NORWOOD, Mass. – Foxboro Stadium was a rathole of a place when Bob Quinn arrived there as an intern in the winter of 2000, a few credits shy of his master’s degree in sports management from UConn.
The impersonal old stadium with crumbling concrete had none of the amenities of modern NFL life, but for a few months that year, it housed the best think tank in football.
Bill Belichick took over as New England Patriots coach in late January, and he brought Scott Pioli with him as director of player personnel.
Pioli set up shop in one room inside the football office, right next to a library filled with scouting tapes and the team’s draft room.