When the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday it will be a reunion of sorts for general managers Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff. Now leading their own teams, Piolo and Dimitroff got their start two decades ago in Cleveland and, well, their jobs weren't nearly as glamorous as they are now.
"I was hired in 1992 and Thomas’ dad, Tom Sr., was on the staff and he was a regional scout at the time for the Browns, said Pioli. "And, correct me if I’m wrong Thomas, but you were in the World League at the time, just as that version of the World League was folding and Thomas moved back … right around Cleveland and Thomas and I were able to meet, work together. We kind of worked together. We were going to the same address each day. You were lining fields and I was making coffee, I think."
So the future general managers of the Chiefs and Falcons started their careers making coffee and painting lines on field. If there is ever a story of starting at the bottom and work your way to the top, this is it.
Now their teams square off and they can remember what is was like to make coffee and paint fields while staring at each other and wonder which guy had it worse. Then they can consider their big money contracts and being one of just 32 general managers in the NFL and think that it was all worth it.