BADOLBILZ Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 It's funny how it's never his fault though. So far he has had 2 employees abruptly leave, another well respected person tell him no thanks to helping It's called leveraging your position. Marrone had an option and LaFontaine and Polian didn't really want jobs. Unless it was just right, of course. What they did want was money from Daddy Warbucks. It's a byproduct of taking over two messy organizations. I think he is doing a good job re-building the Sabres. The Bills are 2-3 players away from being as talented as any team in the league. He can't help it if Marrone, Whaley and Russ played this season out like it was their last at the expense of development. That was out of his reach. This situation was set in motion the day Ralph died and they gained more power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Lafontaine worked for the Islanders front office for 40 days back in 2012 before he had a nasty blowup There is a pattern with him: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304023504577319912036433148 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannc Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Nope. We have a new level of retardation. You don't luck your way into becoming a !@#$ing billionaire. Jesus Christ. You mean like Paul Allen did? Dan Snyder is a self-made billionaire who is incompetent to run an NFL franchise. The OP raises legitimate questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 It's called leveraging your position. Marrone had an option and LaFontaine and Polian didn't really want jobs. Unless it was just right, of course. What they did want was money from Daddy Warbucks. It's a byproduct of taking over two messy organizations. I think he is doing a good job re-building the Sabres. The Bills are 2-3 players away from being as talented as any team in the league. He can't help it if Marrone, Whaley and Russ played this season out like it was their last at the expense of development. That was out of his reach. This situation was set in motion the day Ralph died and they gained more power. Very well may be the case. I want to see him close some deals in the next few weeks. We can't afford to wait until February to get a front office in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Time will tell, but using the Sabres as evidence against him is hilarious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtebow15 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I love what Pegula has done with the Sabres. Instead of fielding teams capable of sneaking into the playoffs but little chance of advancing because they are full of mediocre players in front of a decent goalie he tore the thing down, hired a good GM and stock piled first round draft picks with three more coming this year. They already have one of the strongest farm systems. After next year they will bring these guys along together and really compete for quite awhile in my opinion. You can already see the improvement but they need McDavid or the other guy in this draft to really set things up. It's a solid plan. I think he is interested in building a great team - not just a playoff team. I wouldn't mind at all if the same was done with the Bills. I suspect he is also upset the idiots traded away the Bills number one pick this year when it wasn't necessary. I can't figure out why Whaley is still here unless Cowher is a fan and his play will be to get Cohwer in here. Russ is buddies with Whaley so there is that dynamic as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuncha Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) You don't follow hockey Ok - lets look at this. Pegula took over Feb 22, 2011: 2010-2011 season - 96 points (qualified for post season) 2011-2012 season - 86 points ( did not qualify) 2012-2013 season - 48 points (did not qualify) 2013-2014 season - 52 points (did not qualify) 2014-2015 season - on pace for 60 some points which will be another did not qualify season. This isn't hockey - I don't know what to call it, thus the reason I don't "follow" hockey. All I know is Pegula hasn't done a thing with this team since he took over. Nice guy & will keep our teams here but he is INCOMPETENT as an owner. Edited January 1, 2015 by Azucho98 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixxxer Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 This is how myths are born. Every little fallout will have attached this perceived Pegula's incompetence to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 Ok - lets look at this. Pegula took over Feb 22, 2011: 2010-2011 season - 96 points (qualified for post season) 2011-2012 season - 86 points ( did not qualify) 2012-2013 season - 48 points (did not qualify) 2013-2014 season - 52 points (did not qualify) 2014-2015 season - on pace for 60 some points which will be another did not qualify season. This isn't hockey - I don't know what to call it, thus the reason I don't "follow" hockey. All I know is Pegula hasn't done a thing with this team since he took over. Nice guy & will keep our teams here but he is INCOMPETENT as an owner. I disagree with this and it wasn't the question I meant to ask. The Sabres seem set up for success. I'm worried about loose management, vague and undefined roles, and whether there is clear and sound strategic planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtebow15 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Ok - lets look at this. Pegula took over Feb 22, 2011: 2010-2011 season - 96 points (qualified for post season) 2011-2012 season - 86 points ( did not qualify) 2012-2013 season - 48 points (did not qualify) 2013-2014 season - 52 points (did not qualify) 2014-2015 season - on pace for 60 some points which will be another did not qualify season. This isn't hockey - I don't know what to call it, thus the reason I don't "follow" hockey. All I know is Pegula hasn't done a thing with this team since he took over. Nice guy & will keep our teams here but he is INCOMPETENT as an owner. It takes longer in hockey. You can't just tank for one year like the Colts did and get a franchise QB. The Sabres have stockpiled early draft picks. Wait until two years from now 2016-2017. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 It's called leveraging your position. Marrone had an option and LaFontaine and Polian didn't really want jobs. Unless it was just right, of course. What they did want was money from Daddy Warbucks. It's a byproduct of taking over two messy organizations. I think he is doing a good job re-building the Sabres. The Bills are 2-3 players away from being as talented as any team in the league. He can't help it if Marrone, Whaley and Russ played this season out like it was their last at the expense of development. That was out of his reach. This situation was set in motion the day Ralph died and they gained more power. The front office atmosphere has to be wretched due to uncertainty and possibly with everyone trying to position themselves by playing screw-your-buddy. Just a hunch that Russ is on his way out of the Bills I could see him working for Pegula S&E, but I think he has to move on from the front-office at 1BD. Everyone knew that Ralph's organization was a mess and yes Littman is gone now, but everyone else is still there. I still don't see this as a "heavy lift" in regards to the players or GM. You have to take what Polian said at face value, but situations can change, such as us hiring a HC and easing that burden a bit... It is just too soon to tell and there is too much BS out there from all sides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 It's been a whole day since marrone took the money and ran and Pegula doesn't have a new head coach in place? Oh My God! Where's Bon Jovi when we need him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 All may be true. I was ambivalent about Polian returning, and I was ambivalent about Lafontaine returning. The thing is, Pegula wanted to hire both guys, and both guys said no (Pat said yes, then flipped out). And I also have to believe that Pegula didn't want Marrone to leave. So that's three guys Pegula wanted around, who declined. Maybe all three are just difficult personalities - quite possibly that's the case. And maybe we're better off without any of them. But the fact is, Pegula is the one who couldn't close the deal with any of them, for whatever reason. I'm hoping it's not a harbinger of something deeper, but I think it's ok to ask the question. If you've been in management long enough you see people with even tiny amounts of leverage try to make moves. An important person leaves and that makes other people feel empowered to make demands. A subordinate who is pushing the guy in front of him leaves and now the other guy feels like he's got you over a barrel. I've handled situations both ways and my advice is if somebody like Marrone....decidedly average...... tries to make a play like that on you when he thinks you are vulnerable then you should move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted William's frozen head Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) I wonder if TG didn't just jab at the reason why Polian turned down Pegula by using Marrone to try to flesh out the truth. It could possibly screw up Polian's HOF chances this year by making it look like he is actually going to be active again and has a backdoor deal. Payback can be a B word. I really don't want Polian back though. He's washed up. Precisely my thoughts. Not sure if the old man is washed up. I think a lot depends on his potential role with the team. In any case, the offseason so far is a much bigger soap opera than I thought it was going to be, and my thinking was (only) that a number of bodies would be flying out of the Front Office..... The old Chinese proverb, "May you live in interesting times" comes to mind. Edited January 1, 2015 by Ted William's frozen head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 I'm asking the question, not stating it as a fact or even an opinion. But right now, here is what we know: Marrone chose to walk away and pocket some cash instead of working for Pegula. Polian talked to Pegula about serving as a consultant, and said "no thank you" - again, all he was going to do was consult, and something turned him off about the situation. Pat Lafontaine stormed out of the Sabres' organization because something about the management structure drove him mad. Right now, there does not appear to have been any coherent plan in place for the beginning of the NFL offseason - Pegula's first as team owner. He's had several months to figure out what he wanted to do, yet it seems like he's in reactive mode to the events unfolding in front of him. Maybe there's a plan and we're not privy to it, I really don't know. But I'm starting to wonder if this guy knows how to run a sports franchise. Something about him seems to be radioactive. Again, I'm just asking the question. I guess we'll find out soon enough. How is he supposed to be anything but reactive to two guys surprisingly walking out? Let's see how he reacts before saying he doesn't have a plan though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 If you've been in management long enough you see people with even tiny amounts of leverage try to make moves. An important person leaves and that makes other people feel empowered to make demands. A subordinate who is pushing the guy in front of him leaves and now the other guy feels like he's got you over a barrel. I've handled situations both ways and my advice is if somebody like Marrone....decidedly average...... tries to make a play like that on you when he thinks you are vulnerable then you should move on. I think that's exactly it. And Marrone also knew, articulated well in the Mannish Mehta article, that he could get another job. he hasn't been around long enough, other teams havent had time to vet him by talking to Bills officials, to know the kind of guy he is. I think the next job that Marrone takes is going to be his last NFL HC gig and he will go back to college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) How is he supposed to be anything but reactive to two guys surprisingly walking out? Let's see how he reacts before saying he doesn't have a plan though He's known (or should have known) about the opt-out possibility for months. And the Jets and Bears lined up their consultants weeks ago and have been working with them. Polian should've been onboard by now, or someone else should've been brought in if Polian wasn't going to be fully invested in this. I'm not saying there is no plan, but I'm saying, if there is a plan, now would be a good time to hear it. If you've been in management long enough you see people with even tiny amounts of leverage try to make moves. An important person leaves and that makes other people feel empowered to make demands. A subordinate who is pushing the guy in front of him leaves and now the other guy feels like he's got you over a barrel. I've handled situations both ways and my advice is if somebody like Marrone....decidedly average...... tries to make a play like that on you when he thinks you are vulnerable then you should move on. This is a good post. Edited January 1, 2015 by Coach Tuesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
respk Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Wow. That was a short honeymoon. It is going to be a long painful offseason I have the feeling. We went from Ralph is cheap to Terry is incompetent at light speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 We went from Ralph is cheap to Terry is incompetent at light speed. Continuity is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Continuity is important Not to Marrone. You stab your best five backs regardless of position or continuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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