Archives for January 2013

‘For the first time since he bought the franchise in 1960, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson junior is giving up organization control. WGR 550 has learned CEO Russ Brandon will officially be named Team President during a noon news conference today. It will be carried live on WGR. WGR has also learned Buddy Nix will be staying on as General Manager in the short term, likely through the April draft. Nix will then be succeeded by Assistant G-M Doug Whaley.’

‘”I respect Ralph Wilson’s decision to cease operations and essentially pass the torch to whoever is the best man in line. I think Buffalo needs a new young exciting coach,” said Bills Fan Maura Goud.’

‘”When you have an owner who is 500 miles away [in Detroit], he’s not the face of the franchise,” Necci says. “Who do you report to? That’s why they can’t get a big coach to come here because we don’t have a face of the franchise. I think that might have changed today. You can’t have a 94-year-old man be the face of the franchise… owner or not. You need some fresh, young blood here.”‘

‘”Russ Brandon has done a tremendous job in his 16 years with our organization and is very highly respected throughout the National Football League,” said Wilson in a team statement. “He has proven to be extremely successful with each new level of responsibility he has been given and has earned this opportunity. Russ is a proven leader and he will now have full authority over the entire Buffalo Bills operation. I have granted him full autonomy to run the organization as he feels is best.”‘

‘It is time to start, create and lead this franchise into the future with a new legacy. I make three promises to our fans. Number one, I can promise you that this will be a forward-thinking, progressive and attacking organization heading into the future. One of the items that I am going to spend a lot of time on with Buddy, with Doug Whaley and with Jim Overdorf is we are going to create and establish a very robust football analytics operation that we layer into our entire operation moving forward. That is something that is very important to me and very important to the future of this franchise.’

‘”I think that you don’t want to eliminate anybody,” Nix told Buffalobills.com. “You think about guys that have never been a head coach or a coordinator. Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin. John Harbaugh coached special teams. The league is full of them. So you’ve got to go with a gut feeling sometimes. You do all your work and say this guy has got something about him. He’s the one let’s do it.”‘

‘Kyle Williams made an impressive recovery from surgery on his left Achilles last offseason and came back from it ahead of schedule during spring OTAs. Unfortunately Williams could be headed down that same road again this offseason with the Achilles in his right foot.’

‘It’s possible Nix could be retained in some type of senior advisory capacity or shift to that role after the draft, a league source with former ties to the Bills’ organization said Monday evening. Exactly what a change in Nix’s status would mean for assistant general manager Doug Whaley was unclear, as well. He could be in line for increased duties. The verdict from Wilson and Brandon was awaited.’

‘”I owe everything I have so far to Chan. He brought me in when not a lot of people would,” Nelson said. “He gave me an opportunity. He continued to stick behind me. A lot of people have doubted me. I have his back to the end.”‘

‘Little has changed since Jauron left. Actually, the record got worse. At this stage, why would a sensible person expect anything different? Three years later, it’s the same old thing. Only the year is new.’

‘Here is a rundown on top head coaching candidates who could be on the Buffalo Bills’ radar in the wake of Monday’s firing of Chan Gailey…’.

‘”I really wanted to believe this was going to be the coach that would bring us back to the postseason,” Reid said. “But he [Gailey] had some really confounding game-day decisions, and some of his personnel decisions left a lot to be desired.”‘

‘Investigators seized three cargo trailers and two trucks packed with counterfeit National Football League T-shirts and jerseys, many believed to be manufactured in China. They also seized more than $5,000 in U.S. and Canadian currency when making this latest round of arrests at different sites on Abbott Road and on Erie County land at the stadium, according to Orchard Park Detective John Payne.’

‘”We didn’t win enough,” Kyle Williams said when asked why Gailey was let go. “I think everybody in here has a tremendous amount of respect for Chan. I’ve been lucky in that the two guys I’ve had as head coaches (Gailey and Jauron) are really good, solid men, great men to be with. Yes is yes and no is no. Obviously we haven’t won enough, which is what it’s all about.”‘

‘As if a new coach will have the answers working for a distant, 94-year-old owner (Ralph Wilson), a 73-year-old general manager (Buddy Nix) who’s on thin ice and is already 0-1 on the hiring front, inheriting a roster whose quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is 24-43-1 as an NFL starter and who will be shackled with a defense led by a $100 million marshmallow (Mario Williams).’