Reed83HOF Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 So do we still want to get rid of him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffaloed in Pa Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 He`s really being watched now. See what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I don't think he ever wrote bad contracts. Just guessing he has a bigger budget and different orders from a new owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I don't think he ever wrote bad contracts. Just guessing he has a bigger budget and different orders from a new owner. Were still 21m under - even if the McCoy saga is a fun one. Still quite a bit to go, though good reason to believe we get there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffHead Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 He's still wondering whether to start the facility tour upstairs or downstairs. Decisions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 I don't think he ever wrote bad contracts. Just guessing he has a bigger budget and different orders from a new owner. Dockery, Walker, Tripplet, Cornell Green....shall I go on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 He's not being watched, he's just been given different marching orders. Under Littman he was under a very limited budget, now being told, Damm the dollars. Even if Littman had stuck around likely would have been fine too, though he may have had a nervous breakdown signing the checks. Same with Russ too, he's been blamed for all the bad ill's of the past ten years, but in reality it was RW's marching orders. I've often wondered over the past two years when RW supposedly handed RB the keys to the place. Did RB have complete control to do anything he wants as long as he didn't spend a dime more than Littman told him to, or was he allowed to tell Littman where to set the budget at. Based on financial decisions of the past two years. I'm guessing Littman was still the one handing out the allowances for RW. He`s really being watched now. See what happens. How can that possibly be his fault?? That was the faulty of the GM and scouts to want to sign those players. If anything Overdolf likely due to limited funds got the contracts signed for less money than was being asked for. If Overdolf had an unlimited checkbook, those same players mentioned would have got even more money Dockery, Walker, Tripplet, Cornell Green....shall I go on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beef Jerky Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I am still going to call him Overdork when I can't remember his real name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 The test now in my mind is can we spend more freely without ending up in cap jail in a year or two...or three. That's the test. Like the draft, I think it's too soon to tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmsbills Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Under Ralph and Jeff Littman - there was always limits on cash - bonus money up front was always an issue - there was never any creative ways to get things done - even if the FO guys had ideas - and I am sure they did - but you have to have the big cash up front - look at the Shady deal - Drew Is already texting "highest paid RB" and we saved over 4 million agains the cap this year - so both side win. I always felt this FO is fine - and under Kim and Terry they will get things done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Dockery, Walker, Tripplet, Cornell Green....shall I go on? He signs players the GM tells him to sign. Contracts weren't bad. The players were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I believe he's a technician, not a decision maker . He does what he's told within the parameters he's given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Well, aren't we all?? I believe he's a technician, not a decision maker . He does what he's told within the parameters he's given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
217014170 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Overdorf is very good at his job. Period. Littman controlled the purse strings for Ralph Wilson Enterprises...of which the Bills were just one piece. Littman was introduced at the dawn of the free agent/salary cap era and was in a no-win situation. Some of Ralph's large personal expenses were also routed through Littman's office and sometimes he was even told "no". Littman's job was to keep RWE solvent and there is a lot of saying "no" that is involved when 4-5 entities are asking for the same dollar. To complicate matters, in the days before the salary cap football guys had no clue how to justify a request for cash and most did not think they should have to. Why do you think Bill Polian struggled? His access to Ralph was blocked by a "bean counter" and he had to explain himself. Littman took the emotion out of financial decisions relating to football. A lot of NFL (and other pro sports) teams have historically ran their operations on lines of credit and then paid those debts off when the $140MM+ TV shared revenue check came in each year. Then started over in the new league year. That's why the salary cap is so closely tied to the shared TV revenue check each team gets. "Other" money for "regular" tickets is shared while premium seats, etc. are not - which is how teams pay for non-player overhead - staff salaries, travel, etc... In a lot of cases, staff bonuses are even tied to extra revenue generated by playoff appearances - so if you don't go to the playoffs you don't get a bonus no matter how much you killed yourself that year. "TV channels see sports as vital to their lineups because 97% of all sports programming is watched live, according to securities firm Jefferies Group LLC. CBS, 21st Century Fox Inc.'s Fox, NBC and Walt Disney Co. 's ESPN have committed to pay $5 billion a year to air NFL games through the 2021 season." The 2015 salary cap is ~$143MM. ($143M x 32 Teams = ~$4.5B) In the past, Overdorf stood on the OBD side of the fence interpreting and following fiscal policy set by Detroit. Things have changed a lot in recent years due to the imminent sale of the franchise to include the addition of a Financial Controller at OBD, for example. Financial controllership had occurred in Detroit for decades at RWE HQ and reported in to the Treasurer - Littman. While Overdorf has carved out (and earned) a very nice niche for himself he does not make personnel decisions based on "on field" criteria. His job is complex - trying to turn the personnel desires of the Football Ops dept. into reality while explaining how the past, present, and future obligations to the cap may impact the team's ability to fit players in. He does not have unilateral power to overpay or underpay free agents, initiate trades, or draft players. He is, however, the guy in the middle who speaks to the agents and reports back to Whaley/Ryan and the Football Ops leaders. It's quite possible he is the one person at OBD that knows the most about EVERYTHING that is going on and ironically is the guy you hear the least from directly. He started as an intern in the scouting department, worked his way up, survived many regime changes (which should speak volumes for how well he is respected around the league), and does all the little things that keep things moving. Fans should expect Overdorf's disciplined approach in managing the cap to not change much - and that's a good thing. By design, the NFL does not make it easy to turn access to cash in to sustained success on the field. You still have to have football people that can pick the right players and professionals that can manage the salary cap to maximize roster value. Those two functions should remain separate to ensure proper checks and balances with ultimate decision making power left to the Owner. It's a great thing that Whaley, and those before him, respects and trusts Overdorf enough to let him manage the contract negotiations. The Bills have very good people in key roles AND a good young "next generation" with long tenures that can take over when the current leadership retires or moves on to other opportunities. I don't see anyone of importance - least of all Jim Overdorf - getting "fired" at this point - again, a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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