Mark Gaughan interviews Ralph

[Joe Miner]

You can't separate the two. Saying that Ralph is cheap is boneheaded. Saying that Ralph was a horrible CEO is not boneheaded.

 

I agree. Calling Ralph cheap doesn't really do justice to how bad of a CEO he's been.

 

For the Bills to be successful, the management under their horrible CEO is going to have to be very good if not outstanding.

 

I would posit that it's been equally as terrible for a while now.

 

Hopefully (and maybe I'm still on a Mario high) we've got at least a GM now that can spot and bring in some talent. And hopefully we've got a good coaching staff that can get some proper execution from the players.

[Beerball]

I know that they don't need it, but this seems to be an appropriate place for my public mia culpa regarding the organization. I assumed that SJ would walk but he was re-signed. I assumed that Buddy was blowing smoke about his plan, but entering year 3 the team is poised to make some noise. I don't think that I ever led the 'Ralph is cheap' chants, but I did participate from time to time. For these and my other percieved or real transgression I apologize.

 

If the remaining holes can be filled via FA & the draft (and the IR) then we can contend in the division. Added depth is also needed, especially IMO the backup QB position.

 

I assumed that Fitzgerald was less than average after last season's slide, but I came to find out that he was playing with cracked ribs. I don't know how much that led to his ineffectiveness, but he has earned another go at it in my book.

 

OK, I feel better now.

[yungmack]

On a personal note, have I entered the twilight zone?

 

My bbb stands for Bills, Bonnies and Bruce (Springsteen). Those were the three boards I would go to when I got first got on the Internet (and still the only three I really spend much time on).

 

So, Bruce's album is #1, the Bonnies win the A-10 tournament and are Dancing, and the Bills sign Mario Williams - all in one week!

 

Add that it's 70 degrees in mid-March (Buddy said on GR that Mario's signing seemed destined - since we could have just as well had 7 feet of snow), the stock market is at 5 year highs, unemployment is going down, etc.

I now am pretty sure the Mayans were right about 2012.

Spoken like a true child of WNY! If things are going too well, doom must be just around the corner. I know the feeling all too well.

[UpperDeck]

I know that they don't need it, but this seems to be an appropriate place for my public mia culpa regarding the organization. I assumed that SJ would walk but he was re-signed. I assumed that Buddy was blowing smoke about his plan, but entering year 3 the team is poised to make some noise. I don't think that I ever led the 'Ralph is cheap' chants, but I did participate from time to time. For these and my other percieved or real transgression I apologize.

 

If the remaining holes can be filled via FA & the draft (and the IR) then we can contend in the division. Added depth is also needed, especially IMO the backup QB position.

 

I assumed that Fitzgerald was less than average after last season's slide, but I came to find out that he was playing with cracked ribs. I don't know how much that led to his ineffectiveness, but he has earned another go at it in my book.

 

OK, I feel better now.

Who cares about Arizona's WR? We need our QB to look as good as he did the beginning of the last year.

[mattsox]

On a personal note, have I entered the twilight zone?

 

My bbb stands for Bills, Bonnies and Bruce (Springsteen). Those were the three boards I would go to when I got first got on the Internet (and still the only three I really spend much time on).

 

So, Bruce's album is #1, the Bonnies win the A-10 tournament and are Dancing, and the Bills sign Mario Williams - all in one week!

 

Add that it's 70 degrees in mid-March (Buddy said on GR that Mario's signing seemed destined - since we could have just as well had 7 feet of snow), the stock market is at 5 year highs, unemployment is going down, etc.

 

I now am pretty sure the Mayans were right about 2012.

 

I'm starting to agree. LOL

[Beerball]

Who cares about Arizona's WR? We need our QB to look as good as he did the beginning of the last year.

Sorry, I meant to say Fitzgibbons.

[7boogiewoogie]

Seeing as how Nix has been a pretty straight shooter so far, it makes you wonder if the lack of spending on good players and overspending on bad players has really been due to bad management under Ralph?

 

Not that Ralph doesn't take some blame, but a good GM should be able to talk him out of most of the bad decisions he wants to make. And a good GM should be able to make good decisions on their own.

 

Maybe Ralph's just softening his approach as he's getting older and letting the GM make more decisions?

 

Or maybe we've had some really terrible, god-awful management people for many years that haven't been able to acquire good players or tell Ralph no when they disagree with him?

 

 

The problem is that he's let his GM's make most of the decisions in the past. He trusts the people he hires, unfortunately he's had the wrong management in place ever since John Butler left for San Diego. Oh well better late than never, Buddy is proving to be very good at what he does as well as the staff that he's put together.

[Joe Miner]

The problem is that he's let his GM's make most of the decisions in the past. He trusts the people he hires, unfortunately he's had the wrong management in place ever since John Butler left for San Diego. Oh well better late than never, Buddy is proving to be very good at what he does as well as the staff that he's put together.

 

Well, unfortunately, Buddy is only one piece of the management puzzle.

[Lurker]

Here's the comment that caught my eye:

 

"Buddy is a great talent guy. On top of it, he's a hard worker. He goes around to all these schools. He doesn't let somebody else tell him this guy is a first-round pick or a top-round pick unless he's seen him and talked to him. Buddy changed the whole thing around when he got there."

 

I remember reading that Tom Donohoe never talked to/visited with Mike Williams prior to his selection. That seemed really odd when you think about making such a critical commitment to a player. The "someone else telling him a guy is a top-round pick" statement certainly resonates in that instance.

 

Bottom line: It's good to have an old fashioned player personnel man in charge of the team again...

[Dopey]

I agree. Calling Ralph cheap doesn't really do justice to how bad of a CEO he's been.

 

For the Bills to be successful, the management under their horrible CEO is going to have to be very good if not outstanding.

 

I would posit that it's been equally as terrible for a while now.

 

Hopefully (and maybe I'm still on a Mario high) we've got at least a GM now that can spot and bring in some talent. And hopefully we've got a good coaching staff that can get some proper execution from the players.

Calling Ralph cheap doesn't really do justice to how bad of a CEO he's been

Depends on who's perspective you are looking at. As CEO of the Bills he has maintained a franchise that has turned a profit almost every year, if not every year. He owns the team outright. Sounds like a hell of a CEO to me. Hell of a deal with Toronto he made a few years ago too. Worked hard at regionalizing the franchise(see Rochester and Toronto).Every once in a while I try to remind folks that this is a business he's running. The business has to be healthy/profitable to be a stable business. He cares about winning but it is a business first.IMO he's been a hell of a CEO. Especially in a City with a national reputation as a dump(see Brady). He also was one of 2 owners who balked at the previous aggreement between the owners and the NFL. Turned out he was right because they tried to fix it last year. Again, great CEO.

[Mike in Syracuse]

Here's a few standout quotes:

"We owe it to Buffalo, the fans in Western New York and everybody to make the move. And let's get going."

That's a great statement no matter how you look at it. He could have moved this team and made a LOT more money but he's remained loyal to western NY.

 

"I didn't give a darn about the money," Wilson said. "I can't take the money with me. The money had nothing to do with it. Buddy figured out how much it would take to get him. He put the price on, and we went from there."

Ralph is cheap!

 

"I've got a lot of faith in Buddy and Chan,"

This says to me that he's going to let Buddy and Chan build a champion. I'm good with that.

[FitzShowUsYourTitz]

On a personal note, have I entered the twilight zone?

 

My bbb stands for Bills, Bonnies and Bruce (Springsteen). Those were the three boards I would go to when I got first got on the Internet (and still the only three I really spend much time on).

 

So, Bruce's album is #1, the Bonnies win the A-10 tournament and are Dancing, and the Bills sign Mario Williams - all in one week!

 

Add that it's 70 degrees in mid-March (Buddy said on GR that Mario's signing seemed destined - since we could have just as well had 7 feet of snow), the stock market is at 5 year highs, unemployment is going down, etc.

 

I now am pretty sure the Mayans were right about 2012.

 

 

Holy Cr_p! I'm gonna go buy a lotery ticket. You sure as hell better.

[bbb]

Great article. But Mark Gaughan wrote it, not Tim Graham. Give credit where credit is due.

 

Sorry, I got it in a tweet from Tim Graham, so I thought he wrote it. I see Beerball has changed the subject line.

 

I definitely need to buy lottery tickets!

[Cash]

Great interview, and great to see the kind of comments from Ralph that we've been asking for for years. "Can't take it with you", etc. This is the most hopeful I've been as a Bills fan in a while!

[GG]

Calling Ralph cheap doesn't really do justice to how bad of a CEO he's been

Depends on who's perspective you are looking at. As CEO of the Bills he has maintained a franchise that has turned a profit almost every year, if not every year. He owns the team outright. Sounds like a hell of a CEO to me. Hell of a deal with Toronto he made a few years ago too. Worked hard at regionalizing the franchise(see Rochester and Toronto).Every once in a while I try to remind folks that this is a business he's running. The business has to be healthy/profitable to be a stable business. He cares about winning but it is a business first.IMO he's been a hell of a CEO. Especially in a City with a national reputation as a dump(see Brady). He also was one of 2 owners who balked at the previous aggreement between the owners and the NFL. Turned out he was right because they tried to fix it last year. Again, great CEO.

 

If you want to take Jeff Litmann's perspective, then Wislon has been the ideal CEO. I took a shortcut from the fan's standpoint, since the Buffalo Bills football product has been awful more often than not.

 

Yes, it is a managerial marvel that Wilson could deliver a mediocre product in an economically depressed area to generate some of the highest operating income figures in the league. But as a consumer of that product, you have to admit that the product sucked.

[Dopey]

If you want to take Jeff Litmann's perspective, then Wislon has been the ideal CEO. I took a shortcut from the fan's standpoint, since the Buffalo Bills football product has been awful more often than not.

 

Yes, it is a managerial marvel that Wilson could deliver a mediocre product in an economically depressed area to generate some of the highest operating income figures in the league. But as a consumer of that product, you have to admit that the product sucked.

From a consumers perspective, I agree. I like to defend Ralph because Fan(atics) don't seem to get that it is a business first. For you young guys, check the history of nfl teams and you'll see most if not all have their cycles of being good and bad. Alot of them were bad for long periods of time as well. If you are a fan long enough, you'll see it's cyclical and the nfl's system makes it hard to sustain a dynasty. All of this leads to my point that Ralph has been a hell of a CEO and owner. Hell, what has Washington or Dallas gotten with all that $ their wonderful CEO's have spent.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Dopey

[thewildrabbit]

Well, unfortunately, Buddy is only one piece of the management puzzle.

 

This signing took more then Buddy Nix, this approval came right from the boss. Plus is was completed under the direction of the 3 headed monster. This Org doesn't spend 100 million without Wilson giving the OK. The man could be 99% gone and he still be on the phone to OBD directing traffic.

 

If you want to take Jeff Litmann's perspective, then Wislon has been the ideal CEO. I took a shortcut from the fan's standpoint, since the Buffalo Bills football product has been awful more often than not.

 

Yes, it is a managerial marvel that Wilson could deliver a mediocre product in an economically depressed area to generate some of the highest operating income figures in the league. But as a consumer of that product, you have to admit that the product sucked.

 

Its just too darn bad he didn't feel this same way in 2002, instead of 2012. Anyway its here now, and nobody can say Ralph is cheap any longer.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Fear the Beard

[GG]

From a consumers perspective, I agree. I like to defend Ralph because Fan(atics) don't seem to get that it is a business first. For you young guys, check the history of nfl teams and you'll see most if not all have their cycles of being good and bad. Alot of them were bad for long periods of time as well. If you are a fan long enough, you'll see it's cyclical and the nfl's system makes it hard to sustain a dynasty. All of this leads to my point that Ralph has been a hell of a CEO and owner. Hell, what has Washington or Dallas gotten with all that $ their wonderful CEO's have spent.

 

The reason many teams go through cycles is that because the franchises are usually owned by megalomaniacal control freaks who want the ultimate trophy - being part of the exclusive club of 32. Beyond that, the similarities end some guys want to win at all costs, some guys want to preserve a family legacy, other guys want to make as much money as possible. Wilson's preference was for the latter two - that's why he never sold the franchise, but wanted to make sure he made as much money out of the Bills as long as he owns them. There is a distinct pattern to Bills' cycles - Wilson hires bad managers, turns them over frequently until he stumbles onto a good one. Friction between the GM and owner then forces the GM out, and Wilson replaces the guy with the closest person standing next to him (kind of like Darth Vader going through commanders). The team then spirals downward until season tickets fall below 15,000. Wilson then makes a "franchise saving" move to spur the team's competitiveness and the fans come back.

 

But you also can't compare sport franchise ownership to a regular business, because you have a limited supply of teams and a very captive audience for those teams. Wilson doesn't have to worry about competition like a McDonalds franchisee might. But you may also see a parallel to Wilson's momentary awakenings to upgrade his team to what's going on with the hockey club. Interesting comparison over time. Don't underestimate the effect that Pegula had on Wilson's management style this year.

 

Yes Wilson deserves a lot of credit for keeping the franchise in Buffalo for 50 yrs. It also shouldn't be ignored that he's been able to do it because of the audience's willingness to buy an inferior product for the majority of its existence. The only reason he's been able to do that is because he makes $200 million/yr out of NFL revenue sharing without doing much more than fielding a roster.

 

If he ran a regular business like he's run the Bills, he would have been bankrupt several times, because he has usually hired incompetent managers.

[thewildrabbit]

The reason many teams go through cycles is that because the franchises are usually owned by megalomaniacal control freaks who want the ultimate trophy - being part of the exclusive club of 32. Beyond that, the similarities end some guys want to win at all costs, some guys want to preserve a family legacy, other guys want to make as much money as possible. Wilson's preference was for the latter two - that's why he never sold the franchise, but wanted to make sure he made as much money out of the Bills as long as he owns them. There is a distinct pattern to Bills' cycles - Wilson hires bad managers, turns them over frequently until he stumbles onto a good one. Friction between the GM and owner then forces the GM out, and Wilson replaces the guy with the closest person standing next to him (kind of like Darth Vader going through commanders). The team then spirals downward until season tickets fall below 15,000. Wilson then makes a "franchise saving" move to spur the team's competitiveness and the fans come back.

 

But you also can't compare sport franchise ownership to a regular business, because you have a limited supply of teams and a very captive audience for those teams. Wilson doesn't have to worry about competition like a McDonalds franchisee might. But you may also see a parallel to Wilson's momentary awakenings to upgrade his team to what's going on with the hockey club. Interesting comparison over time. Don't underestimate the effect that Pegula had on Wilson's management style this year.

 

Yes Wilson deserves a lot of credit for keeping the franchise in Buffalo for 50 yrs. It also shouldn't be ignored that he's been able to do it because of the audience's willingness to buy an inferior product for the majority of its existence. The only reason he's been able to do that is because he makes $200 million/yr out of NFL revenue sharing without doing much more than fielding a roster.

 

If he ran a regular business like he's run the Bills, he would have been bankrupt several times, because he has usually hired incompetent managers.

 

I don't agree with that last statement, you guys have no idea how much of a "control freak" Wilson really is. It was reported Wilson was on the phone for hours a day during the football season to both Jauron and now Gailey. I can only imagine he does the same thing with his people in the office at OBD.

 

Like I stated eariler: The man could be 99% gone and he still be on the phone to OBD directing traffic.

 

 

 

On another note,

 

http://espn.go.com/n...t-buffalo-bills

[GG]

I don't agree with that last statement, you guys have no idea how much of a "control freak" Wilson really is. It was reported Wilson was on the phone for hours a day during the football season to both Jauron and now Gailey. I can only imagine he does the same thing with his people in the office at OBD.

 

Like I stated eariler: The man could be 99% gone and he still be on the phone to OBD directing traffic.

 

 

 

On another note,

 

http://espn.go.com/n...t-buffalo-bills

 

I'll defend the old man on this one - a lot of those stories were a bit exaggerated.

 

And please if we're going to link an AP story, at least throw wawrow a bone and find the story with his byline on it. The man needs cash to tip the barkeep tonight.