Patriots VP of Player Personnel Scott Pioli hasn’t found a new employer just yet, and the New Year is nearly upon us. Negotiations between the Cleveland Browns and  Pioli were ongoing as of this afternoon according to numerous reports, but both sides had yet to reach an agreement as of this evening.  Browns owner Randy Lerner was believed to be very interested in having Pioli sign a deal with Cleveland to become their next GM, and worked at putting forward an offer to land the Patriots executive.  Reports indicating that talks were progressing continued through Wednesday afternoon, then took a a sudden turn tonight.

While I’m not at liberty to divulge the exact nature of the events, the move will directly impact other teams looking to make their pitch to the Patriots personnel guru. The discussions may not be completely closed as of tonight, and if not, that’s good news for the Browns. 

According to NFL Network’s Adam Schefter, the Browns want an answer from Pioli as of today (Wed.) What I’ve been told is that’s probably not going to happen.
 
While Cleveland was in discussions with Pioli, they also interviewed former New York Jets coach Eric Mangini. Cleveland’s handling of the process is leading Pioli to pause before making his decision.  Word from a league insider is that Pioli isn’t pleased with the entire situation and may meet with another team before making a final decision.

The Kansas City Chiefs formerly requested permission to speak with Pioli, and were granted that permission today. The move by Chiefs owner Clark Hunt is still an option due to the way in which the Browns mishandled their opportunity to land Pioli first. Though the Chiefs were believed to be interested in Bill Cowher, sources close to Cowher have indicated the former Steelers coach who already rebuffed the Browns and the Jets wasn’t interested in Kansas City either.  With Cowher out of the picture, Pioli becomes the top focus for Cleveland, KC and other teams looking for a GM.

In what could have been a home run for the Browns to kick off the New Year the right way, it’s looking more like they’re going to stub their toe yet again.  While nothing has been decided yet, Cleveland’s lack of patience with the process could be the undoing of a great pairing.