Mort Report: Coaches around NFL leary of too much owner interference.

[DarthICE]

Here's a newflash.....THEY OWN THE !@#$ING TEAM! If I spent $800 million on a football team you can bet your ass the coach is explaining the gameplan to me.

 

And you would be in the situation Ralph is in. You just can't do that.

[DarthICE]

Remember when Tom Donahoe left? He told the media he fielded at least 2-3 calls EACH DAY from Wilson wanting to know what was going on. That just can't happen.

 

Remember how it leaked out Wilson forced Wade to play RJ instead of Flutie? Remember how he tried to sue Wade to keep him from getting his last years pay after Ralph fired him?

 

Remember how Mularkey flat quit the job? Remember how Ralph did Butler his last year here?

 

Guys...ralph is the problem

[Nevergiveup]

Remember when Tom Donahoe left? He told the media he fielded at least 2-3 calls EACH DAY from Wilson wanting to know what was going on. That just can't happen.

 

Remember how it leaked out Wilson forced Wade to play RJ instead of Flutie? Remember how he tried to sue Wade to keep him from getting his last years pay after Ralph fired him?

 

Remember how Mularkey flat quit the job? Remember how Ralph did Butler his last year here?

 

Guys...ralph is the problem

 

 

Unforunately you are 100% correct. You could add hundreds of additional examples as well.

[BillsfaninFl]

Here's a newflash.....THEY OWN THE !@#$ING TEAM! If I spent $800 million on a football team you can bet your ass the coach is explaining the gameplan to me.

 

You're missing the point. It's not about "tell me what's happening," it's "here's what I want you to do." The difference is having a philosophy of hiring good people and letting them do what they are better at than I am, versus hiring inexpensive people, then micromanaging them into certain failure.

[Doc]

Ralph "meddled" when it was clear the direction the team was taking was the wrong one. That means 2000 with Butler and 2005 with TD. Of course, this gets exaggerated into "he meddled the whole time!" because Butler and TD/Mularkey weren't going to accept responsibility for the teams' failures.

 

But perceptions are hard to break. Better the Bills go with a guy who has an open mind and who is willing to take on a challenge. Not someone who has preconceived notions and wants/needs a complete team waiting for him because he's unsure if he's up to the task.

[Coach Tuesday]

Ralph "meddled" when it was clear the direction the team was taking was the wrong one. That means 2000 with Butler and 2005 with TD. Of course, this gets exaggerated into "he meddled the whole time!" because Butler and TD/Mularkey weren't going to accept responsibility for the teams' failures.

 

But perceptions are hard to break. Better the Bills go with a guy who has an open mind and who is willing to take on a challenge. Not someone who has preconceived notions and wants/needs a complete team waiting for him because he's unsure if he's up to the task.

 

Flutie v. Johnson. Case closed.

[dave mcbride]

First, no other coaches have reported those phone calls. And they would have. Ralph simply didn't trust him and wanted more info from him than normal. Second, those phone calls were reported as questions. Ralph wasn't telling him what to do, he was keeping track of what he was doing. He wants to know what is going on. His actual interference happens much less than Snyder from all accounts.

Actually, that's not true. Williams did, and Butler indicated that working for Wilson was a nightmare in the late 90s because of the interference.

[dave mcbride]

I can't believe how many of you continue to be both skeptical and defensive about these kinds of reports. The circumstantial evidence of this type of behavior by Ralph has been gradually ad consistently mounting for years, yet some of you still profess disbelief. I guess you deserve the yearly hoodwinking you get from being a Bills fan.

 

Newsflash: Ralph is a meddling, petty, mercurial pain in the ass and no one wants to work for him. Get it through your skulls already people. And oh yeah, the reason that other meddling jerks like Snyder and JJ are able to attract talent is because they pay big money and are located in much more desirable locales.

 

And I will repeat my call for someone in the local media to write about this issue. It just amazes me that the national reporters get the scoop on Ralph's reputation and struggles but not the hometown crew. Maybe they're just afraid to print it, what a shame.

+1

[JDHILL]

Normally I am not a big Mort fan, but in this case, he is probably right. He said the reason Bills are having so many problems finding a coach is because the word around NFL circles is that there is just too much interference from the owner with regards to day to day decisions being made. Said one NFL executive told him the Bills have become almost as bizarre as the Raiders, but he said he didn't believe that. Said he cannot understand why the Bills haven't made more of a play for Marty Schottenheimer...

 

 

for 5 yrs. under Donahoe, Ralph was completely hands off and then he realized Donahoe was running a reign of terror at OBD that included alienating the fans and not letting them express their views at games. Ralph fired him for that and some other reasons. He's obviously a little scared about that happening again. Ralph was pissed how Donahoe treated the fans and he stepped up to the plate.

[silvermike]

Three things:

 

1.) Ralph isn't senile, he's always been this way. He fired Polian fifteen years ago when he was a much younger man, and other than a brief burst under Lou Saban in the 60s, has always hired subpar personnel. Age may have made it worse, but it's not like he was a genius football man who lost his faculties. He's been a bad owner to work for and never was any better.

 

2.) Jerry Jones just won his first playoff game since 1996. He got on a hot streak in the early 1990s because he backed into greatness from the Herschel Walker trade, and hasn't been able to recover until now. And for the most part, coaches don't want to work for him: it's why he has Wade Phillips. He briefly got Bill Parcells, who quit a few years in.

 

3.) Snyder has a similar track record. They haven't done much at all since he took over, basically, the team has been the Bills with a little bit more luck and without the Patriots in the division. And his last coach was Jim freaking Zorn. He finally agreed to give up all the authority to Shanahan, who took the job. Ralph wasn't willing to even to do that.

[Doc]

Flutie v. Johnson. Case closed.

Case closed? Please. Flutie had been figured-out by then. He would have surely lost the Titans playoff game, and proceeded to blame it on everyone but himself. And his work in SD speaks for itself.

[sabres...yawn]

Case closed? Please. Flutie had been figured-out by then. He would have surely lost the Titans playoff game, and proceeded to blame it on everyone but himself. And his work in SD speaks for itself.

 

 

Ralph should have stayed out of it.

Hire a coach and let him coach.

[birdog1960]

Three things:

 

1.) Ralph isn't senile, he's always been this way. He fired Polian fifteen years ago when he was a much younger man, and other than a brief burst under Lou Saban in the 60s, has always hired subpar personnel. Age may have made it worse, but it's not like he was a genius football man who lost his faculties. He's been a bad owner to work for and never was any better.

 

2.) Jerry Jones just won his first playoff game since 1996. He got on a hot streak in the early 1990s because he backed into greatness from the Herschel Walker trade, and hasn't been able to recover until now. And for the most part, coaches don't want to work for him: it's why he has Wade Phillips. He briefly got Bill Parcells, who quit a few years in.

 

3.) Snyder has a similar track record. They haven't done much at all since he took over, basically, the team has been the Bills with a little bit more luck and without the Patriots in the division. And his last coach was Jim freaking Zorn. He finally agreed to give up all the authority to Shanahan, who took the job. Ralph wasn't willing to even to do that.

For the most part I agree except with your first point. Epidemiology and statistics tell us it's as likely that rw is demented as not. I agree, his overall track record is bad and mounting evidence reinforces his general historical incompetence but the bills are now at an all time low and he appears either unaware or ambivalent to this.

[basskik11]

Redskins are the pretty girl with a crazy father. Bills are the average/below average girl with a crazy father.

 

hahaha! this is true

[DarthICE]

for 5 yrs. under Donahoe, Ralph was completely hands off and then he realized Donahoe was running a reign of terror at OBD that included alienating the fans and not letting them express their views at games. Ralph fired him for that and some other reasons. He's obviously a little scared about that happening again. Ralph was pissed how Donahoe treated the fans and he stepped up to the plate.

 

No he wasn't. He called at least 2-3 times each DAY to ask Donahoe what was going on. That started from the begining before TD had any problems with this team.

[jack_spikes]

In a perverse way, desirable coaches(and for all we know, outside personnel people) not even wanting to be interviewed for vacancies with the Bills authenticates the our worst suspicions of how badly the franchise is run. It's one thing for fans to grouse on the Stadium Wall, or for a negative column to be written by a Jerry Sullivan or Leo Roth, but when people directly involved or working in the business don't even want to talk to you about an advancement opportunity, things can only be worse than we imagined. Think of a friend being sick. We(the fans) know he's not well but our friend is obstinent. He takes some pills for the pain(hires Marv and now Nix) but his condition worsens. Finally, he goes to see the doctor. The doctor tells him his situation is grim but there... tired of writing this, finish it how you like.

[FLFan]

On the topic of the original post, is anyone surprised that Mort would take every opportunity to trash the Bills? Is he naming any sources? Does he have any real information or just repeating the same whines he has been expressing since his butt buddy was fired? I take everything he says about the Bills with a grain of salt. He is campaigning. The real truth of what goes on behind the scenes here is unknown.

 

As for comparisons to Washington and Snyder, anyone who thinks Snyder will take a backseat to Shanahan and not interefere in every decision is deluding themselves. No one here in Washington believes that; there is no evidence to suggest anything has changed. Little Danny just has too big of an ego. (and his office is not 300 miles away it is right down the hall from the HC) Good luck Mike.

 

The Bill's current problems in attracting candidates is as much a media issue as it is evdience of real diferences in how the Bills are run vs other franchises, IMHO.

[FistingBot]

Well said, fellas. Only one NFL head coaching job is available and no one even wants to interview for it? Is this not indicative that something is seriously wrong at the top of this franchise? This has nothing to do with Buffalo as a city and everything to do with a curmudgeon owner who impedes coaches and GMs from doing what they were hired to do. The NFL community is a small network where word travels quickly... if something is not right at a place, everyone will know in a matter of weeks. Yet, we the fans keep hoping for a miracle and dumping our money into a franchise that for the most part has been doomed to eternal mediocrity for the past 50 years under Wilson.

 

It seems to me that Wilson couldn't care less about winning at this stage in his life. He's simply trying to maximize the book value of his asset for the impending sale of the franchise to the highest bidder after his death in order to ensure that his estate makes the most possible money.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Just like Dallas, you get paid a ton more and you get ANY players you want. It's a lot different that making an average salary and having average players and then having the owner tell you who should be returning kids and starting at RB.

Just so you know, it was Jerry Jones that made the big trade for Roy Williams and Phillips wasn't exactly on board with the idea. Many people in the league view Williams as a one-dimensional, lazy, lackluster player and the Cowboys gave up quite a bit for him. Jerry Jones also brought T.O. to the Cowboys over strong objections by Parcells.

[Doc]

Ralph should have stayed out of it.

Hire a coach and let him coach.

So that's one call he made, which made sense at the time given the team's performance, and one that Wade wouldn't have made because he's got no backbone, and he's a meddler?