Scott Pioli Named Kansas City Chiefs General Manager
Jan 13, 2009, 4:47:11 PM
Kansas City Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt today announced the hiring of Scott Pioli as General Manager.
Pioli joins the Chiefs after nine seasons with the New England Patriots where most recently he served as Vice President of Player Personnel. The Chiefs plan to formally introduce Pioli at a press conference at 5:00 PM in the Stram Theatre at the Chiefs Administrative Facility on Wednesday.
“We are very excited to welcome Scott to the Chiefs,” 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.”
In his capacity as General Manager, Pioli will have final say over all football operations and report directly to Hunt
During his tenure in New England, the Patriots won Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX, claimed the Lamar Hunt Trophy four times as the AFC Champion and won six AFC East titles. A four-time winner of NFL Executive of the Year honors from national media outlets, Pioli served as the Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel from 2002-08 after originally joining the franchise in 2000. In total, he brings 17 seasons of NFL experience to the Chiefs organization after tours of duty with New England (2000-08), the N.Y. Jets (1997-99), Baltimore (1996) and Cleveland (1992-95).
Pioli’s skills as a talent evaluator helped create a consistent championship contender in New England. During his association with the Patriots, he was regularly recognized for his ability to build a team, not simply collecting individual talent. During his nine-year run with New England, the Patriots became widely recognized as one of the NFL’s model franchises. From 2000-08, the Patriots compiled an NFL-best 102-42 (.708) regular season record. Over that span, New England registered 14 playoff victories, tying the Pittsburgh and Dallas squads of the ‘70s for most playoff wins by a franchise in a single decade. New England accumulated 11 playoff victories from 2003-07, the highest total by any team over a five-year span in NFL history.
During his time in New England, Pioli worked in close coordination with head coach Bill Belichick, bringing players to the Patriots who fit into the framework of the club’s team concept. Pioli and Belichick became the first personnel director/head coach tandem in league annals to win three Super Bowls during a four-year span (2001-04). Their collaborative efforts also helped the Patriots register nine or more victories each of the last eight seasons, including the NFL’s first 16-0 regular season in 2007.
Recognized as one of the league’s most astute player personnel executives, Pioli received George Young NFL Executive of the Year honors from The Sporting News following the 2003 and 2004 seasons, an award voted on by fellow NFL executives. The youngest individual ever to win that accolade, Pioli joined Bill Polian and Bobby Beathard as just the third person to ever win that honor in consecutive seasons. Pioli was named NFL Executive of the Year by the Dallas Morning News in 2001 and also received NFL Executive of the Year honors from Pro Football Weekly and Sports Illustrated in 2003. In 2004, Pioli’s accolades included the NFLPA’s Award for Executive Achievement in addition to NFL Executive of the Year awards from USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle and SI.com. In 2007, Pioli again earned NFL Executive of the Year honors from Pro Football Weekly, the Dallas Morning News and the San Francisco Chronicle.
The depth and versatility of New England’s roster compiled by Pioli were key components to the Patriots success in recent seasons. In 2005, the Patriots set a post-merger league record for a division champion by utilizing 45 different starters. In 2003, the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII despite using 42 different starters, the most in league history by a Super Bowl champion. In 2004, the Patriots employed 40 different starters as they won their second consecutive Super Bowl. In 2006, New England won its fourth straight AFC East title while using 39 different starters.
Under Pioli’s direction, the Patriots used an effective combination of draft picks, free agent signings and trades to continually upgrade their roster. Since Pioli joined the Patriots in 2000, New England’s draft choices have earned a combined 16 Pro Bowl berths. That list is headlined by four-time Pro Bowl QB Tom Brady (D6b-00), who has twice earned Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2007. Other Pro Bowl draft picks during the Pioli era in New England included five-time selection DE Richard Seymour (D1-02) and two-time Pro Bowl T Matt Light (D2-01). Players drafted by Pioli in New England with at least one Pro Bowl to their credit include: C Dan Koppen (D5-03), G Logan Mankins (D1-05), CB Asante Samuel (D4-03), DT Vince Wilfork (D1a-04) and K Stephen Gostkowski (D4b-06).
Notable Patriots free agent signees during the Pioli era included S Rodney Harrison (FA-03), LB Mike Vrabel (UFA-01) and three-time Pro Bowl special teamer LB Larry Izzo (UFA-01). Meanwhile, New England also acquired several key performers via trades. WR Randy Moss (T-07) was acquired from Oakland and set an NFL single-season record with 23 TD catches in 2007. WR Wes Welker (T-07) was acquired from Miami in 2007 and led New England with 112 receptions in his debut campaign with the Patriots. Welker earned his initial Pro Bowl berth in 2008 after producing a team-high 111 catches. RB Corey Dillon (T-04) joined the Patriots from Cincinnati and set the franchise’s single-season rushing record with 1,635 yards in 2004.
Pioli began his NFL career when Belichick hired him as a Pro Personnel Assistant for the Browns in ‘92. In Cleveland, he was responsible for the evaluation of both college prospects and veteran free agents, as well as negotiating various player contracts. He was promoted to Director of Pro Personnel after the franchise moved to Baltimore in ‘96. He spent one season with the Ravens, where he oversaw all aspects of pro personnel and negotiated the contracts of free agents and several draft choices.
In ‘97, he was hired by the N.Y. Jets as Director of Pro Personnel. He was credited with the signing of a number of veteran free agents who played critical roles in the Jets rebuilding process. In just two seasons, the Jets completed a worst-to-first turnaround, rebounding from 1-15 in ‘96 to 12-4 in ‘98. Those 12 wins in ‘98 were the most in franchise history and gave the Jets their first division title since ‘68.
Pioli played defensive tackle at Central Connecticut State (1983-87), where he was a three-time Division II All-New England selection. In ‘88, after graduating with a degree in communications, he accepted a two-year graduate assistant position at Syracuse University, where he also earned a master’s degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
He accepted a full-time coaching opportunity at Murray State, where he spent one season as the offensive line coach (’90) and one season as the defensive line coach (’91). He left the coaching ranks to join the Browns personnel department in ‘92.
Pioli was born on March 31, 1965 in Washingtonville, N.Y. He currently serves on the board of directors for various non-profit foundations and serves on the board of directors for the College for Every Student Foundation, a national non-profit organization that partners with public schools in high-need communities to raise student aspirations and performance. He remains actively involved in fundraising for several organizations in his hometown (Washingtonville, N.Y.) and at his alma mater of Central Connecticut State, where he was enshrined in that school’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
He established the Rose Pioli Scholarship in the name of his grandmother to benefit children of educators, professional firefighters, police and other emergency medical service providers. Pioli and his wife, Dallas, have a daughter, Mia Costa Pioli.
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01-13-2009, 06:47 PM
Re: Breaking News Scott Pioli to KC!
Re: Breaking News Scott Pioli to KC!
