Success gives Pioli staying power
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Scott Pioli has a chance for a third Super Bowl ring before he turns 40 in March. His success is entwined with that of coach Bill Belichick, and nationally he is perceived as the brains behind the Genius in the Patriots front office.
How long before some moneybags tries to pry Pioli from the Patriots? Syphoning success is an ancient rite in professional sports and now that the Patriots' coordinators are on their way out the door (Notre Dame bagged Charlie Weis and the Browns are expected to hire Romeo Crennel Monday), don't be surprised if another NFL team comes after Pioli. He was NFL Executive of the Year after the Super Bowl win last season.
"So Scott, are you leaving?" Rodney Harrison asked when he passed Pioli's table during Thursday's mandatory media session.
"Only with you, Rodney," answered Pioli.
Getting more serious, the vice president of player personnel said, "I have a contract that goes through the 2006 draft and I don't have any intentions on going anywhere before that. It doesn't make me uncomfortable when people talk about that because I know what I'm doing and I told people what I'm doing."
Fine. But suppose a team came after Pioli with an offer of complete control and a pile of cash. Would Pioli be allowed to even entertain an offer?
"I haven't had a situation like that come up yet," he said. "I don't know what the rules are. You'd have to ask the owner."
"If a team wanted to talk to him they'd have to send a written request to us to talk to him," said owner Bob Kraft. "Then it would go to Bill and we would either approve it or not approve it. No one has ever sent us a written request. People have talked about him, but no one has ever sent a written note."
It would be interesting to see if Pioli could work with any coach other than Belichick. A defensive tackle at Central Connecticut State (1983-87), Pioli got his start in the NFL when then-Cleveland head coach Belichick hired him as the pro personnel assistant. In 1997, Jets coach Bill Parcells hired Pioli as director of pro personnel and the franchise went from 1-15 to the AFC Championship game in two years.
More than any man on the planet -- even more than Kraft -- Pioli is conflicted when it comes to the two Bills, who endured a nasty split when Belichick resigned as HC of the NYJ in 1999. Ultimately, Pioli pledged allegiance to Belichick, which must have made for some interesting talk around the holiday table because Pioli married Dallas Parcells (Bill's daughter) five years ago.
"A lot was made of that when I first came in, but both Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells never made the situation uncomfortable to try to compromise the relationship in any way," said Pioli. "Belichick and Parcells are respectful of my relationship with the other Bill."
Meanwhile, Belichick and Pioli have become the two-headed monster of NFL player procurement. Could Pioli work the same magic with any other coach now?
"That's an interesting question," he said. "I don't know, because I've never been put in that situation. I know that we complement one another very well. I don't know how either one of us would be working with another person. I'm not really sure. We see a lot of things the same way, but we don't always see everything the same. Bill and I can agree to disagree without either one of us worrying about the other person's ego or feelings. Part of it is based on friendships."
Only a handful of Patriots in tomorrow's Super Bowl (Troy Brown, Ted Johnson, Adam Vinatieri, Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, and Kevin Faulk) have no Pioli fingerprints on them. And despite a third Super Bowl in four years, the Patriots have been able to stay under the salary cap.
"There's a lot of ways to build a team," said Pioli. "We've used every vehicle possible to build this football team. We've used the trades, we've claimed players off waivers, we've taken people off of other teams' practice squads. We've signed unrestricted free agents and restricted free agents."
And the result is a team that wins, and serves as a model for all teams at every level. The Patriots don't cater to super egos. They have no divas on the roster. They have guys who share the gold and do what the coaches tell them to do. And they win. This is an unusual combination, particularly at the professional level.
"I think the team definitely reflects the personality of the leadership group," said Pioli. "There's people that are hard-working, passionate about football, respectful about the game of football, and appreciate football for what the game is and not necessarily the trappings of the game. I think it's a group of people who have their egos in check and are always concerned with doing what we need to do to win rather than doing a lot of things that pacify our egos."
The Corey Dillon situation comes to mind. A lot of teams would not touch the running back because of his troubles in Cincinnati. The Patriots brought Dillon on board in the offseason and now he's up for Super Bowl MVP and Eagle Scout.
"There's a difference between the way Corey Dillon was perceived to be by a lot of people and what he really is," said Pioli. "We do our homework before we make a stamp on somebody. But there are certain elements -- we're not going to be looking for high-maintenance players, players that are going to be disruptive to our philosophy. But we wouldn't have to worry about running those players off. I think our locker room at this point in time would pretty much take care of it as well."
True, true, and true. Still, he doesn't like the characterization of the Patriots as a "model organization."
"I'm not comfortable with that," Pioli said. "I think, personally, the way we do business has more to do with doing things that reflect our personality. But other leadership groups with different personalities are going to do it another way. It's more a matter of being right for who you are."
Meanwhile, there is work to be done for Scott Pioli.
Super Bowl tomorrow night. Victory parade in Boston Tuesday. Draft meetings with scouts start Thursday.
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.
