Posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Lot's to discuss today. Something I found that was a little under the radar, if only because it's pure speculation, was a piece by Michael Blunda of Pro Football Weekly detailing the potential plans of newly hired Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli.
Syracuse fans are well aware that the co-architect of the New England Patriots current regime has deep roots at Syracuse. Pioli earned a masters degree while serving as a graduate assistant under legendary coach Dick MacPherson in the late 1980's.
Many are speculating that Herm Edwards' days are numbered in Kansas City and that Pioli would seek to bring in "his guy." Speculation of that occurring has since been tamped down, but in looking at the Blunda article, one will see some interesting potential choices for head coach should Scott Pioli make a move.
It's widely assumed that Pioli would want a defensive-minded head coach. There is no question that two high profile names in that regard would be the Giants' Steve Spagnuolo and the Vikings' Leslie Frazier. With a few job openings still looming, one of the aforementioned coaches may get snapped up. But the more interesting factor is Pioli's affinity for a 3-4 defensive scheme, something with which ex-Syracuse head coach and current Dolphins defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni is quite familiar.
One also has to remember that Bill Belichik is a Bill Parcells disciple. Parcells, of course, is at least indirectly responsible for Pasqualoni's hiring in Miami, and because Pioli has a similar mindset to Parcells/Belichik, he could find it very easy to warm up to the idea of Pasqualoni leading the Chiefs. The bottom line on Pasqualoni is that he had a very productive 15 years as head coach of Syracuse (although things leveled off in the last 7 or so years of his tenure) and he has made a good impression on the NFL in his short time there, with both the Cowboys and Dolphins. Somebody with that blend of experience could make for a very attractive head coaching candidate.