The Detroit Lions have been working on interviews for their general manager role for the last few weeks, and we’ve heard little in terms of the interviewees until right now.
Scott Pioli, who is a former executive with New England and Kansas City and a NFL Network contributor, recently interviewed for the Lions general manager job. Pioli also joined Good Morning Football to chat, and was asked with the hosts about his interview. As he said, it was simply an honor to be considered and part of the process considering the respect he has for the Detroit franchise and the team’s other executives.
Friend of the show and 5x Executive of the Year @scottpioli51 joined #GMFB to talk about the Chiefs winning games by close margins, Browns matchup against the Steelers, the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur and the Lions open GM position.
Pioli said:
“The Lions reached out a couple of weeks ago, and honestly, I was flattered because there is so many people in that building I have respect for. There’s a lot of people that I know, and the respect starts with Shiela Hamp. I have so much respect for her. The initial feeling was flattery. They chose to report it last week which I understand and it was a conversation that I had that they’ve had with six other people from what I understand. It’s part of their process, they’re just at the beginning of this process. I really enjoyed my visit with them, like I said, there’s some terrific people in that organization. There’s nothing really of note to share. They’re having the same conversation with other people. But it’s a franchise I’ve always had a great deal of respect for because again, even though maybe we haven’t seen a great deal of success in our lifetime, this is very once-proud franchise.”
As someone who understands NFL history, Pioli seems to appreciate and understand the history of the franchise he’s talking with. If he did get the job, it’s clear he would be very honored and have a good understanding of the team he was taking over which is nice to see.
It’s rare to hear comments from folks that get interviewed after the fact, so Pioli’s comments add an interesting new layer on the Detroit search which is ongoing.
Lions Interviewed Scott Pioli
The Lions revealed they had interviewed Pioli for their general manager job last week ahead of the Christmas holiday. Pioli is currently seen on NFL Network and CBS Sports as an analyst, but he has serious NFL experience to rely on, including working with the Patriots for nearly a decade during the height of their dynasty in addition to becoming a general manager as well as an assistant general manager in the league.
Pioli’s addition to the search is interesting considering how badly his tenure ended in Kansas City. Since that moment, he’s not received many looks for general manager role, but did work under Thomas Dimitroff in Atlanta until he resigned from that post in 2019.
So far, the Lions have tended to prefer experience within their interview process, and Pioli certainly adds a high degree of that. It’s certainly interesting to hear his take on the Lions and the respect he has for the team and ownership.
Scott Pioli Biography
Pioli, 55, has football in his blood. He started his career by coaching Syracuse as a graduate assistant in 1988 and 1989. From there, he spent a pair of seasons coaching Murray State’s offensive and defensive lines. In 1992, he accepted a role with the Cleveland Browns as a pro personnel assistant and would stick with them through their first season in Baltimore in 1996. He transitioned to the New York Jets in 1997, where he stayed as their director of pro personnel. In 2000, he followed Bill Belichick to New England to become the team’s assistant director of player personnel, and he would thrive in that role, capturing Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX with the Patriots. He then became the Chiefs’ general manager from 2009-2012. As part of both of those stops, Pioli was named NFL Executive of the Year four times. In 2014, he got back into football and joined the Atlanta Falcons as the team’s assistant general manager, vacating that post for his television gig in 2019.
Pioli is an interesting name given he has been a high level executive and had plenty of success while doing so. He should also have good perspective on what went wrong in his career in addition to what went right. Interestingly, he is married to Dallas Pioli, the daughter of Bill Parcells.
Pioli simply has to wait and see what the Lions decide to do now, but it’s clear he has plenty of respect for the process which led him to chat with the team in the first place.
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‘I Really Enjoyed My Visit:’ Lions GM Candidate Reacts to Interview