Mangs Is Staying But What About Scott

This is a dark day for Patriot-haters throughout the land, including the likes of Mike Francesa and the New York Daily News' Gary Meyers. Much to their dismay, ESPN is now reporting that Patriots secondary coach Eric Mangini has spurned the offers of the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns and has decided to become the Patriots new defensive coordinator. The 34 year whiz kid is generally considered to be a star in the making (at least up in New England and down in Miami) and his return should help soften the blow that was created when defensive coordiantor Romeo Crennel left to take the head coaching job in Cleveland. Mangs has been in the system for several years and therefore he should be able to step right in and run the Pats defense. This is a big blow for those like Francesa who were desperately hoping that Mangs would fly the coop and leave Belicheck with a decimated staff. Last week, Francesa couldn't open his mouth without saying that Belicheck was going to have an awfully hard time next year since its hard to "coach the coaches."' Well Mike, Coach Belicheck now has a guy who may not need much coaching. If Mangs work with the secondary this year is any indication, he will be just fine.

The one thing I'd like to point out that has to really burn Patriot haters is that Mangini reportedly took considerably less money to stay with the Pats. This is a bad sign for the rest of the league. Players such as Teddy Bruschi and Matt Light recently agreed to below market contract extensions in order to stay in New England and now coaches are doing the same thing. The salary cap has thus far not slowed down the Pats and now the hyper-inflation within the coaching ranks seems to fave failed as well.

Well, just as the Mangini fire has been extinguished, another fire may be kindling. And unfortuantely, this one is probably more dangerous. The Boston Globe reported this morning that the Seattle Seahawks have received permission to speak with Scott Pioli, the Pats czar over personnel ( http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2005/02/12/seahawks_seek_pioli/)
According to the Globe, Pioli has not agreed to even speak with the Hawks, but this could be a troubling development for Pats fans.

Pioli is one of the organization's pillars. He, along with Belicheck, are astute surveyors of talent and do a great job identifying players who fit into the teams regimented system. In recent years, Pioli has done an excellent job through both the draft and free agency of handing Belicheck the players he desires. Granted, Belicheck has played a key role in this process, but Pioli and his scouting department have certainly been important to this team's success.

You want some evidence to support this theory. Well how about taking a look at the 2003 NFL draft. Ten players were selected in that draft and four of them are starters including Eugene Wilson, Ty Warren, Asante Samuel and Dan Koppen. On top of that Bethel Johnson is the teams kick returner, Dan Klecko was a multi-dimensional contributor before breaking his leg and Tully Cain is a valued special teams player who someday may become a big contributor at outside linebacker. This was a historic draft and it was on Pioli's watch.

This is not the first time Pioli has been courted. The Browns for one were interested in bringing him in to run their football operations. He ultimately spurned that offer and said that he planned to stay with the Pats through the 2006 draft. It will now be interesting to see if Scott is a man of his words, especially since Paul Allen has the deep pockets necessary to make Pioli a very wealthy man in Seattle.

This is a potentialy a serious issue. Scott Pioli is quite simply a very key member of this organization's front office and his departure would hurt in a bad way. He and Belicheck are very complementary and there is no telling whether Coach Bill and Bob Kraft would be able to find a suitable replacement. And for those of you too young to remember, it wasnt pretty around here when the inmates were making personnel decisions. Chris Singleton, Ray Agnew, Eugene Chung, Hart Lee Dykes. Should I go on? And so on a day when Patriot haters saw their dreams dashed, news comes along that may provide them with some momentary comfort. I have the utmost confidence this issue will be discussed when Mister Francesa gets behind the mike for his Sunday chat. Because its Boston, he just can't himself.