The Kansas City Chiefs will announce Scott Pioli as the team’s General Manager this afternoon at 5pm. Pioli was the man that Clark Hunt targeted right from the beginning. He’s also one of the minds behind the Patriots three Super Bowls.
It was Pioli along with head coach Bill Belichick who selected Tom Brady with one of their late round draft picks, plus we’ve seen how New England has built a team with draft picks and the right free agents over the years.
Both of those opportunities will present themselves to Pioli. The Chiefs will have the third overall pick in the upcoming draft, and they are $35 million under the salary cap. This would certainly provide an opportunity for Pioli to get in here right away and with a couple of key draft picks and smart spending, could turn this team around fairly quickly.
Pioli came over with Belichick to New England from Cleveland and Pioli met with Browns’ owner Randy Lerner prior to interviewing with Hunt for the Chiefs job. I thought for sure Pioli would go back to Cleveland, but in the end felt this was a better fit.
Out going Carl Peterson’s responsibilities will be split in two. Pioli will handle player personnel and it’s expected that Denny Thum already in the organization will handle the business side of Peterson’s job.
As far as Herm Edwards, most of the reports I’m hearing or reading say he and his staff will be let go. Herm didn’t have much to work with the last two years, but I’ve said all along it’s time for a change. I think Pioli will want his own guy in there. Someone who he can trust to bounce player evaluations off of and someone who will mold the team he builds. Pioli is supposed to meet with Edwards on Thursday. I’d expect a decision to come soon, because the Chiefs are behind the 8-ball in terms of finding a good coach with so many openings out there.
