Thursday, January 15, 2009

The difference between collecting talent and building a team

Scott Pioli, the former VP of Player Personnel for the Patriots, had some interesting things to say at his press conference yesterday introducing him as the new GM of the KC Chiefs.

Pioli, who worked closely with Bill Belichick "to turn the Patriots into consistent winners" described how the two worked together.

"Bill had the final say in everything," Pioli said. "However, it was a collaboration. I'm not sure I can think of many players that ever came into the program that Bill and I didn't completely agree on. The amount of respect that he and I had for one another, if there was a disagreement, the respect for the other person led us away from that player. It was never a battle over ego with Bill and me. We were more honed in on coming up with the right answer, rather than his answer or my answer. It was more about the right answer. It was a true collaboration."

As for his role and vision with the Chiefs, Pioli talked about what he'd learned in New England:

"My job is not to collect talent, it's to build a team. Individuals go to Pro Bowls, teams win championships. That's our goal here - to build this team with the right kind of people and the right kind of players, and consistently compete for championships. The 'Patriots Way' starts with hard work, discipline, and creating a culture where everyone is on the same page, everyone knows their role, everyone believes in the system, and everyone does their job."