Chiefs GM Scott Pioli is at Home at the NFL Combine

Tom Robinson of the Virginian-Pilot has a nice article up this morning (which NJ Chiefs Fan linked this morning in Arrowheadlines) on Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli's relationship with Old Dominion head football coach Bobby Wilder. The two have known each other for a long time:

Nearly 25 years of contact with Wilder brings Pioli to that assessment [about Wilder] honestly. They played I-AA college ball in the Northeast against each other. Crossed paths again as graduate assistants - Wilder at Boston College, Pioli at Syracuse - and then as full-time assistants, bonding a friendship throughout.

Wait, you mean to tell me that Scott Pioli keeps in touch with a former work colleague from the Northeast? No way.

Anyway, Bobby Wilder's comments about Pioli are what make me think that the NFL Combine may be Scott Pioli's favorite time of the year:

"Scott loved the recruiting more so than he loved the coaching," Wilder remembered Thursday over the phone. "He was always going to be a pro guy."

As the article mentions, Pioli and Wilder's paths diverged when Pioli when the recruiting route and Wilder went the coaching route. I'd say Pioli made the better decision.

Wilder has this final word on Pioli's time in KC:

"This is a typical Scott Pioli project," Wilder said of the Chiefs. "They're going to be built to be a consistent winner. He's not going to go with people who can't pass the character test. He's going to be smart with his money. And he's going to be smart with his younger players, as far the older players he mixes in.

"Then in the end, as it does for all of us, it comes down to quarterback play, whether you get over the top."

Check out the rest of the article. It's a good read.

Are you ready for more combine coverage today? Stay tuned throughout the day as AP's own Matt Conner delivers first hand info from Indianapolis.