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Russ Brandon named President/CEO


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After listening to the press conference, I continue to remain dubious of this "groundbreaking news."

 

For the President & CEO of a franchise with the longest playoff drought in NFL history to stand up and state that Buddy Nix's capabilities pertaining to talent evaluation, is "unmatched" it is not only disingenuous, it's a joke. Buddy's talent evaluation capabilities have been abominable, both in terms of coach selection and collegiate drafting.

 

Russ Brandon is a great marketer - no doubt about it. But this team desperately needs a fresh approach in talent evaluation like Thomas Dimitroff of the Falcons. It's clear that this is not what the Bills are getting and it's quite unfortunate. While I truly hope I am wrong, I do believe that this new regime will be "more of the same."

Edited by Dawgg
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Yes, Ralph owns the team. The whole point of this news is that "the buck stops" with Russ. He alone has final say on everything.

 

Unless Ralph decides to meddle.... Which he 100% could, but I think this is actually him agreeing to take a step or two back. It also puts Russ above guys like littman and overdorf instead of peers to some degree.

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Here are my thoughts:

 

1] This is both good and bad. Russ Brandon is GREAT at his job. If he does indeed stay out of football decisions as he says he will, then this is a positive step. It helps with bringing in a good coach.

 

2] The Nix thing is puzzling. It's impossible to tell when he is thinking about stepping down. My THOUGHT is that it would be stupid for Russ or Buddy or anyone saying when Buddy is stepping down if they are seeking a coach. The coach would say let me talk to Whaley though. Nix is going to select this coach unless Brandon doesn't like the coach a lot. Nix will work with the coach during the draft. IF it's a big name, that will likely make his departure quicker.

 

3] The three headed monster may be bad for bringing in a guy. Maybe the new guy won't like. I doubt very much it matters.

 

4] If this has any way lessened the role of Littman and Overdorf, this is a good day. I don't think any of us know the answer to that. That said, I have had very little problem whatsoever about money since Buddy Nix came in.

 

5] I did a little research a couple years ago, and outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Rooneys, there wasn't one GM in the league that had picked two consecutive good HCs. It's hard to find a good HC. A Lot of stuff has to happen simultaneously. Bad coaches have good years, good coaches have bad years. Chan didn't work but he actually could have with a few different things happening. He didn't so he had to go.

 

6] There are not a lot or even a few clear cut good HCs or QBs available. Better than we had? Probably. There are not a lot so prepare to not be wowed.

 

7] The one thing I hate about this is that I hate listening to Russ Brandon. He's just full of crap sometimes about how awesome and fabulous everything is. He's great at his job though. I would imagine that any coach coming in would like to work with him.

 

1) What is the down side? It's been assumed Ralph was holding the team back. Now he's out of the picture. Is this bad? How can you judge anyone in the organization when Ralph was meddling?

 

2) Whaley was hired to eventually be GM. As for right now, Nix has all the scouting for the 2013 draft. Firing him now is stupid. How long will Nix remain?

 

3) You assume to know how things will work.

 

6) Based on what?

 

7) I missed the part where he said everything is great. What I heard was franchise tainted by losing or something like that.

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this. there is no mechanism to stop wilson from interfering unless he s no longer owner....and we all know, that's what we really wanted.

 

In most matters, as long as people have the feeling they need to confirm with Russ and not with Ralph, it will make a big difference. Decisions will be made quicker. Presumably the head coach will not have to talk to RW "every week". And, there might be a lot of decisions that previously would have gone to RW, which RB will make and tell him later, after they are executed, rather than getting his opinion. Sure, in theory RW could fire RB. But in practice, that is only going to happen after several years and/or a big financial loss. And there might not be several years left for that to happen under Ralph. Furthermore - this is important for another reason. If RW does die in the next few years, there will be a period of time before new ownership is established. This structure gives Russ the true authority to run the franchise during that period which could substantially improve stability over the medium term.

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this. there is no mechanism to stop wilson from interfering unless he s no longer owner....and we all know, that's what we really wanted.

 

Russ Brandon has final say--- on everything. Wilson has ceded total control to Russ Brandon.

 

Ralph is still the owner, but he is completely out of the decision making process. That is the point of the press conference.

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Russ Brandon has final say--- on everything. Wilson has ceded total control to Russ Brandon.

 

Ralph is still the owner, but he is completely out of the decision making process. That is the point of the press conference.

No one knows if that's actually how it's going to play out. And to what degree Ralph is out of the process. And even if he's conpletely out he has the authority to fire Brandon or anyone else at any time if he doesn't like what they're doing. He's very much involved no matter.

Edited by Joe_the_6_pack
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Ralph is still the owner, but he is completely out of the decision making process. That is the point of the press conference.

 

Exactly. The Bills didn't hold a press conference to tell everyone they made a change in a powerpoint chart. There wasn't an emotional meeting because Ralph still is signing off on everything.

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Russ Brandon has final say--- on everything. Wilson has ceded total control to Russ Brandon.

 

Ralph is still the owner, but he is completely out of the decision making process. That is the point of the press conference.

 

The flip side is still.... Who's going to stop Ralph if he picks up the phone?

 

I'm hoping this means he won't but just saying that Russ is in charge by itself doesn't mean Ralph is out of the loop. I think he will step back but he doesn't necessarily have to totally step out.

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In most matters, as long as people have the feeling they need to confirm with Russ and not with Ralph, it will make a big difference. Decisions will be made quicker. Presumably the head coach will not have to talk to RW "every week". And, there might be a lot of decisions that previously would have gone to RW, which RB will make and tell him later, after they are executed, rather than getting his opinion. Sure, in theory RW could fire RB. But in practice, that is only going to happen after several years and/or a big financial loss. And there might not be several years left for that to happen under Ralph. Furthermore - this is important for another reason. If RW does die in the next few years, there will be a period of time before new ownership is established. This structure gives Russ the true authority to run the franchise during that period which could substantially improve stability over the medium term.

i find it interesting that some of the same folks who so staunchly defend wilson, now admit how detrimental his meddling was. and now, he's totally changed his stripes but i'd feel more sanguin if we knew of a corporate document limiting wilsons input. and then there's still littman and overdorff. seems like baby steps to me. hope i'm wrong.
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