CHIEFS MAKE IT OFFICIAL
Posted by Mike Florio on January 13, 2009, 6:02 p.m.
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 <nobr style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%;">Patriotshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adT...lass_10x10.gif</nobr> 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.
