Former Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli Hired as Sunday Night Football Analyst
By Josh Sanchez
NBC has made an addition to their Sunday Night Football crew. While ESPN seems to be the go-to place for former NFL general managers to get work, NBC was able to scoop up former Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli. He was fired from the Chiefs back in January, but Pioli has reportedly been getting calls from a number of networks to join their crews, which goes to show just how seriously the networks are taking him as a potential analyst.
From Sports Illustrated’s report:
"NBC Sports has hired the former Chiefs general manager for its Football Night In America studio program. Pioli will appear weekly on either the FNIA studio set in New York City or at the game site of Sunday Night Football. He’ll also appear every Monday on the NBC Sports Network’s Pro Football Talk in segments with FNIA analyst Rodney Harrison.Pioli said NBC Sports executives have told him they want him to be an “informationalist.” He described that position as “being able to talk about experiences, tie them into what is happening currently, and attempt to educate fans and viewers about how things really work behind the scenes.”"
NBC Sports executive producer confirmed the hiring.
“I just saw another smart football mind that gives us a different perspective that we don’t have on the team right now — a player personnel guy who has a smart way of looking at the game,” said Flood. “We will try him in different areas throughout the show and it will all depend on his development. “I told Scott he’ll earn his airtime.”
It is always great to see a studio analyst who actually has insight in the sport they are covering and knows the inner workings. Anytime a personnel man joins a network as an analyst, it seems like a win for the fans.
This one should be no different.