Scott Pioli (born March 31, 1965) is an American professional football executive who most recently worked as the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Falcons.

[3] He previously served as a front office executive for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs.

[4] Pioli served as the director – and later vice president – of player personnel for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008 when the franchise won three Super Bowl championships.

[5] In Cleveland, Pioli was responsible for the evaluation of both college prospects and veteran free agents, as well as negotiating various player contracts.

[4] He was regularly recognized for his ability to build a team, not simply collecting individual talent,[4] helping to make the Patriots a "model franchise".

[4] Pioli worked in close coordination with Belichick, bringing players to the Patriots who fit into the framework of the club's team concept.

[4] Pioli and Belichick's teams were noted for the depth of talent at all the positions[4] and used an effective combination of draft picks, free-agent signings, and trades to continually upgrade their roster.

The team advanced to Super Bowl XLII but lost famously to the New York Giants 17–14 and failed to finish the season with a perfect 19–0 record.

Prior to the season, Pioli executed trades to acquire wide receivers Wes Welker and Randy Moss, both of whom helped the Patriots set multiple NFL records on offense.

[4] After the 2008 Patriots season, Pioli was interviewed by the Cleveland Browns to replace the recently fired Phil Savage as the team's general manager.

[7] Though initially seen as a long-shot, Pioli was also interviewed by the Kansas City Chiefs and was reportedly the number one candidate to succeed Carl Peterson as general manager.

[10][11] Later that day, Belichick released the following statement to the press: To sum up in words everything Scott Pioli has meant to this organization and to me personally would be difficult, if not impossible.

It has been extremely gratifying for me to follow Scott's career ascension from the bottom of the totem pole in Cleveland to his place as a pillar of championship teams in New England.

Now with the opportunity to steer his own ship and a vision of building a winner, there is no more capable, hardworking, loyal, team-oriented person than Scott Pioli.

To replace Edwards, Pioli hired Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley as head coach on February 5, 2009.

Following the season, Pioli hired former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator and former Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator; both held the same roles in New England for each of the three Super Bowl winning seasons during Pioli's tenure with the Patriots.

Pioli's final year in Kansas City was fraught with controversy and fan unrest as the Chiefs floundered to franchise-worst 2–14 season in 2012, securing their first #1 pick in team history.

Pioli has also established and endowed scholarships at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State University for students that have been named CFES Scholars.

[26] In addition to the endowed scholarship at CCSU, Pioli has established an endowed arts scholarship at the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) and another at WIN for KC (Women's Intersport Network), a program designed to develop the physical and emotional well-being of girls and women through involvement in sports and fitness while providing opportunities for participation and leadership development.