we have seen the last few years. “There needs to be changes,” was all he would say about that, and that’s all that had to be said. It was just his first day. There are no answers yet. We have to wait for the process to unfold. http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...ry/981973.html
Posts: 20,861

01-15-2009, 12:42 AM	#2
L.A. Chieffan PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: American Gardens Building Casino cash: $3498654	why isn't there good italian food in KC? i saw casino, there was wops all over the place.
Posts: 17,381

01-15-2009, 12:47 AM	#4
Reerun_KC Rock Chalk Jayhawks! KU!!! Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $7481160	Good read! I was over all impressed with the presser, disappointed that he didnt kick Herm in the nuts for all the misery we have endured... Hopefully that is soon... I feel good about the hire and direction...
Posts: 1,189

01-15-2009, 12:53 AM	#5
kcxiv In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Central Valley, Cali Casino cash: $8807996	How this is a article i enjoyed reading and it told me absolutely nothing! hah
Posts: 29,110

01-15-2009, 12:53 AM	#6
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9330002	I still can't believe we actually got Scott **ing Pioli. It's like **ing Christmas.
Posts: 36,706

01-15-2009, 12:56 AM	#7
DaWolf Cry havoc... Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10007725	I just watched the presser on the website, and I must say that I took the inference out of the news conference that Herm is done. They're not going to disrespect him by canning him day one, but it sounded an awful lot to me like Pioli knows what kind of a head coach he is looking for, and he's going to make sure he gets the right one. And for that guy to be Herm, well Herm sure as hell would need to wow him when they sit down to "talk." He disagreed with the contention that Edwards made about the team being a few players away, said there needed to be a lot of changes, and even had the owner saying that he's now going to keep "an open mind" in terms of Edwards' future, certainly no ringing endorsement from Clark. I give Herm two days max...
Posts: 6,798

01-15-2009, 01:22 AM	#9
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $562500	Yeah, people who hang on the press conferences probably aren't gonna like this era of Chiefs football. I don't think anybody says less with more than the Patriots and Belichick. They don't give away anything.
Posts: 55,451

01-15-2009, 01:45 AM	#10
HMc from the very deep south. Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sydney, Australia. Casino cash: $9944900	It amuses me that pro sports in the USA seem obsessed with press conferences. Whether its a post game press conference or about iverson missing practice or whatever. We really don't have them here at all, and if we do they're only when something notable occurs rather then 2 or 3 of them per week. What exactly does one gain from the majority of them? Fack all, it seems to me, besides a quick injury update. The rest is mindless blabber. I think they do them for coaching appointments of the national teams, but besides that the reporters just talk to the coach after training on the practice field.
Posts: 2,792

01-15-2009, 02:13 AM	#11
HIChief Since '70 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hawaii Casino cash: $10004997	There is a saying "Acta Non Verba" meaning deeds, not words. If that's all we get from Hunt, Pioli, and Co. together with as steady record of winning, I will be exstatic.
Posts: 296

01-15-2009, 02:28 AM	#12
HemiEd Supporter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ozarks Casino cash: $1860564	I loved this line, exactly what I was thinking reading the News Conferance thread: “We want players who are big, strong, smart, fast, tough and disciplined,” Pioli said, finally bringing an end to the era of Chiefs executives who searched desperately for players who are small, weak, stupid, slow, fragile and unruly.
Posts: 33,944

01-15-2009, 02:34 AM	#14
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $3260478	There's truth in that line, though. Small: Croyle, Dorsey, Edwards Weak: Hali Stupid: Take your pick Slow: Hali, Pollard, Bell, Law Fragile: Croyle, Hali Unruly: LJ __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 285,648

01-15-2009, 02:36 AM	#15
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $1277050	I think it'll be pretty interesting to see how many guys we were told were the future get cut.
Posts: 112,355