The Scott Pioli Reader

? Aloysius

Articles:

"No one has done a better job in free agency than Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick," said Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, a former Patriots linebackers coach. "They've done a super job. They know what they're looking for, and I think it's somewhere in there between smart, athletic, and tough. That's what they go with, and it's been great for them, obviously."

Pioli on visiting schools, scouting college players

When Pioli is on a campus, he’s attentive to how prospects treat folks like the equipment manager, assistant trainers, grounds crew and, in particular, the females who work in the football office. He takes note of how hard they work in the weight room and how easy is it to coach them up at practice.
“Being there at this time of year, in that environment, you get a truer gauge on who this person is,” Pioli said.

That makes this a critical time of year for Pioli and his staff. By February, the seniors have agents and personal trainers and private tutors, all of whom have a singular goal of making sure they give the NFL what they want to see and hear. And, as Pioli noted, people can be easily fooled during a 15-minute interview as prospects spew prepared statements and canned responses.

“But if I’m at a practice and I see a coach telling a kid time and time again correcting the same mistakes, I’m going to have a different opinion of what his intelligence is as a player,” he said.

While football is a violent sport, the Patriots put a lot of stock in brain power. Taking it a step further, they’re looking for players who can not only think, but do so on their feet.

“A very smart person told me one time don’t ever get intelligence confused with the ability to make good decisions,” Pioli said. “In this game, it’s the ability to make good decisions, under pressure, quickly. And that’s a different form of intelligence.

“I’ve been around a number of quarterbacks who are highly, highly intelligent, but they can’t make the right decision quickly. For us, intelligence is very important.”

Transcript of Pioli's appearance on Path to the Draft (11/03/05)

Mayock: You know, Scott, one of the things that I find really interesting is that when I talk to people around the league they're almost scared to death to be drafting in the top five or the top ten. Not necessarily because that meant they were a bad team a year ago, but there is so much pressure not to miss in that top five because of the guaranteed dollars involved. Do you and Bill sit around and just say, 'Boy, thank goodness we don't have a pick in the top five this year'?
Pioli: Fortunately, we haven't had to be in the top five, but we did have a number six pick in Richard Seymour when we took Richard. And again, something that we think is important [is] when you go to make that kind of investment, and really there is a significant difference in the dollars in one through five, but still, if you're in that top fifteen, there is a significant investment in dollars and years that you're making a commitment to a player. When we do that we want to make sure that the players that we get at that point, [that] we take a player that ... they're going to be people who are mature and can handle the lifestyle they're about to enter. It's no secret that if a player is picked in that first half of the draft they're coming into a lot of money and they're going to be changing their lifestyle dramatically. And we want to have players that we know or we feel have a real good chance to be that solid person.

Mike Florio: Why isn’t Scott Pioli running an NFL team?

Pioli once worked for Miami V.P. of football operations Bill Parcells, and Parcells saw fit to allow Pioli to marry one of his daughters. (Securing Parcells’ approval was likely no small feat for Pioli, undoubtedly involving a portable polygraph machine and/or a cat that can’t flush a toilet.)

Interviews:

NFL Network interview from before last year's Super Bowl

NFL Network interview from before the '08 draft

We need Tom Tupa

@shepwrite said:
I can't imagine Pioli being a bigger score. He really is part of "The Patriot Way" along with Belicheck. Their obsession with intelligence and character is legendary. Getting Pioli AND this year's hottest young HC candidate (McDaniels) is a grand slam.
Not to be facile, but Savage was a Raven. That's a very different organization.

On another topic, people should be watching the Colts organization, too. They just won 12 games for the 6th consecutive year. That's ill.

Yeah, we should hire RAC. No wait, you like offensive coaches...so Weiss. You prefer youth? Mangini is available. Take your pick. All great HC's.

damajuki

Great read, Alo. Thanks as usual.

eqrulz101

Pioli sounds more and more like the guy to me. The guy looks at players and how they treat people when agents are putting the window dressing on. That to me screams of a guy knowing what he is doing, that alone sold me. You wont see this guy bring the the pre-madonnas worried about the pay check you will see him bring in guys that love to play football and know how to handle life in the NFL. The biggest problem teams have is dealing with these players that make millions and dont give a rats ass about winning, look no further then the Cowboys to realize that. More talent then you can shake a stick at and no playoff win in 13 years? How the hell does that happen? A bunch of players out for themselves and no sense of team.

We need a guy like Pioli and I hope like hell we get him. Great post, thanks.

WilsonTheVolleyball

Hey guys. First post here, but I've been a long time lurker. I'm from New Orleans, but always been a Browns fan growing up...I think it was the uniforms that got me interested as kid. Those colors are legendary. Also, I hope Lum doesn't go anywhere. As much as you folks hate him, the guy is hilarious!

Anyhoo, very excited about the prospect of Scott being involved with the Browns. Never liked RAC, as I saw him as nothing more than a Belichick lackey. McDaniels, however, seems like the real deal in what you want as a head coach. Great things for this franchise are in the future, and it's about time!

Jantz2086

Hey everyone, first time poster as well.

I think, that beyond everything else, Scott Pioli is the ONLY pick our Browns can make going into the 2009 year. I have a feeling that Pioli can turn this franchise into not only a competitive and consistent team, but a "masterpiece" of a franchise. It's a new time to start a story, so why not now? There were several question marks surrounding the Savage/Crennel regime - but Pioli is a proven scout, who knows what he wants, and knows what talent will get the job done. McDaniels, is the only question mark - because of lack of HCing, but what a perfect fit for our franchise. A loud, young, in your face coach that is willing to send you back instead of patting you on it.

Get this done Cleveland.

? Aloysius

Welcome to the board, guys.

WilsonTheVolleyball

Thanks. STEELERS SUCK!

ATENEARS

@wilsonthevolleyball said:
Hey guys. First post here, but I've been a long time lurker.

Thanks for err ... coming out of the closet.

@wilsonthevolleyball said:
Also, I hope Lum doesn't go anywhere. As much as you folks hate him, the guy is hilarious!

As do I.

Hope you are right about Pioli.

ATENEARS

@jantz2086 said:
Hey everyone, first time poster as well.

Second new addition in the wee hours. Hey Aloysius, you selling Gyro's off the site late at night (after the bars close) or summtin?

Thanks for posting guys.

OconRecon

Welcome to the noob's above. From lurking you know, this is the best Browns forum bar none. Great personalities, appropriate moderation, and just plain fun.

Aloy, great thread. High content value. Kudos.

Back to topic, Pioli is the man. I'm having trouble even thinking about anyone else. A guy that wants the job in Cleveland. I'm a sucker for guys like that, especially when they're qualified. I think he sees a very proud NFL franchise with pretty good talent despite this year's finish. This isn't a complete rebuild situation. It's a team who needs the right head coach and a half a dozen key players.

? Aloysius

@oconrecon said:
Back to topic, Pioli is the man. I'm having trouble even thinking about anyone else. A guy that wants the job in Cleveland. I'm a sucker for guys like that, especially when they're qualified. I think he sees a very proud NFL franchise with pretty good talent despite this year's finish. This isn't a complete rebuild situation. It's a team who needs the right head coach and a half a dozen key players.

I agree. We're a good draft away from being back to 10-6. And, hopefully, a more stable organization will translate into more consistent success.

We need Tom Tupa

Never liked Rac, Mangini (seems shy, which doesn't scream HC to me), OR Weis as head coaching candidates. Not one of them seems like a head coach to me.
But you might find somebody who did, and then you could put THAT guy in his place.

Thanks for the parting shot, but the fact that you never liked RAC or Mangini (until a day or two ago, when a new love blossomed) was precisely my point. You draw a pretty fine line around who gets lumped in to the "Patriot Way." Not a big deal, I just dont see how you decide where to draw the line.

On the HC stuff, you've been very clear on your criteria, and I probably wont ever agree with you completely. While you were hiring Kiffin, Garret, and Asshole, other teams were going to the Super Bowl with quiet Belichek, Dungy, Martz and Smith, old Coughlin and Vermeil, fat Reid and Holmgren, etc. They cant all just be exceptions to the otherwise perfect rule.

Thaak

@we-need-tom-tupa said:
Thanks for the parting shot, but the fact that you never liked RAC or Mangini (until a day or two ago, when a new love blossomed) was precisely my point. You draw a pretty fine line around who gets lumped in to the "Patriot Way." Not a big deal, I just dont see how you decide where to draw the line.
On the HC stuff, you've been very clear on your criteria, and I probably wont ever agree with you completely. While you were hiring Kiffin, Garret, and Asshole, other teams were going to the Super Bowl with quiet Belichek, Dungy, Martz and Smith, old Coughlin and Vermeil, fat Reid and Holmgren, etc. They cant all just be exceptions to the otherwise perfect rule.

I don't think there is a "perfect rule" for who to hire as a HC. There are so many elements that play into success other than the personality, physicality, intelligence, and charisma of a person. There has to be a combination of factors that all work together sychronously with a bunch of luck thrown in for total success to happen.

If you can get a GM and HC who have a good base system and modify it according to the talent on their roster, you will see success. Who draft and hire players who fit their system, or who they think they can modify their system to fit, you will see success. Who pick smart, savvy, tough, athletic, and creative players and office personnel to work for their team, you will see success.

Finding that kind of synergy is not always easy, but you see three or four teams who have a plug and play system where they seem to be able to take late round draft picks or undrafted free agents and make the system work despite their stars being hurt. New England who won a super bowl with a WR playing Nickle Slot Corner. Steelers (as much as I hate to say it) who haven't seemed to drop a beat even after ever other year losing their supposed defensive MVP and replacing the mastermind Cowher with an relative unknown in Tomlin. Colts, who seem to find ways to win no matter who's playing.

Then you find teams who were terrible year-in-and-year-out who pick a young, fiery, intelligent HC to run their team, who suddenly are doing well. Atlanta and Miami are two this year who make sense to me.

The more I hear about coaching philosophy, I really like the guys like Sean Peyton who create an offensive playbook based on what their QB can do, and what their QB likes. Sparano (or more realistically the OC in Miami) does the same thing for Pennington in Miami.

Get someone like that for this team. Spagnuolo seems to be that guy. Schwartz does too.

McDaniels has the pedigree that says he does, although I don't know much about him. But he does deserve a ton of credit for Cassel.

Hue Jackson is someone I don't know much about, but look what he did with Flacco.

Lee in Miami bringing over his Arkansas WildDawg to the NFL AND being very successful with it as one of the major offensive packages they use.

Find me a guy who is different, who can shake things up, and knows how to modify his system to fit his players, and I will be happy.

How do we find that guy? In some circumstances, that's a crap shoot. But I think there are some very good choices out there, who are not retreads, who will be successful on the NFL level. Lets just hope we don't lose out on one because we choose a GM who is so sold on a particular guy for HC he ignores all the other, potentially better, options.

The only reason I don't want Pioli, is because I fear he will bring in Ferentz just cause that's who he wants. Although Ferentz might be just the guy too, who knows. After all, he's good with the O-line, and lord knows we need some help there.