Jerod Mayo's first season as New England Patriots head coach hasn't gone swimmingly, nor did the debut campaign of arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.
Bill Belichick went 5-11 as Patriots head coach after replacing Pete Carroll in 2000. The new regime in Foxboro faced a myriad of challenges, including an aging roster and the lack of an identity as they adjusted to their third head coach in five years.
Belichick's first season as the Pats head coach also marked Scott Pioli's first season in the front office. Pioli served as assistant director of personnel in 2000, director of player personnel in 2001, and vice president of player personnel from 2002-08.
Just as 2024 has been a rocky season under Mayo, there were plenty of trials and tribulations behind the scenes in Foxboro before the Patriots' six-Super Bowl dynasty. Pioli joined Tom E. Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast to shed light on how he and Belichick collaborated with owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft, as well as other front-office leaders, as they aimed to turn the franchise around.
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"At least once a week, Bill and I met with Robert, Jonathan, and Andy Wasynczuk. Andy was the president at the time," Pioli said. "We would sit in these meetings and talk about everything. It was a really interesting point in the relationship. Bill had worked with Robert previously as a defensive coordinator. They had a good friendship, they had a good relationship, and at the time, it was a rough season. That 5-11, there was a lot going on. The other thing was we were changing the culture. It had been this culture under Parcells, it changed under Pete, and then it was changing back. So we had some players that knew what the drill was going to be. We had some players that were in, some players that weren't, and there was going to have to be a lot of changes.
"I'll say this, there were a lot of questions in those meetings and we were willing to give answers. There were also times where Ernie Adams was in those meetings. We talked about the player development situation and we had a plan. We were sticking to the plan, but we also knew and were very transparent when things maybe weren't working. When we started out, we were transparent on some of the things that we had to tweak."
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Pioli emphasized that Robert Kraft didn't typically push to make personnel decisions, but there was one particular instance in which he couldn't bite his tongue.
"There was only one time that I remember that he strongly suggested or he asked multiple questions. It was in and around Troy Brown's final season," he said. "The reality is, he kept pushing back because he had talked about something that we had talked about years previously about Anthony Pleasant and keeping Anthony Pleasant on, and how important AP was for the chemistry. Even though AP was inactive for 14 games that second Super Bowl (season), he was one of the most key components in helping develop Richard Seymour, Jarvis Green, Ty Warren, a lot of our young defensive linemen.
"He had a critical role, and Troy had some of that to him. And I bring that up because it was one of the moments I remember when Robert did push back in one of those meetings but didn't tell us what to do. The decision was still ours and ultimately Bill's to make. Those conversations can be very healthy. Now, when things suck, they don't feel as good. They can still be healthy, but they just don't feel good. No one likes those uncomfortable conversations, and no one likes losing."
Also in the episode:
- What was Scott Pioli’s experience with the Krafts?
- What would Pioli’s plan be for the Patriots?
- Reaction to Bill Belichick coaching at UNC
- Should the Patriots draft Travis Hunter?
