May Day 10

I could talk myself into thinking Arizona coming to the East Coast with the Bills having an extra 3 days is a winnable game.... then beating the Brady-less Pats in week 4 is a possibility.... leading into the SF and LA games which should be winnable.

I dont give Pegula much credit for that. He botched the Sabres. It wasnt intentional. Lindy Ruff's firing was forced at a terrible time. It was early in a season, after an offseason AND a half season lockout. Would have been nice to go in a new direction earlier. The move was made because the crowd in the arena was turning very ugly and reached a crescendo the night before. Darcy's firing was similar. Early in a season when again, this type of thing is best executed in the offseason. Similarly, the home crowds were getting pretty unruly to the point of an embarrassment for the franchise. It started getting National press. Then you have the quick, sudden, and mysterious LaFontaine firing/resignation. I love Pegula and all.... very appreciative.... but I dont have much faith in his ownership decisions and structure.

I wont give up. Way too long to look forward to September of 2017 and too early to start worrying about the draft. Probably will hang in there until mid November (hopefully) as per usual.

I agree, just need to check off as many boxes as possible as strongly as possible. And no, I don't believe it needs to be someone in a permanent role. I think they need to fix/restructure things, make hires, and advise/teach Pegula. Pay a nice salary, and perhaps even wrap in some bonuses based on how the team goes. Maybe this person could be on the books longer as a consultant to Pegula. Casserly and Wolf are guys I (and most football writers) were expecting Pegula to bring in. It does look like the Jets are a great deal closer than the Bills in just 1 year (10 wins) and beat up a Superbowl contender and barely lost last week. Making these changes does not need to mean (and shouldnt mean) a 5 year bottom out rebuild.

Having a winning football program.... even a halfway competitive one would obsolete marketing efforts. I just listened to two national radio guys laugh about the Bills and the game tonight. They couldnt even think of anything to talk about. They were having Steve Tasker on in a bit and they said "Steve Tasker.... he was a Buffalo player.... he played against the Jets many times......" and then laughter. This organization remains in neutral and irrelevant. How can this not be seen by everyone who follows this team? Almost 4 years ago, Brandon stood there and told us he was fully clear and responsible to make this organization a winner. He made it clear he was the guy and everything goes through him. It sounds like he has had influence on the football team (and a pretty easy argument can be made that this "promotion" was all just a ruse to maintain the status quo a few more years anyway) "Obviously I am honored and humbled in his confidence in me to lead this organization into a new era and provide a clear direction and winning pathway into the future" "He (Mr Wilson) told me he was passing the torch to me to run this franchise in totality. He has granted me full authority to run this franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations." We certainly understand and appreciate the frustration of our great fans and supporters. We acknowledge it; we own it and we will never run from it. This is an organization with a proud tradition, but I will tell you that this brand has been tarnished. Its relevancy has been tarnished and it is unacceptable because we just have not won enough games. As Buddy (Nix) says all the time, it is a production business. That is what we are in this for is to win games. 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 also will promise that anyone who knows me and has worked with me knows that I will leave no stone unturned in taking this organization to a world class level. I will identify and I will hire world-class people to bring into this organization, but most importantly I will empower people to do their jobs. I am going to be real clear about one thing because I know you are going to ask it. I will not be drafting people. I will not be making the final decision on a free agent. I will empower the general manager, Buddy Nix, to do that. Do I have final authority and say? Yes. That is what Buddy Nix, the general manager, does. He identifies personnel. He runs that side of our operation. OK? I cannot be any clearer than that. I think my track record on that side of the house when you look at how we have run an organization we have had great, the overused word, continuity within our organization. We have been enormously successful. My goal with Buddy is to continue that legacy to bring in a top end head coach and keep developing our football side of the house. Hopefully we do not have to sit here many more times in the future. I am going to address Buddy’s situation real quick because there has been a lot of incredibly false information that has been reported for some reason. Buddy Nix is our general manager. Buddy Nix will run the football operation much like he has run it for the last three years. When you look at where we are today compared to where we were three years ago, it is unquestioned that our personnel and our roster is in a much better position than it was three years ago—which makes this a very attractive opportunity. Q: Did people around here not have the ability to make decisions? You said you will empower people to do what they need to do. Were they not allowed to? RB: Our organization moving forward is the structure that I mentioned. Mr. Wilson is a Hall of Fame owner. This organization and this community is blessed to have him. For us moving forward, that will go through me and to me alone. I welcome that opportunity. Q: Given that aside from a new coach you are maintaining continuity in the football operation side, what gives you confidence that you can turn this around? RB: I think when you look at our roster and you look at our personnel it is much better than it was three years ago. A lot of people, and when I came to this organization I was blessed to work very closely with John Butler, who again John was a mentor and he was like a second dad to me. I learned so much from John. The guy who I spent probably more time with next to John was Buddy Nix. There is not a better evaluator of talent in my opinion when it comes to pure scouting than Buddy Nix. He has done it. He is a pure football man. He has played, he has coached and he has scouted. He knows football. He knows talent. He has sort of raised me in this business along with John. I have great admiration for Buddy. I believe in him 100-percent. We also have identified a good young man in Doug Whaley, which Buddy will talk about. We brought in Doug three years ago as assistant general manager from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Doug is a very forward-thinking, progressive young man who has done a lot in this business at a young age. Really has been a protégé of Buddy’s for the last three years. ***When he talks like this, I have little doubt he fancies himself as a football man, capable of making any football-related decision. Q: How is the head coaching search going to work and who is going to conduct the search? RB: As soon as we get off this podium we go to work. I cannot wait to get off this podium. Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, Jim Overdorf and myself will all head out of here and start that process. We will go through a thorough and exhaustive search. We will make the right decision. We are not focused on the quick decision. Q: As it stands right now, we haven’t heard from Buddy yet, everybody with the exception of title changes and the head coach is still in place. Ralph owns the team… could you give some examples about how things are going to change? RB: I’m not prepared to have specific examples now, but I am prepared to do a top-to-bottom full evaluation of everything that we do in this organization. Organizations win championships and people win championships. That’s an old Marv Levy saying, but it’s the truth. Everything you do in this organization has a part of how this organization is viewed and how people accept it. We’re going to look at everything. Buddy and I will do that collectively on the football side of the house. But as I mentioned, I’ll leave no stone unturned. We are going to get better. However we do it, we’re going to get better and I’ve had a lot of time and spent a lot of time with this guy (Buddy Nix) and we’ve talked about a lot of things over the last 24-hours as well as the rest of my staffs. The No. 1 focus right now is on the head coach.

Someone from outside the organization with no connections. Has been involved in 1, preferably multiple repeat deep playoff run organizations. Has an extensive rolodex of possible gms and coaches as well as credibility and respect. Has a handle on current trends in the league as well as respect for probability/risk management. Has a willingness and desire to take on this challenge (and not think he is some dignitary making 7 figures).

http://buffalowins.net/buffalo-bills/my-diatribe-rant-against-russ-brandon.html

no cordy, richardson returning.... bad news for the Bills' O. Jets 26-Bills 13

He said "no stone unturned"

the problem is, Brandon is/was influential in Nix, Whaley, Gailey, Marrone, Jauron, and Rex. That is as influential as it gets and nothing has worked out. In fact, I would categorize it all as a disaster and a disjointed mess. *If* this team falls on its face to the tune of 0-5 wins and Pegula decides a change is needed.... I think it is imperative that outside eyes need to be brought in. If Brandon is allowed to go on another "no stone unturned" search for a GM and/or Head Coach, nothing will change. Maybe we can have a meaningful December game someday or gloriously go one and out in a road playoff game... but this will never be a model football program.

I'm almost not so much anti-Brandon as much as I am for a complete rebuild of a sloppy and futile football program. A rebuild executed from someone from outside the organization (and NOT chosen by any input from Russ Brandon). The fact that there are leaks all the time. Embarrassing ones. Fights with the Coach, GM, and "Marketing Guy" on the field, this person's job is in jeopardy, people in the Bills think EJ will prove he is the starter.... etc..... Watkins wakes up with his foot hurting.... is pretty damning. Its a recurring pattern. Then you have the Pats. One player punches out a star and nobody hears about it until 18-24 months later. Outside eyes is all I want. I want an NFL team built for sustainable success. Ralph's hires did not have that as a primary objective, nor have they delivered.

Not yet. He fancies himself a football man. Just read that article/interview on page 2 or 3 of this thread from Syracuse. He says the disclaimer that he doesnt touch anything football... then goes on to list his biggest influences as Levy, Butler, Nix, etc who showed him the ropes and sent him on scouting trips and such. Give it time with the Sabres. Before long he will be interviewing potential GMs and coaches and will start carving a bigger sphere of influence. As of now, the Sabres have that "czar" in Tim Murray

The problem is, these choices don't fall out of the sky and magically plague the Bills. Brandon has been at the forefront of most major decisions. I don't understand the lack of desire here to try someone from outside the organization to take the reins

Here is an article from when the "hired" Buddy Nix. It is a good read and shows you how nothing has changed. Also, these discussions were happening before then and became so loud, they were 'forced' to hire a GM. Its not a "blame game" for me. I have had this point of view for about 10 years now. (the article is funny too because it mentions Whaley as a guy who should have gotten consideration). http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/01/01/bills-decision-to-hire-nix-draws-criticism/ “Russ [brandon] and I scanned a list of possible candidates,” Wilson said Thursday, per Sullivan. “We didn’t know them. I didn’t know them. I don’t think Russ did. We narrowed it down to two candidates for the job of general manager of football, two in-house candidates.” And we wonder whether Wilson took into account the fact Brandon has a strong interest in avoiding an outsider whose first order of business might have been to marginalize Brandon and/or eventually lobby for his termination. It’s a common dynamic in situations like this; last year in Detroit, for example, an 0-16 finish resulted in Martin Mayhew being promoted to the job of G.M., likely due to the significant influence that Tom Lewand has over ownership."

Its the whole organization and he has been at the front of it and is to blame. Since Donahoe was sent packing, this organization circled the wagons around Brandon and they kept everything very internalized with people Ralph Wilson could trust. They have insulated the team from outside influence and as a result, have insulated the team from entering the 21st century. Brandon is still involved in the football dept. It was just revealed he was right there in the cut-meetings. He has whiffed every time he has been in on a decision or hire. I don't mind if he remains in a high role with One Buffalo or the Bills or whatnot. They just need someone from the outside to run the football program. Brandon needs to be completely walled off from influence on that side. I know "One Year" and all that... but this 16 year pattern is in no way a coincidence or a run of misfortune.

I hate to call a game 2 a "must win" by definition. They need to go into that brutal middle of the schedule well clear of .500. 0-2 would be a pretty massive hole

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/01/01/bills-decision-to-hire-nix-draws-criticism/ Looking back at this. We are still at the continuation of this "hire". They still havent looked outside

I am venting a lot, but i agree with you. I speak based on a blown season which is not a sure thing. I just saw a lot of "symptoms" i have grown accustomed to.

Every team has plenty of talent. It is all about preparation, roster makeup/chemistry, and depth. This franchise continually proves that they cannot succeed in more than one of those areas at a time. Rebuilding in the NFL does not need to take years. Wasnt too long ago seattle picked in front of the bills, blew the pick on a bust (we would excuse years of futility on that player), and quickly became a power. Same with denver. KC brought andy reid in and got with the program rather quickly.

No thanks to Whaley too. He is a continuation of the failed Nix regime. If Nix had a great performance here and passed the baton... then yes. But he stunk. The team still stinks. Whaley and Brandon seem to get free passes left and right and blame is conveniently outsourced to others. Why is anyone putting value on anybody involved with this football team? At the very least, we need someone from the outside brought in with full authority/autonomy to re-create this thing. If this person liked Whaley, I would be fine with it. This whole internal nepotistic Bills family that has run this team into the wall the past 10-20 years needs to be broken up. Since Donahoe was sent packing they 'circled the wagons' internally and have fallen into complete irrelevancy.

I think a lot of angst comes from witnessing the patriots sunday night and coming to the realization that they are just a well oiled football program, and they will be just fine after brady is gone. That is who the bills need to strive for. Rex is the opposite of belichick in almost every way. I dont see whaley, brandon, or pegula getting us there. The bills will likely never get to belichick level... but why cant they get to the ravens, broncos, cardinals, seahawks level? Those are all teams who have bottomed out lower than buffalo in somewhat recent history. At least then its a fair fight. How can the bills ever see a home playoff game if they struggle getting the plays in on time?

Yeah... i want change more than anybody... but dont go there yet. I was there with the sabres a few seasons before the tank and its a bad/conflicted place to be and it isnt fun. Week 2 is way too early.

I was wearing a color rush jersey, and the color was so intense, the jersey burst into flames. I had to kump through a table and my friends poured beer on me to stop it

IMO just swapping out the coach is a mistake and continues this cycle. They need to change the structure of this organization. Cant have the coach 'coaching' and reporting to Pegula, with a GM 'picking players' reporting to Pegula, along with Russ Brandon marketing his way all over the decisions. They need a much more cohesive structure going forward (if Rex fails). For one, it doesnt look like a sustainable/cohesive structure, two, these guys have had enough chances at choosing coaches, and three, I am not sure a lot of good head coaches or head coaching prospects would agree to come work here under these conditions (think marrone and Mularkey walking away). It is time to become a big-boy franchise and get past Ralph Wilson's MO. So I am against firing Rex in short. I would tough it another 1 or 2 seasons if it meant the sorely needed organizational shift.

When does continuity kick in for the Rams? Because they look worse than the bills