Detroit Lions to interview Scott Pioli for GM job

Yet another candidate has emerged in the Detroit Lions’ thorough search for their next general manager. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Lions will interview former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli sometime next week.

That name will likely send off some alarm bells for Detroit Lions fans. Piloli was the vice president of player personnel for seven years with the New England Patriots (2002-08), earning himself immediate praise leaguewide, and making him the next big general manager candidate.

The Kansas City Chiefs were the first team to come calling, as Pioli secured that GM job in 2009. Things did not well there, unfortunately. Pioli inherited a 2-14 Chiefs team, and he was fired after four years when the Chiefs went... 2-14. Since his exit, the Chiefs haven’t had a losing record.

That being said, since being fired, Pioli took a job as the Falcons assistant general manager in 2014, and saw some significant success there under fellow Lions GM candidate Thomas Dimitroff. He held that position since 2019, when he resigned to pursue other opportunities. He’s since been working with CBS and NFL Network as an NFL analyst.

It would be odd for the Lions to dip right back into the Patriots tree after moving on from Bob Quinn, who almost had identical roots. However, it’s been over a decade since Pioli has been employed by the Patriots, and he’s certainly had opportunities to learn from his mistakes in Kansas City. Either way, it’s clear the Lions’ general manager search is much more thorough this time around than it was when they hired Quinn.