Atlanta Falcons to hire Scott Pioli as assistant general manager

Dec 2, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Jay Adams broke the news this morning that the Atlanta Falcons are hiring former Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli as an assistant general manager:

This is an interesting hire for the Atlanta Falcons, in that it came out of nowhere. Pioli brings a ton of experience to the table for the Falcons and current GM Thomas Dimitroff. He has been involved with the NFL in some way for 22 years, and was named the NFL Executive of the Year for five different years.

Here’s what Dimitroff had to say about the hiring in Adams’ story on AtlantaFalcons.com:

"“Scott is one of the most respected and adept talent evaluators in the NFL and a member of three Super Bowl Championship teams,” Dimitroff said. “We have worked together well in the past and been friends for more than 20 years.  We have had the opportunity to experience a lot of success together, and I am very pleased that he has agreed to join our personnel team so we can work together again. We have made the commitment to improve every aspect of our organization this offseason, and with the addition of Scott to our personnel department, we have taken an important step to enhance our scouting staff.”"

This is a pretty fantastic hire from the Atlanta brass, as the team is approaching an extremely important draft that could determine the team’s success over the next few years.