Get a load of this, from ESPN at the cited link:
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Updated: Feb. 13, 2005, 9:10 PM ET
ESPN.com news services
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has lost his two coordinators, but it's looking like there's less a chance he could lose his right-hand man.
The Seattle Seahawks received permission to talk to Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli for their position of president of football operations, The Boston Globe reported.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen learned Seahawks owner Paul Allen reportedly offered Pioli more than $3 million a year to join the Seahawks. But Pioli is resisting the temptation and as of now plans to return to his job with the Patriots, honoring a contract that runs through May 2006. It is believed Pioli is making $800,000 a year in his current position.
Seattle has lost three top executives since the season's end as Allen reshuffles his football management team.
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AAAAAaaaauuuuuuggghhhh!!!
Guess what it means when a someone turns down almost 4X the cash to work for you.
Yep, you guessed it.
Odd though that ESPN's the only one carrying this revelation, according to the Globe, as of yesterday, there was no one talking.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a smoke screen by Pioli?
If not, his loss. The Pats are on the way down and the Hawks are moving up, so if he doesn't take the job he's cutting his own throat.
Gonna have to check the Globe again tommorrow. I don't exactly live by the news that comes out of ESPN's reporters.
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ReplyDeleteI'll beleive Mort when I see it officially announced.
ReplyDeleteYou see guys, this is exactly the type of thing that I am worried about when I argue with Vinny about whether or not it matters that the FO is screwed up. Whether it is in reality screwed up or not, the perception out there is that it is. Perception matters! Let me say that again so even Vinny will get it, PERCEPTION MATTERS!
ReplyDeleteThe plain truth is that when a guy turns down the kind of money offered him, he is obviously getting bad vibes. He is obviously worried about the way this team is being run. He may very well be worried that he couldn't work with Holmgren. Whatever the case, a guy doesn't turn down that kind of money because he's comfortable where he is.
Whether or not the perception is accurate, the perception is that the Seahawks FO is a screwed up mess, period end of story, and that affects everything, from being able to resign players to hiring FO personnel, to bringing in free agents etc...
Also, (whether Vinny agrees or not) the perception is NOT that the Pats are a team on their way down while the Hawks are on their way up, quite the opposite seems to be true. PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING in this business, and the perception is that the Hawks are being run like a bunch of amatuers and unless this problem gets fixed sonn, no one will want to come here.
BTW Bluefoot, I love the "sticky posts" thing, very nice touch. Most of that "stickiness is my fault, (sorry for being so crotchety), I am not intentionally being negative or whatever, I am seeing and hearing problems form every single source I turn to that tell me that players and potential FO personel are being scared away by the percieved dysfunction in the FO. I personaaly don't really care whether the perception is true or untrue, fair or unfair, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that the perception that this team is being run poorly is out there and is permeating everything that the Seahawks are trying to do to upgrade this team. It's a far bigger problem than some people seem to want to admit, and blind faith that "it will get solved" doesn't make it so.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that eventually things will get sorted out, but how long before that happens? How many opportunities will this team miss out on because of this percieved dysfunction? Apparently we're already missing out on the opportunity to hire a terrific president because of this problem. How many free agents will not want to come here because we're percieved as dysfunctional? You get my point, so I won't go on. But know this, if this dysfunctional label isn't removed soon, we will have a terrible offseason, and the ramifications of that could be VERY VERY bad.
One last thing then I am done with my rant. Sometimes I use alot of words to say a simple thing, so my message can get diluted. But I found another quote from an "expert" that echoes my thoghts exactly and perhaps more concisely than have stated them.
ReplyDelete"Their problem, just from an outside observer, was they had a very bad situation in their front office, which ate away at everything about their team," Cross said. "The new person needs to be the one that focuses the entire building and changes the perception from within. Until the perception in that building changes, it doesn't matter if it changes anywhere else."
Exactly! Exactly what I am trying to say. And ya'll can discount the "expert" if you want, but he's not the only one saying it. In fact nearly every single "so called expert" is saying it too. Even if it's not true, the perception is there and it MUST be fixed for this team to progress.
monkey, I agree with everything. The one thing I have questions about though, is Pioli. No one was happier to hear that he might be coming to Seattle (still not officially taken off the list, I know it's a pipe dream, but...). But I can't help but admire him. I guess behind closed doors he's saying that it wasn't the organization or the money, but his sense of loyalty and commitment to his contract that kept him from signing. He said that it wouldn't matter the amount of money, wouldn't matter the team. He's staying at least until his contract is up. This is one of the big reasons he can "sell" the team first, money isn't a big deal attitude the Patriots have. He fully believes in it.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right Paulie P, Pioli does really seem to be a "company" guy who believes in loyalty and honoring a contract. You may very well be right about that, who knows? But let me pull a Vinny here and say that it could also be spin so as not to embarrass anyone or preemtively burn any bridges.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, turning down over 3 million, is a difficult thing to do when it is quadrupling your salary. Either it says that Pioli is truly a man of honor or that he is scared off by the FO dysfunction label or a little bit of both. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on a little bit of both.
BTW, anyone been to the P-I latley? The last post there was form Vinny tow days ago, they have not even posted a story about the new special teams coach, much less a new thread in almost a month. What the heck is going on there? Is everyone on vacation, or is this site already so much better than the P-I site that noone is bothering anymore?
ReplyDeleteI for one no longer even bother to check there most days. Instead I come straight here for the best discussions and up to date topics. This place is already an elite site in my opinion, and since it's all of us that make it what it is, CONGRATS GUYS! Congrats to all of us, we have made this into a top notchplace to go to talk Hawks. This place started because Bluefoot had an idea, and because he was getting frustrated believing that he could come up with a better way to run a site. He was right, this is better, and the idea of letting the fans be in charge is working great. I love this place! Hat's off to you Bluefoot, and to everyone here who makes this a great place to talk Seahawks!
RE: This site vs PI site
ReplyDeleteI agree. Blue has made this the place to be for Hawks Talk. Which is hard to do when there's not much going on lately.
Hey Paulie P,
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that you said that you agreed with everything, so does that mean that you also agree that I sometimes use too many words to say a simple thing? LOL!
I admit it, I am a talkative cuss.
I agree with Paulie, if (and I emphasize the IF) Pioli doesn't come to Seattle, it's more about the Pat's team first mentality, it starts at the top which is why it worked for th e Pats and why the Hawks have beeen so screwed up the last few seasons. Whitsitt is no team guy, and thus the poison just seeped down through the team, drafting, signing and keeping guys that are more about 'me' than 'us'.
ReplyDeleteAnd the 'experts at ESPN have been wrong before, in fact I'm not getting my panties in a bunch until I here the Pioli news from someone else. So far that's the only source that news has come from.
Maybe Pioli wanted to make sure he had a ride home from Honolulu before he said anything about leaving N.E. :)
I tend to agree with all of you guys-- IF (notice the caps) the ESPN story is true, and Mort isn't inviting his foot into his orifice, it would definintely signal a percieved difference of atmoshphere between the two teams.
ReplyDeleteIf Pioli loves the team atmosphere where he's at, why would he change? An organization that has a true 'team' personality from top to bottom must be a pleasure to work for, especially when the system is working and winning, and it looks like it will for years to come.
Who could blame him? I'd be more than happy to do what he does for $800k. I'd be set for life. The only thing I'd want after that is to enjoy what I'm doing. And judging by the gushing success of the Patriots, I'd say he's Pioli has acheived that.
Allen can offer him 2.2 million reasons to favor the Seahawks, but if it's not going to make him happy, why do it?
BTW: The only way to 'raise the bar' of perception, is to WIN. That's why I hate those d*** dropped balls so much. I don't know if anything, including Whitsitt, has screwed this team up more that dropped balls in lost games this season. But that's another thread.
And thanks to all of you for making this site what it is.
He's not listed as a candidate anywhere they're listing them.
ReplyDeleteLooks like I was wrong about Pioli, but hey no big deal, we've still got other candidates and plenty of time. And who cares about how the media percieves the goings on in Seattle?
As I've said, to assume that the FO is just sitting af=round waiting for things to fix themselves is just idiotic in my opinion. What would make anyone think they aren't taking care of business?
I don't think anyone thinks they're sitiing on their collective thumbs, but it does seem like they don't have the sense of urgency that some people think they should.
ReplyDeletePerhaps becase things aren't as urgent as they seem. Perhaps they already have their guys in town and are talking to them as we speak. These aren't decisions to be jumped into, you have to evaluate, interview, evaluate again, talk to the teams, let them check out the area. A lot of things to do in the time you all are giving them.
ReplyDeleteI just doubt things are as bad as everyones making it sound.
And I don't understand the perception of the offer rejection as a dissrespecting of Allen, I see it as 'respecting' the Team he's currently under contract with.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think it portrays him as a man of principles and integrity, after all it's not like he'll be broke by staying with the Pats