Easterbrook on Nix/Slim Pickens

[TheLynchTrain]

Anybody see this? This is hilarious!

 

"While introducing Gailey, new Bills general manager Buddy Nix gave the Buffalo headphones assignment this incredible vote of confidence: "Don't ever think you can't fill coaching jobs, even if they're bad." Beyond the fact that Nix's opening move was to insult his own team -- click here to hear the audio -- Nix sounds exactly like Slim Pickens as Major Kong in the black-comedy classic "Dr. Strangelove." Part of the lore of that film is that to get Pickens to deliver his lines super-straight, director Stanley Kubrick did not tell the actor that the film was a comedy. Nix may not have been told that the post-Levy Buffalo Bills are a comedy!"

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...467=80000000000

 

[DaGimp]

a sad, sad comedy

[Haven Moses]

A tragedy, really

[Sisyphean Bills]

Gotta like comments like, Chan is a better coach than I ever thought we could possibly get.

[MattM]

Maybe it's just me, but not enough time has gone by for me to see this tragedy of a team/organization as a comedy.....

[DC Tom]

I can't decide if it's a tragedy like Godzilla - so awful it's funny. Or a comedy like Hudson Hawk - so awful, it's funny.

[eSJayDee]

Part of the lore of that film is that to get Pickens to deliver his lines super-straight, director Stanley Kubrick did not tell the actor that the film was a comedy. Nix may not have been told that the post-Levy Buffalo Bills are a comedy!"

 

LOL. Nice job, Gregggg.

[Nanker]

It's a tragi/comedy

[dave mcbride]

Here's the rest of Easterbrook's commentary:

 

Throughout their head-coaching search, the team did nothing to counter rumors that top candidates were turning offers down because they didn't want to be associated with the Bills' inept front office. This generated negative publicity and made it seem Gailey's leading qualification was that he was the sole person willing to take the job. While introducing Gailey to the press, Nix espoused wild claims about the search process -- "We probably got, and I'm trying not to exaggerate, 15 calls a day, begging for an interview and wanting this job" -- then refused to give specifics, causing Nix to seem like a grinning buffoon. (Media advice: Never make a claim you can't back up.) Neither owner Ralph Wilson nor team president Russ Brandon attended Gailey's introduction, which made it seem as if both are already distancing themselves from the hire and lining up their excuses for when Nix and Gailey are fired. Attention Buffalo Bills, it is no longer 1962. Could we bring our public relations practices at least into the 1970s? Time to ditch the mimeograph machine and replace the rotary-dial phones. NFL franchises which excel in the marketplace -- Dallas, Denver, Houston -- are exceptionally image-conscious. The Bills behave as if dismantling the team's image is an organizational goal.

[Mr. WEO]

Here's the rest of Easterbrook's commentary:

 

Throughout their head-coaching search, the team did nothing to counter rumors that top candidates were turning offers down because they didn't want to be associated with the Bills' inept front office. This generated negative publicity and made it seem Gailey's leading qualification was that he was the sole person willing to take the job. While introducing Gailey to the press, Nix espoused wild claims about the search process -- "We probably got, and I'm trying not to exaggerate, 15 calls a day, begging for an interview and wanting this job" -- then refused to give specifics, causing Nix to seem like a grinning buffoon. (Media advice: Never make a claim you can't back up.) Neither owner Ralph Wilson nor team president Russ Brandon attended Gailey's introduction, which made it seem as if both are already distancing themselves from the hire and lining up their excuses for when Nix and Gailey are fired. Attention Buffalo Bills, it is no longer 1962. Could we bring our public relations practices at least into the 1970s? Time to ditch the mimeograph machine and replace the rotary-dial phones. NFL franchises which excel in the marketplace -- Dallas, Denver, Houston -- are exceptionally image-conscious. The Bills behave as if dismantling the team's image is an organizational goal.

Ouch.

 

Reviewing this press conference, it becoems more frightening with each view.

 

Yet there is no shortage of people who thought it went just fine and overall, it's been a great offseason so far.

[PromoTheRobot]

A tragedy, really

A tragedy and a comedy...a trag-edy. Oh, wait.

 

PTR

[PromoTheRobot]

Ouch.

 

Reviewing this press conference, it becoems more frightening with each view.

 

Yet there is no shortage of people who thought it went just fine and overall, it's been a great offseason so far.

If we fail we can all look back and said we should have known. If we succeed we can all look back and say who cares.

 

All I will say is being a southerner is not a handicap when it comes to football.

 

PTR

[dave mcbride]

If we fail we can all look back and said we should have known. If we succeed we can all look back and say who cares.

 

All I will say is being a southerner is not a handicap when it comes to football.

 

PTR

I agree about the South, but it was still a ridiculous press conference. Image is just surface in the end, but good organizations tend to manage their image well. The Bills don't, which is probably indicative of deeper problems.

[Lori]

I have no problem believing Nix's assertion that the Bills were getting 15 calls per day.

 

This assumes, of course, that 14 were from Brian Billick.

[gobillsinytown]

Anybody see this? This is hilarious!

 

"While introducing Gailey, new Bills general manager Buddy Nix gave the Buffalo headphones assignment this incredible vote of confidence: "Don't ever think you can't fill coaching jobs, even if they're bad." Beyond the fact that Nix's opening move was to insult his own team -- click here to hear the audio -- Nix sounds exactly like Slim Pickens as Major Kong in the black-comedy classic "Dr. Strangelove." Part of the lore of that film is that to get Pickens to deliver his lines super-straight, director Stanley Kubrick did not tell the actor that the film was a comedy. Nix may not have been told that the post-Levy Buffalo Bills are a comedy!"

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...467=80000000000

 

 

Wow. Another opinion.

[Sisyphean Bills]

I have no problem believing Nix's assertion that the Bills were getting 15 calls per day.

 

This assumes, of course, that 14 were from Brian Billick.

 

On the other hand, if Nix wasn't exaggerating, then the majority of coaches in the NFL called begging for the job. Oh, never mind, he was clearly exaggerating or counting the 300 calls by Brian Billick as 300 different coaches...

[The Poojer]

he didn't say anything other than 15 calls a day...as stated earlier, anyone in the coaching field at that level would have been foolish not to call....no one ever said 15 qualified candidates per day, simply 15 calls a day....

 

 

On the other hand, if Nix wasn't exaggerating, then the majority of coaches in the NFL called begging for the job. Oh, never mind, he was clearly exaggerating or counting the 300 calls by Brian Billick as 300 different coaches...

[Doc]

This reminds me of the idiocy following Ralph's "I didn't understand [the now-defunct 2006 CBA]" joke. We'll see ultimately who was right.

[Sisyphean Bills]

he didn't say anything other than 15 calls a day...as stated earlier, anyone in the coaching field at that level would have been foolish not to call....no one ever said 15 qualified candidates per day, simply 15 calls a day....

I know what he said and I fully understand that he left himself gratuitous wiggle room and refused to answer any questions trying to pin him down on what he meant. He was clearly trying to convey that his phone was ringing off the hook, all day, every day as some counter to what the media had reported. He offered that comment in the hopes that some people would rush to the conclusion that hundreds of candidates were beating down the door for the job. Unfortunately, it was a transparent, feeble attempt on all counts and largely because of what he didn't say. He didn't say n qualified coaches called. He didn't clarify a thing about the "15 calls" (his phone rang 15 times a day -- big !@#$ing deal). He wouldn't name names. He let slip that Chan Gailey was the only coach he took to see Ralph Wilson.

[The Poojer]

i don't think he needed to qualify anything...he was simply referring to media reports that no one was interested in the job...i am going to have to take him at his word as i don't know differently...and neither does anyone else outside of the organization...if you want to call it 'drinking the kool-aid' that's fine, i am thirsty and want another drink...

 

I know what he said and I fully understand that he left himself gratuitous wiggle room and refused to answer any questions trying to pin him down on what he meant. He was clearly trying to convey that his phone was ringing off the hook, all day, every day as some counter to what the media had reported. He offered that comment in the hopes that some people would rush to the conclusion that hundreds of candidates were beating down the door for the job. Unfortunately, it was a transparent, feeble attempt on all counts and largely because of what he didn't say. He didn't say n qualified coaches called. He didn't clarify a thing about the "15 calls" (his phone rang 15 times a day -- big !@#$ing deal). He wouldn't name names. He let slip that Chan Gailey was the only coach he took to see Ralph Wilson.