The Atlanta Falcons front office underwent a shakeup on Thursday.
The team announced assistant general manager Scott Pioli stepped down from his role with the Falcons after five seasons.
"We understand and respect the decision Scott, Dallas and their family have come to today and wish them nothing but the best," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement. "Over the last five years Scott has not only provided tremendous value to me, but to the entire the Falcons organization. He is a dear friend and will be missed within our organization. We are continuing to assess the structure within our organization and move forward with our next steps."
The team said Pioli is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.
Pioli joined Dimitroff in 2014 after four seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs GM. Pioli took on a greater role in 2015 with pro and college scouting responsibility in a reworked Falcons front office that kept Dimitroff in charge amid a tumultuous time for the GM in Atlanta. The Falcons took off after the rework.
"After careful consideration and ongoing dialogue with Thomas over the past year I have decided to step away from my position as the assistant general manager of the Atlanta Falcons to pursue other potential opportunities," Pioli said in a statement. "I want to thank both Arthur and Thomas for bringing my family and I here in 2014.
"When I accepted this position more than five years ago, we all believed this would likely be a two or three-year working relationship. I came in to work closely with Thomas on personnel structure, processes and decisions. I loved the concept, was confident I could provide value and have enjoyed the challenge.
Before becoming the Chiefs GM in 2009, Pioli worked under several titles for eight seasons with the New England Patriots. He also worked for the New York Jets (1997-2000), who have new front-office opportunities after firing GM Mike Maccagnan on Wednesday.
