Chiefs Hire Pioli as New GM

"We are very excited to welcome Scott to the Chiefs," Hunt said in a statement. "With his proven track record of success, Scott is the finest player personnel executive in the NFL, and we look forward to his leadership in building a championship organization."

Patriots owner Robert Kraft praised Pioli as an "integral part of the many championships the New England Patriots have celebrated this decade."

"Scott is a great evaluator of talent," Kraft said. "He is thorough in his evaluations, extremely organized and has done a tremendous job mining all possible resources to help coach Belichick and his staff field the players needed to win consistently. He has played an important role in building a championship tradition with players that I am proud to call Patriots."

Pioli's NFL career started when Belichick hired him as a pro personnel assistant for the Browns in 1992. Belichick then brought him to New England shortly after he became head coach of the Patriots.

From 2000-08, the Patriots were an NFL-best 102-42 in the regular season and rang up 14 playoff wins.

"To sum up in words everything Scott Pioli has meant to this organization and to me personally would be difficult, if not impossible," said Belichick. "From the day I met him, he has demonstrated a passion for football and respect for the game that is second to none."

A club spokesman confirmed there had been no determination made on Edwards' status. That may have been a point of discussion between Pioli and Hunt when they negotiated their deal. Hunt signed off on the rebuilding project that Edwards launched this year and said in training camp he knew it would be a painful process early on.

And it certainly was. Beset by injury, including season-ending mishaps to the top two quarterbacks, the Chiefs beat only Oakland and Denver and set a number of team records for defensive futility. Their 10 sacks were an NFL-low since the stat was kept beginning in 1981.

Yet, when he announced the resignation on Dec. 15 of president, CEO and general manager Peterson, Hunt said he thought Edwards was the best man for the Chiefs program going forward. But he also said the new general manager would have "significant input" into the final decision.