Comments on: Groundhog Day

By: Analyzing The Foxboro Carousel : Patriots Daily

Analyzing The Foxboro Carousel : Patriots Daily — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:39:18 +0000

[...] weighs in on the loss of Scott Pioli to the Kansas City Chiefs: I’m surprised, mainly because Pioli had convinced me that he would stay on the job at least until the day the Pats held the league title again. A [...]

By: Dave Cyprian

Dave Cyprian — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:40:37 +0000

Re: Dmitroff; I recently heard an interview with Arthur Blank (Falcons owner), I think on SiriusNFL channel, where Blank stated that he called Robert Kraft personally to obtain permission to interview Dmitroff. I think Blank said that initially permission had been denied. So this may be off the wall, but I think its possible the Patriots reluctantly let Dmitroff go partially due to the sad and embarrassing state of the Falcons at the time.

By: Herb

Herb — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:48:16 +0000

Whatever…..Sports Talk is all about a bunch of people who HAVE NO CLUE, trying to "Predict the future"…….The Patriots don't play a game that COUNTS until September……eventually we will find the answers to our questions…..until then?….it's all a bunch of white noise……I guess some people find this "entertaining"…..I find it BORING AS HELL

By: Sid

Sid — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:33:34 +0000

What about Dom Capers? I'm still wondering why a guy with 16 years of NFL HC and coordinator experience agreed to be a position coach. What might the organization had planned for him that he found enticing? Would it be crazy for BB to move to a Parcells like position, McDaniels to HC, and Capers to GM?

By: bobd

bobd — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:32:41 +0000

Well, as with all human beings, last year is last year. Things change as well as circumstances. If Pioli does go I wouldn't mind seeing Belichick move upstairs. And then try out Josh as the HC. Otherwise we might lose both.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:02:02 +0000

Good point about Lerner, CS. As far as a successor, Caserio comes to mind first from the in-house candidates. While did did move to coach WR's in 07, most of his time in NE has been as Dir. of Pro Personnel. There's also a guy named Jay Muraco who has coordinated college scouting for a long time, though I have no idea whether this preps you for something like Pioli's job.

By: Canadian Soldier

Canadian Soldier — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 04:28:48 +0000

While walking the dog I this a.m., I was wondering who in the Pats' organization would succeed Pioli if he does leave, and Reiss said the other day that he considers Kansas City, which has an opening for a President/GM with Peterson's retirement, a more appealing job for someone of Pioli's talents. (And why would/should Pioli consider Cleveland, apart from his ties there from the 1990s, when Lerner is already inserting himself into the HC selection process — even putting Mangini on the short list? That is a bad organization and the fish, as they say, rots from the head.) The Patriots have been moving their scouts, like Caserio, back and forth onto the coaching staff, and if they have groomed anyone as Pioli's eventual successor, his name is unknown to me.

By: Bif Of Amesbury

Bif Of Amesbury — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:03:53 +0000

Yup Scott, there's no doubt that losing his aides-de-camps complicates things. I think the upside to this is it keeps BB juiced. With all the success he's enjoyed, and all the media sturm und drang he tolerates, I always wonder how long BB wants to keep at this. I know I would be tempted to walk away from it all and just leave a photo copy of my ass for everyone to kiss. I hope that these types of challenges will keep BB engaged. No one in the NFL is scarier than a motivated Bill Belichick.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:47:44 +0000

You have a good perspective as well, Bif. I have to admit to some concern about the Pats having to deal with the loss of a couple of key Belichick aides, while dealing with a full off-season of personnel issues, and how this may impact their ability to come out flying next fall.

By: Bif Of Amesbury

Bif Of Amesbury — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:22:50 +0000

Good perspective Scott. AFA I can tell, yours is the only speculation I've heard along these lines. The media is running with the "Pioli victory tour" story.

For me though, the heart of it is that nothing stays constant; things are always in a state of flux. Wanting the Patssuccess to last forever, I used to fret over all the coaching/administration/player changes. I've come 180* around on this though. I now enjoy watching how BB handles all these changes. FWIW, I think there is NO one better doing this than the guy we have. So, I'd rather Pioli stay — he's been a key component to this unbridled success — but whether he stays or goes, I'll just shrug my shoulders and watch the master deal with things again. I find BB's machinations to be almost as fascinating as watching the games themselves.

Someday, the master will move along and all this will end. I'll worry about it then; for now, the ride is great and I'm enjoying it with all the windows down.