KANSAS CITY, Mo. —FALCONS HIRE SCOTT PIOLI
The Atlanta Falcons have hired former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli. He will serve as the assistant general manager to GM Thomas Dimitroff. Pioli and Dimitroff worked together for six seasons in New England. Pioli was the GM of the Chiefs for four seasons before he was let go in January of 2013.
He was hired by NBC Sports to serve as an analyst on Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Pioli will join the Falcons after his television contract expires in February.
SPORTING KC DEPARTS FOR TRAINING CAMP THIS WEEK
It’s been a brief off-season for Sporting Kansas City. The 2013 MLS Cup Champions will depart for training camp in Tucson, Arizona this Friday. The club will also compete in the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, FL before opening the MLS regular season at Seattle on March 8.
The preseason schedule comes a little earlier this year. Head Coach Peter Vermes says it’s necessary to accelerate the preseason because in addition to the MLS regular season, Sporting KC will also be playing in the Champions League quarter-finals and the Open Cup. Later this summer, several players will be in and out for weeks at a time as they represent their countries in the World Cup.
Five members of Sporting KC are already in serious training. Seth Sinovic, Chance Myers, Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber were all called up to train with the US Men’s National Team. The USMNT is currently working out in Sao Paulo, Brazil as it gets accustomed to the set-up for this summer’s World Cup.
