A popular name among Miami Dolphins fans in the early days of the team's search for a new General Manager was Scott Pioli. The former Kansas City Chiefs GM and New England Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel has experience running a team's front office and has a track record of successfully finding talent. Of course, he also has a reputation of running the Chiefs front office through fear and intimidation, tyrannically ensuring absolute control of everything within the team.
The Dolphins never seemed to consider Pioli as a candidate to replace Jeff Ireland, and the idea of the NBC Sports analyst returning to the NFL with a job in Miami seemed to die off.
Now, it appears Pioli will be back in the NFL in 2014, but it will be with the Atlanta Falcons. Today, the team hired Pioli to be their Assistant General Manager, working underneath Thomas Dimitroff. Dimitroff previously worked underneath Piolo when they were both with the Patriots.
Hiring Pioli as the Assistant General Manager probably makes a lot of sense for the Falcons. They have not had stellar drafts as of late, and that seems to be Pioli’s expertise, especially on the defensive side of the ball. However, it does not give him full control of the front office, which removes the specter of the power hungry GM that left Kansas City.
@TheFalcoholic Pioli's biggest problem in KC was finding a QB. Falcons are set there.
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) January 22, 2014
The Dolphins, meanwhile, are still working on finding a new GM. Reports indicate that the team is still considering other candidates, along with the six men they already interviewed for the position. If Pioli was going to be on that list, his name is now removed.