The Kansas City Patriots?

Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli was brought in from New England to bring Patriot-like success to Kansas City.  Who knows whether they'll win next season, but at least Pioli is 'patriotizing' the roster.

Yesterday Kansas City traded for linebacker Mike Vrabel.  Today, they have acquired quarterback Matt Cassel.

Cassel had accepted the back-up role to Patriots QB Tom Brady and was going to play for the franchise tag induced $14.65 million salary that he was due to receive.  I know, right?  He was prepared to accept nearly $15 million to be a back up.  What a guy.

But the fact is Cassel was too good last year not to be starting in 2009.  Cassel threw for nearly 3,700 yards last season with 21 touchdowns and only 11 picks for a team not expected to do much after Brady went down.  Granted, New England didn't make the playoffs, but the Patriots went 11-5 and were in the playoff hunt until the last week of the regular season.  Even though he had a lot of weapons to help him on the offense, Cassel was illusive and dynamic, and many Pats fans would say he won them a few of their games by himself.

Will the Chiefs be good this year?  It's hard to tell.  You'd think after the atrocious year they had last season, going 2-14 and earning the third pick in April's draft, they have nowhere to go but up.  Considering they've hired a new coach, Todd Haley, and have acquired a quality quarterback and a good linebacker, they're improving, to say the least.

And it's not like they didn't have talent there this year.  They still have Tony Gonzalez.  They still have Dwayne Bowe.  They still have Larry Johnson.  Most importantly, in a league where it's not only not unheard of but almost expected to go from worst to first, why couldn't K.C. charge towards the playoffs?  After all, the Dolphins were 1-15 in 2007, and then AFC East Champs in 2008.  Is it so crazy to think the Chiefs could be next year's Dolphins?

We'll find out come next winter.  But if I were a Chiefs fan, I'd be feeling pretty good about the direction of my football team.

Win Or Lose, Patriots Remain NFL's Gold Standard

Look no further than the Chiefs hiring of GM Scott Pioli, or the Broncos hiring of Josh McDaniels to tell you how much influence the New England Patriots have on the front offices around the NFL.

Or even the Browns hiring of Eric Mangini, who replaced another ex-Patriots coach, Romeo Crennel.  

Forget the fact that New England didn't make the playoffs this year.  They still went 11-5 despite losing former MVP Tom Brady the first week of the season.  And while they're not playing into January, their disciples have made many of the headlines the last few weeks.

I'm not a Patriots fan, and frankly, I root against them every week.  But the Patriots, despite not being a playoff team this year, are the gold standard of the NFL.

Their coaches are the most sought after commodities year after year.  If a coach has spent any time on the same sideline as Bill Belichick, even ten minutes, he is considered a hot commodity among NFL owners and General Managers.  And now, with Scott Pioli hired as the Chiefs new GM, the fans in Kansas City will soon expect Vince Lombardi trophies to pile up in Arrowhead Stadium's trophy case.  

The Patriots are having the same effect on the league that many of the great dynasties of the past have had on the league.  Look around the NFL's defensive coaches and you find many members of the 1985 Bears team that had what many consider the best defense of all-time.  Mike Singletary is the 49ers head coach.  Leslie Frazier is the Vikings defensive coordinator.  Rex Ryan, son of former Bears defensive mastermind Buddy Ryan is handling the Ravens stifling defense.  And Ron Rivera is a linebackers coach for San Diego.

The same can be said for proteges that have worked with greats like Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, and other great coaches of the past.

Now, it's the Patriots that everyone wants to emulate.  They're the first team since the turn of the century to have such a widespread effect on the NFL.  Years from now, we'll look back on the New England dynasty and see which of their ex-coaches created dynasties of their own.  But maybe even beyond the three Super Bowls they've won over the past decade, their influence on the game is their greatest achievement of all.

The Patriots have defined greatness for the new NFL.  When teams struggle and need new direction, there's one place to find the model for sustained excellence and success.  

And that is Foxboro, Massachusetts.