Although the Kansas City Star has a few facts on Scott Pioli wrong, (He never interviewed with the Seahawks and Giants), Jason Whitlock is in his corner! And Joe Posnanski is right there with him.
Some people are surprised about Bill Belichick's glowing, personal comments about Pioli, but they shouldn't be. For one, Belichick isn't shy about praising the few people that get his unbending respect: Randy Moss, Mike Vrabel, Tom Brady, Mike Shanahan, etc. And as Belichick said, Pioli was one of his best friends for almost 20 years and the person Belichick probably feels is as responsible for the Patriots success as anyone, including Brady and Bob Kraft. At nine years, Belichick/Pioli were the longest running coach/personnel man combo in the league.
As a Patriots fan, I feel pretty confident Josh McDaniels will be a good head coach. I never felt that about the three wisemen: Mangini, Weis, and Crennel. But I'm almost sure Pioli will turn the Kansas City franchise around. He had plenty of autonomy in New England and Belichick/Pioli learned to think as one anyhow. Pioli will bring his successful framework and system of acquisition to Kansas City, a team that never had a long-term vision. Now he just needs to find a coach.
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Mike Lombardi has inside knowledge of what "program" Pioli will want to run. He thinks Kirk Ferentz of Iowa would fit, but Ferentz may not be willing to go pro.
The Patriots quickly replaced Pioli with Nick Caserio, who was rumored to be a candidate to join Eric Mangini in Cleveland.
Steve Alexander has already fulfilled a childhood dream I should have had: he's in a fantasy basketball league with Steve Malkmus. Now he's interviewed him for Rotoworld. This makes me way too excited.
Philadelphia Eagles fans, even their official team website, have gone crazy.
FAQ about the Buzzsaw. Will is too kind; there is no excuse for Cris Carter not knowing who Karlos Dansby and Darnell Dockett are.
Rex Ryan is the leader in the Jets clubhouse. Today.
It says a lot about Jake Delhomme that he watched the worst moments of his five-interception game on the morning after his performance. That's the type of thing I would do: punish myself for shortcomings. Delhomme already seemed to be realizing what was happening halfway through his miserable game. Perhaps this is why his bad games tend to be really bad. Not a great attribute for a quarterback.
The Observer looks at where the Panthers can go from here.
Mort is sorry for not giving the Raiders the privilege of talking to him.
Former Parcells favorite Dave Meggett faces a rape charge in South Carolina. He has a long, sad history of sexual-related arrests.
The Titans have had laudable continuity on their roster, but they shouldn't go crazy trying to keep all parts of their 13-4 squad together. Change is inevitable and trying not to change is often counter-productive for teams on the cusp.
Evan Silva had a few good ideas for renaming Skinny Posts, starting with Ernest Wilford's favorite time of year: Golf Season Baby!
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