Nix needs to go

[KOKBILLS]

 

But overall Nix could have done way better than he has, and really dropped the ball hoping Fitz would be the answer. Even if you think he is the guy you still bring in guys that can challenge him so that they can make him work harder or take over if he isn't the answer.

 

Exactly...This has been Buddy's biggest mistake...And the main reason why I don't think the guy has what it takes to be a good GM...If you can't understand the importance of the QB position in the NFL...And the need to continue to at least TRY to get better there...Well...IMHO you've got no business being an NFL GM...

 

Sorry Buddy...You've got to go...

[NFLBighits]

They all need to go but keep Doug Whaley and the Water Boy

 

Passing on Wilson and kapernickel has are front office not making any cents/sense : )

[KOKBILLS]

 

The Bills record under Nix is 15-31.

 

The problem with old school type football people such as Nix/Gailey is that they are too imprisoned by their rigid thinking. There is little creativity or ability to see beyond their outdated views and think outside of their small box. Russell Wilson didn't fit their mold of what a qb should look like. So they passed. As the game in Toronto demonstrated he as a rookie exhibited exceptional talent. If anyone watched Kirk Cousins yesterday in the Skins/Browns game it was obvious that as a rookie he is a much more accomplished player than the veteran qb that Nix/Gailey decided to anoint as their franchise qb. The same pedestrian qb they gave a relatively rich contract that was beyond his limited ability.

 

Expecting incompetents to make decisions to get this bedraggled franchise out of its generational rut that they themselves created is futile. When you get on a merry-go-round you go in circles. That cycle of futility stays the same because the same caliber of decision-makers keep getting us on the same circular ride to nowhere.

 

You don't have to be a genius or have gone to Harvard Business School to figure out that when you hire mediocre people you get mediocre results.

 

Agreed...

 

The rigid thinking that led the Bills to believe that they needed a speed WR more in the 3rd Round than a legit QB prospect like Williams, or even Cousins, speaks volumes about the way Buddy and Chan are leading this Organization...It's just bad judgement WAY too often..And worse, it's bad judgement concerning the most important position in the league...They both have to go...

[BillsVet]

Marv Levy/Russ Brandon GM tenure 2006-09: 27-37 (.421)

Buddy Nix GM tenure 2010-present 15-31 (.326)

 

Two non-personnel people have out-done Buddy. I guess Buddy meant it when he said he wasn't the smartest guy in the (football) room. Little did we know that included the reporters covering him.

[BuffBill]

Whaley's cred comes from his time in Pittsburgh. That, and he's not 75 years old.

Same exact quote could have been used about a decade ago for Donohoe also. Maybe it is more the franchise being so stellar in Pittsburgh?

[JohnC]

The Gailey hire reeked of desperation 3 years ago, and it's abundantly clearer now. Bills were in an embarrassing position of having each high profile candidate turn them down. Accounts are that the jet was fueld up for a trip to Palo Alto to throw the kitchen sink at Harbaugh, and he said don't bother. Within 24 hours Bills announced the Gailey hiring out of the blue.

 

It's not that Wilson didn't try last time around. He put on a real effort to recruit top flight coaching. The trouble he Wdidn't recognize was that by hiring Nix as GM a few weeks before, he poisoned the well, because the coaching candidates didn't want to risk their careers on an unproven 70-yr old GM who was very likely over his head.

 

Now we see that it worked out exactly how they feared.

 

The Gailey hire never made sense. It's abundantly clear that no high profile coaching candidate was interested in coming to this garbage organization. Any HC who had options was not going to an organization that was well known to be a graveyard for HCs. The fallback position, as you describe it, was still stupid. Chan Gailey was a retread HC with a mediocre record. Just as Fitz was always a backup caliber qb regardless of his elevation to the starting job Chan was a known quantity prior to his hiring. There was absolutely nothing special about his less than average record.

 

What could be the reason for Nix to panic and allow himself to be resigned to this pedestrian HC candidate? Why not attempt to hire an up and coming young assistant coach or coordinator? From what I can observe there was not a serious search for a coach after the higher profile coaches thumbed their noses at this dysfunctional organization. This was simply another one of his long catalogue of bad decisions that have set this pathetic back even farther.

 

The GM's job is the most important job in an NFL franchise. The weird owner hired an old scout whom no other franchise would even allow to interview for a GM position, let alone seriously consider him, without interviewing anyone else. Why? Simply because he was the only person on the candidate list brought to him that he faintly knew. It's crazy, simply crazy.

[BillsVet]

The GM's job is the most important job in an NFL franchise. The weird owner hired an old scout whom no other franchise would even allow to interview for a GM position, let alone seriously consider him, without interviewing anyone else. Why? Simply because he was the only person on the candidate list brought to him that he faintly knew. It's crazy, simply crazy.

 

Nix interviewed for the Falcons then vacant GM job after Petrino left. That job when to a former Patriots guy, Thomas Dimitroff.

 

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2007/12/21/118981/Buddy-Nix-Eyed-As-Falcons-General-Manager.aspx

 

Still, when you only interview 2 in-house candidates and one of them is later fired, you can only conclude neither were in much demand. Which fits perfectly into the Bills' MO for interviews. Funny thing is, Nix's record is much worse than what Levy/Brandon did. Imagine Brandon throwing that into the argument against Nix.

[JohnC]

Nix interviewed for the Falcons then vacant GM job after Petrino left. That job when to a former Patriots guy, Thomas Dimitroff.

 

http://www.chattanoo...al-Manager.aspx

 

Still, when you only interview 2 in-house candidates and one of them is later fired, you can only conclude neither were in much demand. Which fits perfectly into the Bills' MO for interviews. Funny thing is, Nix's record is much worse than what Levy/Brandon did. Imagine Brandon throwing that into the argument against Nix.

 

I stand corrected. But given that error the hiring of Nix as a GM for a franchise that was afflicted with such deep dysfunction was an absurdity. Although Nix was interviewed in Atlanta I doubt that he was a serious candidate for the GM positon. Their owner isn't an out of touch fool as is the absentee owner who resides in Michigan. The Atlanta owner ultimately hired a young candidate who was associated with the most successful franchise in the league, Pats. Compare the results after the Dimitroff hire with the results with the Nix hire. Compare the HC hire, Smith, for Atlanta with the Nix hire of Gailey. One of the first things that Dimitroff dd was secure his franchise qb. Going into his fourth year Buddy is now belatedly looking for a decent prospect.

 

As I stated with the prior post the GM position is the most important hire by an owner for a franchise. When you have a buffoon owner there should be no surprise when that critical selection is botched.

[BillsVet]

I stand corrected. But given that error the hiring of Nix as a GM for a franchise that was afflicted with such deep dysfunction was an absurdity. Although Nix was interviewed in Atlanta I doubt that he was a serious candidate for the GM positon. Their owner isn't an out of touch fool as is the absentee owner who resides in Michigan. The Atlanta owner ultimately hired a young candidate who was associated with the most successful franchise in the league, Pats. Compare the results after the Dimitroff hire with the results with the Nix hire. Compare the HC hire, Smith, for Atlanta with the Nix hire of Gailey. One of the first things that Dimitroff dd was secure his franchise qb. Going into his fourth year Buddy is now belatedly looking for a decent prospect.

 

As I stated with the prior post the GM position is the most important hire by an owner for a franchise. When you have a buffoon owner there should be no surprise when that critical selection is botched.

 

You won't get any argument from me about Nix. Atlanta wisely decided against him and selected an up and coming guy from a top organization. And make no mistake, Dimitroff went to work for a team that just jettisoned Rich McKay, had their coach quit, and were dropped by Bill Parcells.

 

I said Nix was a bad hire from Day 1 and was predictably chastised for not giving him enough time. Well, some fans didn't need to give him time. The guy's intro PC told me all I needed to know, that he was hired because he met the minimum requirements of A) knowing RW and B) working in personnel. When that's all your looking for, you the garbage this team puts out 16 times a year.

[HankBulloughMellencamp]

I am posting this as a realist more so than a Buddy Nix apologist. I want to add some perspective to his work as the Bills GM - flame away as you feel necessary. The Bills simply MUST rid themselves of Chan's demonstrated ineptitude, but not necesarrily Buddy because he has done a lot of things that make sense to me football-wise.

 

If the Bills totally clean house and promote Whaley, I couldn't argue too much, because I have no baby three years into this regime. But I need to see Chan ushered out long before I demand Buddy's head. Poorly prepared game plans, lackluster effort, and weak in-game decisions are the work of Chan, not Buddy. Poor defensive coordinators are Chan's call, not Buddy's. And how do we really know if this Whaley fella is anywhere near worthy of a GM gig, or is he just riding Pittsburgh's reputation like Tom Donahoe as many have suggested? Realistically, I also think Ralph will ultimately want to stick with Buddy and not blow it all up/admit to failure to that degree. And let's be honest, what Indy is doing with a whole new regime is about as rare as Andrew Luck himself.

 

I see lots of posts attacking Buddy's drafts, so let it be said that hindsight is always 20/20, and you can pick apart the drafts of nearly every NFL team. Jerry Sullivan so often reminds us of this in his customary "told-you-so" columns that conveniently benefit from hindsight (if not capitalize on it) ... the latest example being the "Nix could have had Russell Wilson, but instead traded up for T.J. Graham, who dropped 3 balls yesterday" angle. No one knows if Jerry even has a neck, because he surely has never stuck it out there.

 

Sullivan and others drilled Nix for two years about the "luxury" of the Spiller pick, but you don't hear that complaint today. Presumably the same people whined about how we traded Lynch away, but we all know that thug wanted out of Buffalo. Freddie has proved to be a more than capable replacement. Nix also kept Stevie around when some were convinced he wouldn't, and I'd bet dollars to Paula's Donuts he keeps Byrd and Levitre in the fold if he survives.

 

Nix deserves credit for developing a very good offensive line group on the cheap that is among the better units in the league. Cordy Glenn is a solid rookie LT, and will maul people for years ... lots of teams picked tackles but passed on him. Not sure how much weight Buddy carried in the decisions to select Wood and Levitre, but he sure pounced on Urbik, Rhinehardt, and Pears when other teams cut them - again, at bargain basement prices.

 

Same goes for the TE position, with Chandler and L. Smith plucked from the scrap heap. Chandler is currently the most productive TE in Bills history at the moment ... who can remember what a barren wasteland the TE position was before his ascent? (Dave Moore, Robert Royal, Mark Campbell, Derek Fine, Derek Schouman, Ryan Neufeld, Jonathan Stupar, etc).

 

My point is, it can be fixed quickly with the right head coach (P. Fewell? M. Zimmer?) and a few solid moves this offseason. Who knows, Fitz might very well restructure and become the perfect veteran tutor to a young QB.

[JohnC]

I am posting this as a realist more so than a Buddy Nix apologist. I want to add some perspective to his work as the Bills GM - flame away as you feel necessary. The Bills simply MUST rid themselves of Chan's demonstrated ineptitude, but not necesarrily Buddy because he has done a lot of things that make sense to me football-wise.

 

Nix hired Gailey. That hire never made sense to me. If there is anyone who should be held accountable for Chan's ineptitude it should be the person who hired him without putting much effort into examining other viable candidates.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

I am posting this as a realist more so than a Buddy Nix apologist. I want to add some perspective to his work as the Bills GM - flame away as you feel necessary. The Bills simply MUST rid themselves of Chan's demonstrated ineptitude, but not necesarrily Buddy because he has done a lot of things that make sense to me football-wise.

 

My point is, it can be fixed quickly with the right head coach (P. Fewell? M. Zimmer?) and a few solid moves this offseason. Who knows, Fitz might very well restructure and become the perfect veteran tutor to a young QB.

 

I was OK until we failed to draft a QB in the draft... ignoring our needs in the future has crippled us for years and Buddy is perpetuating it. I would not be upset if he didn't get fired, but Gailey and his staff has to go. I'm not flaming you, that's for sure because I can see your points.

[GG]

I stand corrected. But given that error the hiring of Nix as a GM for a franchise that was afflicted with such deep dysfunction was an absurdity. Although Nix was interviewed in Atlanta I doubt that he was a serious candidate for the GM positon. Their owner isn't an out of touch fool as is the absentee owner who resides in Michigan. The Atlanta owner ultimately hired a young candidate who was associated with the most successful franchise in the league, Pats. Compare the results after the Dimitroff hire with the results with the Nix hire. Compare the HC hire, Smith, for Atlanta with the Nix hire of Gailey. One of the first things that Dimitroff dd was secure his franchise qb. Going into his fourth year Buddy is now belatedly looking for a decent prospect.

 

As I stated with the prior post the GM position is the most important hire by an owner for a franchise. When you have a buffoon owner there should be no surprise when that critical selection is botched.

 

That hire singlehandedly made the Bills job toxic. Recall all the insider quibbles all over PFT that Bills never seriously considered other qualified GM candidates. The quotes were attributed to a disgruntled agent. But guess what folks, coaches listen to their agents, and when the agent advises you to avoid a job, you will avoid that job especially if you have options down the road.

 

Nix did not have to hire Gailey. Frazier interviewed and was a leading candidate. Yet, Nix pulled Gailey out of a hat. Thanks for the magic trick Buddy. And those early press conferences are bigger embarrassments in retrospect.