Scott Pioli G’05 Reflects on Nearly Three-Decade Career in the NFL with Newhouse Students.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Former NFL executive and three-time Super Bowl champion Scott Pioli G’05 returned to the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications on Wednesday, Mar. 5, to address students about the evolution of the NFL, women’s sports, and the importance of inclusion in sports and media. 

He discussed his career as an NFL executive and his current job as an NFL analyst with NFL Network and CBS Sports. Pioli wants to advance inclusion and gender equality in sports. 

Pioli received his bachelor’s degree in communications from Central Connecticut State University in 1988. After graduation, he became a graduate assistant with the Syracuse football team. In 2005, he completed his master’s in television, radio, and film from Newhouse. 

Pioli’s first NFL job came in 1992 when he served as the pro personnel assistant for the Cleveland Browns. At the time, Bill Belichick served as the Browns’ head coach. Pioli and Belichick would team up again in 1997 with the New York Jets. The Jets hired Pioli as their director of pro personnel, while Belichick was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. They would reunite in New England in 2000. Belichick became the head coach of the Patriots, and Pioli was named the assistant director of player personnel. Pioli became the director of player personnel for the Patriots in 2001 when they won their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Heading into 2002, Pioli was promoted to vice president of player personnel and served in that role until 2008. 

The Kansas City Chiefs hired Pioli as general manager in 2009. He worked there for four seasons. Pioli became the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Falcons in 2014. The Falcons went to the Super Bowl in 2016, losing 34-28 to the Patriots in overtime after leading 28-3. Pioli spent five seasons in Atlanta. 

Pioli worked in the NFL for 27 years, winning three Super Bowls with the Patriots (2001, 2003 & 2004). He is a five-time NFL executive of the year. Throughout his years in football, Pioli supported the development and training of female football coaches and scouts. He created a grant at the Women’s Sports Foundation and two others for graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

He is a member of the board of trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation and a member of the National Advisory Council for Women Leaders in Sports. 

Pioli is an investor in the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP). BUSP is an all-female ownership group that will bring an expansion team called BOS Nation FC to the NWSL in 2026. 

Syracuse professor Olivia Stomski hosted the event in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Room 140 of Newhouse 3.