Here a rumor, there a rumor, everywhere a name drop. Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli has been mentioned as a candidate for general manager openings in both Miami and Tampa Bay.
Apparently, they can't have him.
"In the case of a high-level employee, including a GM or someone with GM type duties, a club does not have to give permission to that person go to another club," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, "even if that second club is prepared to offer a position of greater responsibility."
Asked specifically about Pioli and the rumors of his going to another team, Patriots media relations director Stacey James said that, in the past few seasons, the league decided the only people who could break contracts to move to jobs with more responsibility were coaches and coordinators. Pioli is neither and, according to James, has three years left on a contract
he signed in 2002.
Does Pioli have language in his contract that would allow him to make a move to a GM job? James didn't know, and a request to speak to someone who would -- chief operating officer Andy Wasynczuk -- went unfulfilled.
Pioli has great latitude in the Patriots' front office. He runs the draft, quarterbacks free agency, runs the pro personnel department and negotiates contracts. But he does not have final say on personnel matters in Foxboro. Head coach Bill Belichick does.
Belichick defers to Pioli on many decisions and signings, but does that mean Pioli doesn't want to try his hand at running a team where the buck truly would stop with him? For instance, Belichick and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel have a great relationship, and Crennel will soon interview for head coaching jobs with the Falcons and Giants.
The Patriots have a steal in Pioli. Since he's not a GM, he doesn't get GM money (which can exceed $2 million per year). But he does the work of several.
A look at the mastheads of other NFL teams shows layers of bureaucracy. Baltimore, for instance, has an executive VP/general manager, director of player personnel, director of pro personnel, director of football administration and a director of operations.
Buffalo has a GM, assistant GM and director of pro personnel. The Jets have a GM, assistant GM/director of pro personnel and assistant director of personnel. Atlanta GM Rich McKay left Tampa in the middle of this season. When he was with the Bucs pulling down a $2.4 million per year, he had a network of an assistant GM, director of player personnel, director of pro personnel and director of player development.
The Patriots have no general manager listed. Nor do they have a director of pro personnel or a director of football administration.
Pioli, 38, has done a remarkable job in his four seasons with the Patriots.
In 2001, the team drafted Pro Bowler Richard Seymour and left tackle Matt Light, with Pioli orchestrating a trade with Detroit to snatch Light away from the Jets, who were about to draft him.
The Pats' 2001 free-agent class of castoffs and underutilized players like David Patten, Antowain Smith, Mike Vrabel and Roman Phifer was quite likely the best crop since free agency came into being.
In 2002, he quarterbacked a deal to unload wide receiver Terry Glenn, getting the Pats a fourth-round pick (Jarvis Green) and saving the Pats' court costs from pending litigation with Glenn and his signing bonus. The Pats then drafted Daniel Graham, Deion Branch and David Givens in 2002 and moved Drew Bledsoe to Buffalo for a first-round pick in 2003 that they used on defensive lineman Ty Warren.
After Warren, the next five picks -- Eugene Wilson, Bethel Johnson, Dan Klecko, Asante Samuel and Dan Koppen -- have all had major impacts for this 14-2 team. The Pats also swung a deal for Ted Washington and acquired Tyrone Poole and Rosevelt Colvin through free agency.
Pioli and Belichick also reined in the Patriots' spending when they arrived, putting an end to the big-money contracts the team signed so many players to in the late '90s. Instead, they introduced contracts laden with performance incentives for the player and protections for the team if he did not.
The Patriots seem determined to keep Pioli under wraps both contractually and with the media. Even though he did the lion's share of assembling a team that's chasing its second Super Bowl title in three years, requests to speak with him from both national and local media have either been denied or ignored. Pioli didn't talk before the draft, a time when the Pats have traditionally made their personnel men available.
Why is that? One Patriots official said earlier this year that the team sometimes prefers to have a "one-voice approach" to dealing with the media. That voice would be Belichick's.
Even so, judging by the reported interest in Pioli, the team he helped assembled has spoken pretty well for him.
