Scott Pioli's disappointing tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs is over.
The Chiefs announced Friday that the general manager and the organization have "mutually agreed to part ways." (That's a nice way of saying Pioli was fired.)
"After several productive conversations, we made the difficult decision to part ways with Scott Pioli and allow him to pursue other opportunities," Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in a statement. "Scott has been an invaluable member of the Chiefs family since joining us in 2009, and we sincerely appreciate his tremendous contributions over the last four years."
News broke Thursday that former Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid was close to a deal to become the next Chiefs head coach. Reid would like to bring in a personnel executive like Tom Heckert with him to Kansas City, which would leave no room for Pioli.
The concept of Pioli and Reid working together never made sense in the first place. Pioli was brought to Kansas City on Jan. 13, 2009 to remake the franchise in his image. The Chiefs went 23-41 under Pioli, with the 2010 AFC West championship as a highlight. Like so many former Bill Belichick staffers, Pioli struggled to replicate the winning New England Patriots formula away from Foxborough.
It will be interesting to see if Pioli goes after any of the open GM jobs. (Or if there is interest in him.) Pioli's stock as a candidate could not have been higher four years ago, and we suspect he'll eventually get another bite at the apple. He can learn from some of the mistakes he made in Kansas City.
Pioli's first coaching hire, Todd Haley, was fired during an ugly 2011 season that included a lot of petty fighting through media sources. Things only got worse under Romeo Crennel this season when the team finished 2-14.
Pioli's departure opens the door for Reid to take over. The Chiefs are completely changing the direction of their franchise after four seasons. The team's new savior is expected to officially arrive soon.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
