Former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli Provides Valuable Perspective on Travis Kelce

As you may have noticed, Travis Kelce has taken over the news cycle. While the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is no stranger to making headlines on the football field, he's now pushing even further into the mainstream. Thanks to his ties to Taylor Swift, virtually every move he makes is subject to public scrutiny.

Take, for example, his well-documented trip to South America to link up with the Eras Tour. While most of the coverage focused on details from the concert, we're yet to get to the business end of the NFL game week. Should No. 87 fall flat on Monday night, it's safe to assume there will be plenty of critical comments about his international adventure.

Enter Scott Pioli. While the former front office executive didn't have the best track record in Kansas City, he did step forward to provide some valuable perspective on the current situation. Everything, it seems, comes down to setting standards and trusting the group to follow through.

Let's roll the tape.

Pioli Talks About Trusting Kelce

As mentioned above, Pioli didn't exactly shine with the Chiefs. After making a name for himself in the Patriots organization, the general manager was supposed to bring comparable levels of success to Arrowhead. Instead, there were poor personnel decisions, a focus on minutia and, ultimately, a 23-41 record.

So, while KC fans might not be too keen to hear from him, Pioli did share a rather reasonable take.

On Good Morning Football, the front office analyst was asked if Kelce had earned a bit of leeway or should be subject to some tough conversations within the organization.

"Jamie, a couple of things here. I don't think it's just his greatness that allows him to quote-unquote get away with that. Here's the deal: For 10 or 11 years, Kelce has made a lot of good decisions. He's made a ton of good decisions to make sure he's prepared for every week to be a tremendous professional. He has proven that. He's got a track record. He has shown the team that.

"The other thing is this: [head coach] Andy Reid and [general manager] Brett Veach have a culture. It's a culture where there is a great deal of accountability. So, I don't think that this happened without Andy and Brett knowing. I'm sure they talked about it, everyone knew it was going to be seen. But, again, I wouldn't get too worried about a player like Travis Kelce because, again, he's done everything that he needs to do."

All sounds reasonable, right?

Well, Pioli wasn't done there. He also drew upon his time in Kansas City to provide an argument for trusting those within your organization.

"One of the shortcomings I had as a leader when I ascended to the general manager role was, at times, micromanaging things and players when I thought they were maybe putting themselves in too much peril," he added. "It's kind of like being a parent, where you don't want to see someone make too big of a mistake. I made that mistake in trying to over-manage or micromanage certain things, and it worked the other way. So, I think right now, they did the right thing as long as there was clear communication between Andy, Brett and Travis Kelce."

The Parenting Analogy Provides Good Perspective

We haven't seen too much blame thrown Kelce's way just yet. But based on previous precedents—both related to previous coverage of the tight end and other NFL players—it's safe to assume that it will arrive when he inevitably has a bad game after spending time with Swift.

That's where Pioli's parenting analogy comes into play.

In this framework, fans are like parents. They just want to see their team do well, and it's easy to get overprotective. When you see something that feels a bit irresponsible (like a certain tight end flying to another continent when he could theoretically be locked in his room studying film), it's going to set off some alarm bells.

If a fan was dropped onto the Chiefs roster, they'd give it their all. Why wouldn't we expect the same level of dedication from the real squad?

Well, keeping within the parenting analogy, think back to how you felt as a child/teen/young adult/maybe even a fully fledged adult. Even if you knew that a loved one was acting from a place of love and concern, did you ever feel micromanaged? Or like you couldn't be trusted to live your own life?

Well, it's one thing when that comes from your family, but another thing when that comes from your boss. And as much as a professional football team may bond over the course of years, Kelce isn't related to Reid and Veach by blood. Their relationship can be damaged and, if things get bad enough, broken.

When you're chasing a Super Bowl title, there's no reason to alienate your second-most important player. Could the Chiefs crack down on Kelce? Sure, but that's probably not the best course of action. Telling a 34-year-old man with an impeccable résumé under his belt how to spend his personal time probably wouldn't read as caring. Instead, it would most likely feel like some variation of insulting.

And while assembling a talented roster is important, the organization also has to make sure everyone is feeling good and doing their part. Does that mean the Chiefs have to roll out the red carpet and tell their tight end how great he is? No, but he should be treated like a real person who has desires outside of playing football. As Pioli said, Kelce has a track record of performing on the field. If those standards don't slip, he's earned the benefit of the doubt.

So, when the inevitable "Travis Kelce isn't focusing on football," hot takes arrive, remember Pioli's parenting analogy. Trying to control everything might feel like a way to show care, but it can drive people away if you're not careful.

And, if you're the Kansas City Chiefs brass, you absolutely cannot afford to drive Kelce away.