BillsVet Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Forgive me if people have chimed in on this, I've been in the southern tier hunting the past few days, but... Exactly who is searching for and interviewing all of these people the Bills are evidently interested in? This is not the type of thing left to chance, and certainly not something anyone at OBD is qualified to decide on. Meanwhile, RW is making waves by talking about how much money he's willing to throw at the problem he himself is responsible for. Does he know which person to interview, let alone what he needs? For my money, find a GM first and let that person hire the coach. IMO, Buffalo should first recruit a "consultant" like Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly to advise them on the process. Left to his own devices, RW could make another bad decision given how poor his track record has been this decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 i believe Russ Brandon is heading up the search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omar Little Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Wilson and Brandon. The reason they're not talking to any GM candidates is because, for better or worse, they're trying to lure a big name in to do both. If they hire Shanahan, he's the GM and coach. He's not going to take orders from anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Forgive me if people have chimed in on this, I've been in the southern tier hunting the past few days, but... Exactly who is searching for and interviewing all of these people the Bills are evidently interested in? This is not the type of thing left to chance, and certainly not something anyone at OBD is qualified to decide on. Meanwhile, RW is making waves by talking about how much money he's willing to throw at the problem he himself is responsible for. Does he know which person to interview, let alone what he needs? For my money, find a GM first and let that person hire the coach. IMO, Buffalo should first recruit a "consultant" like Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly to advise them on the process. Left to his own devices, RW could make another bad decision given how poor his track record has been this decade. I think Brandon and Wilson are searching for someone to head of football ops while Brandon moves into a 100% business role and Ralph finally retires and becomes owner in name only. At least that's my sense of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Wilson and Brandon. The reason they're not talking to any GM candidates is because, for better or worse, they're trying to lure a big name in to do both. If they hire Shanahan, he's the GM and coach. He's not going to take orders from anyone. Neither Wilson nor Brandon understand what they're looking for, especially RW. This is the same guy who we all know fired Polian, ran Smith and Butler out the door, then hired Donahoe. I won't even comment on Brandon, who has no experience in NFL personnel. Basically, a NFL franchise is counting on their 91 year old owner to make a good decision. I'm not optimistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Forgive me if people have chimed in on this, I've been in the southern tier hunting the past few days, but... Exactly who is searching for and interviewing all of these people the Bills are evidently interested in? This is not the type of thing left to chance, and certainly not something anyone at OBD is qualified to decide on. Meanwhile, RW is making waves by talking about how much money he's willing to throw at the problem he himself is responsible for. Does he know which person to interview, let alone what he needs? For my money, find a GM first and let that person hire the coach. IMO, Buffalo should first recruit a "consultant" like Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly to advise them on the process. Left to his own devices, RW could make another bad decision given how poor his track record has been this decade. Hey Vet, I agree completely on your last paragraph and have had grave concerns since day one regarding the process. The big question is how does a totally inept and dysfunctional organization get back on the right track? Who are the people within the organization making the discreet inquiries and sending feelers out to prospective candidates? Also, who has designed the road map that this organization desperately needs? And as many others have pointed out, isn't there also a usefulness to having someone aboard for the remainder of '09 to evaluate the organization and hand off their independent findings to the next GM? As with anything in this organization, it's a guessing game. With the Bills track record of late, there are certainly no assurances that this will be a successful mission. That said, I've felt from day one that we should hire a consultant as you've suggested. The possible temporary hires who could evaluate the organization in the last third of the season as well as conduct the headhunting would be people like you said, Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly. Two other names would be Floyd Reese (currently working for the Patriots as a senior consultant after a very successful tenure with the Houston/Tennessee franchise), and Ron Wolf, the architect of the Brett Favre/Reggie White Packers. I would be happy with any of these men as our permanent GM but also just in a temporary role to "right the ship." Wolf is retired but could probably be lured back for a six month stint to help get the train back on the tracks. Same with Accorsi. Casserly is out of football right now and has a strong track record. Reese is rumored to be gunning for another GM job. He has a great track record too and his recent association with Belichick would be another strong factor in his decision. If any of these men were aboard, I would feel much better than just shooting for the stars and throwing money at big names. Furthermore, if any of these men were our GM, I would trust their decisions as to which coach to hire, proven or not. Unlike most of the posters here, I'm most intrigued by Jim Harbaugh and Marc Trestman because I think it's crucial to get a younger, energetic, hyper-qualified person to run the offense here. But I digress. My main point is yes, top notch General Manager first and then hire a coach. I think also from a fiscal perspective, that this would be the best strategy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Forgive me if people have chimed in on this, I've been in the southern tier hunting the past few days, but... Exactly who is searching for and interviewing all of these people the Bills are evidently interested in? This is not the type of thing left to chance, and certainly not something anyone at OBD is qualified to decide on. Meanwhile, RW is making waves by talking about how much money he's willing to throw at the problem he himself is responsible for. Does he know which person to interview, let alone what he needs? For my money, find a GM first and let that person hire the coach. IMO, Buffalo should first recruit a "consultant" like Ernie Accorsi or Charley Casserly to advise them on the process. Left to his own devices, RW could make another bad decision given how poor his track record has been this decade. The so called money chase for a well known HC is nothing but a charade. Prominet former HCs such as Cowhrer and Shanahan aren't going to work for grumpy Ralph when they have other options to work for franchises with more resources and give them a better opportunity to succeed. Once the season is over there might be at least half a dozen openings. Certainly, Buffalo and working for a 91 yr old owner who has his team on the auction block when he kicks the bucket are not going to be too enticing for coaches who have a number of choices. Whenever I hear that Ralph is going to do be involved in anything relating to the franchise I know for sure things are not going to work out. Look at the institutional mess we already have in this laughable organization. Its like watching a dog chase his own tail. As others have suggested the owner needs to bring in someone who knows something about building a successful franchise to help him make the required critical decisions. That leaves out the marketing specialist to help him find the right football people to run the football operation. As someone else recommended I would bring in a person such as Floyd Reese, who has had experience in the front office, give him the autonomy and resources to rebuild the scouting department and secure the best coaching staff he can get. There is no quick fix. Building a quality organization is the most critical step in buiiding a successful team. Instead of dangling big money to HCs who won't come here get a quality GM and then use your resources to support his tall task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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