CodeMonkey Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Probably making enough bank now that he can hire someone to drive him to the arena if he can't find it. Assuming he wants to go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Probably making enough bank now that he can hire someone to drive him to the arena if he can't find it. Assuming he wants to go there. What does this even mean? Is this insulting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFunPolice Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Where does he go to work in the morning? Also, does he change his tie based on which team he is overseeing at that moment? All kidding aside, that is a LOT of responsibility. But by all accounts he is a great executive so that's good news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All I Need is Hope Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Throughout these 4 pages of posts, very little is provided regarding specific examples of Russ' accomplishments, good or bad. Plenty of opinion, but concrete examples of what he does that makes him really good or great aren't available. In the absence of examples, I keep coming back to the fact that he's fortunate to work with teams in a market where fans support crappy teams, year after year, no matter what. An exceptionally loyal fan base has to make it much easier for him to be successful. I think that his responsiveness to the "voice of the customer" and improving the Ralph and fan experience is good, but this would seem to be a basic expectation for someone in that role. Also, the league sets / mandates minimum stadium amenities / conditions, so I'm sure these played into the effort to upgrade. I'm guessing, but I think that he tightly controls the content / tone of the Bills website, through which he's expertly sold false hope for the last decade or so. For this reason, I'm skeptical regarding his real business acumen, versus being a really good salesman. Finally, It seems like he was the ultimate yes man to Ralph, protecting his place / power, by never advocating for a strong football man to come in and run the football ops side. Admittedly, my perception isn't based on a lot of facts; so, if someone can help with examples to support his greatness, please share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Where does he go to work in the morning? Also, does he change his tie based on which team he is overseeing at that moment? All kidding aside, that is a LOT of responsibility. But by all accounts he is a great executive so that's good news! It's all about the lapel pin. Maybe a lapel pin with that logo sold by all the bootleg Tshirt vendors with a charging Bills logo inside the Sabres logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HankBulloughMellencamp Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I thought he tried to make himself available to the fans as much or more than any other exec in recent times. That's a plus in my book. What he was responsible for was those 3rd jerseys. I mean, that's a fireable offense!! I don't think any of this was arrogance. He gave as much as he got with the BN which is fine in my book. Fair points. I didn't know of Black's admirable availability, as some have now referenced. But his turd-burger 3rd jersey, and his subsequent coining of the term "jersey fatigue" went over with the Buffalo market like a fart in church. Let's be honest, we are still in the dark ages of "success on the field of play" in both franchises. Both had tough jobs selling hope with year after year of inferior results. Russ is just far better at it than Black proved to be. So they give Russ half (or whatever) of what Black made, and forge ahead with their OneBuffalo empire. Quite shrewd, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Throughout these 4 pages of posts, very little is provided regarding specific examples of Russ' accomplishments, good or bad. Plenty of opinion, but concrete examples of what he does that makes him really good or great aren't available. In the absence of examples, I keep coming back to the fact that he's fortunate to work with teams in a market where fans support crappy teams, year after year, no matter what. An exceptionally loyal fan base has to make it much easier for him to be successful. I think that his responsiveness to the "voice of the customer" and improving the Ralph and fan experience is good, but this would seem to be a basic expectation for someone in that role. Also, the league sets / mandates minimum stadium amenities / conditions, so I'm sure these played into the effort to upgrade. I'm guessing, but I think that he tightly controls the content / tone of the Bills website, through which he's expertly sold false hope for the last decade or so. For this reason, I'm skeptical regarding his real business acumen, versus being a really good salesman. Finally, It seems like he was the ultimate yes man to Ralph, protecting his place / power, by never advocating for a strong football man to come in and run the football ops side. Admittedly, my perception isn't based on a lot of facts; so, if someone can help with examples to support his greatness, please share. For someone pointing out the lack of facts in this thread, there's a lot of speculation in this post as well. FWIW, I remember some reports indicating Russ would be in demand if he was let loose during the ownership change. His stature has grown outside of Buffalo, most likely as a result of him representing the franchise in a positive manner during league meetings. Fair points. I didn't know of Black's admirable availability, as some have now referenced. But his turd-burger 3rd jersey, and his subsequent coining of the term "jersey fatigue" went over with the Buffalo market like a fart in church. Let's be honest, we are still in the dark ages of "success on the field of play" in both franchises. Both had tough jobs selling hope with year after year of inferior results. Russ is just far better at it than Black proved to be. So they give Russ half (or whatever) of what Black made, and forge ahead with their OneBuffalo empire. Quite shrewd, actually. Good points. I actually liked the Sabres' "handbooks" they sent out to season ticket holders. Literally little booklets of hope. Edited July 27, 2015 by stony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Fair points. I didn't know of Black's admirable availability, as some have now referenced. But his turd-burger 3rd jersey, and his subsequent coining of the term "jersey fatigue" went over with the Buffalo market like a fart in church. Let's be honest, we are still in the dark ages of "success on the field of play" in both franchises. Both had tough jobs selling hope with year after year of inferior results. Russ is just far better at it than Black proved to be. So they give Russ half (or whatever) of what Black made, and forge ahead with their OneBuffalo empire. Quite shrewd, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seq004 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Great at marketing. Really bad at player decisions so I don't know how to feel about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Brandon has done a great job of marketing the Bills as well as the business side of the team, but he was terrible when it came to hiring coaches, management, and players. Just as long as Brandon stays on the marketing/business side, then things will be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heitz Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Congrats Russ - I'll polish up my resume for when the Bills are ready to refill the "marketing guy" coffers. My goal is to get a job with the Bills that gives me enough visibility that everyone on TBD hates the job I'm doing, regardless if they know or understand the job I'm doing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 @BuffaloSabres Welcome @RussBrandon! #OneBuffalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Congrats Russ - I'll polish up my resume for when the Bills are ready to refill the "marketing guy" coffers. My goal is to get a job with the Bills that gives me enough visibility that everyone on TBD hates the job I'm doing, regardless if they know or understand the job I'm doing! I'll drink to that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Day 10 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I forgot about the prospects game too. Almost 18,000 for a scrimmage game in July for the worst team in the NHL... and you had to pay for tickets. I just hope the media's narrative doesnt continue to be that Black was screwing the pooch. It seems its just their grand One Buffalo structure coming into reality, and Brandon is the man they want for the job and there is no room for Black under the new structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 All I Need is Hope, A couple of examples I can think of with Brandon are: He moved training camp from Fredonia to Rochester which improved ticket sales from the Rochester area The Toronto series (as painful as it was) improved ticket sales from Southern Ontario Brandon was heavily involved in the 10 year iron-clad lease between Ralph Wilson Stadium and Erie County making it virtually impossible to move the Bills in case the team was sold to a bidder that wanted to move the team outside of WNY Brandon was heavily involved in the sale of the team and the strict stipulations involved in the sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Formerly Allan in MD Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Brandon obviously knows where Terry's bank is. Perhaps Black's acumen, in this regard, was as problematic as his communication skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 All I Need is Hope, A couple of examples I can think of with Brandon are: He moved training camp from Fredonia to Rochester which improved ticket sales from the Rochester area The Toronto series (as painful as it was) improved ticket sales from Southern Ontario Brandon was heavily involved in the 10 year iron-clad lease between Ralph Wilson Stadium and Erie County making it virtually impossible to move the Bills in case the team was sold to a bidder that wanted to move the team outside of WNY Brandon was heavily involved in the sale of the team and the strict stipulations involved in the sale But the Bills suck!! He's obvously terrible. Obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Throughout these 4 pages of posts, very little is provided regarding specific examples of Russ' accomplishments, good or bad. Plenty of opinion, but concrete examples of what he does that makes him really good or great aren't available. In the absence of examples, I keep coming back to the fact that he's fortunate to work with teams in a market where fans support crappy teams, year after year, no matter what. An exceptionally loyal fan base has to make it much easier for him to be successful. I think that his responsiveness to the "voice of the customer" and improving the Ralph and fan experience is good, but this would seem to be a basic expectation for someone in that role. Also, the league sets / mandates minimum stadium amenities / conditions, so I'm sure these played into the effort to upgrade. I'm guessing, but I think that he tightly controls the content / tone of the Bills website, through which he's expertly sold false hope for the last decade or so. For this reason, I'm skeptical regarding his real business acumen, versus being a really good salesman. Finally, It seems like he was the ultimate yes man to Ralph, protecting his place / power, by never advocating for a strong football man to come in and run the football ops side. Admittedly, my perception isn't based on a lot of facts; so, if someone can help with examples to support his greatness, please share. You hit on a few. If you look at the Bills sponsorship revenue and nonshared revenue compared to other markets (especially during Toronto series) it is quite impressive. The WNY market has many challenges when it comes to sponsorship (are there any fortune 500 companies)? In order to keep up with the rest of the league you need to be able to generate nonshared revenue in a stadium that doesn't lend itself to that. There aren't a lot of assets that they can slap a sponsors name on and collect a 6-7 figure check for. IMO, that is without question his greatest attribute. This is the result of regionalization and engraining himself in the business community. Great at marketing. Really bad at player decisions so I don't know how to feel about this. HE NEVER MADE ANY!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 But the Bills suck!! He's obvously terrible. Obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) All I Need is Hope, A couple of examples I can think of with Brandon are: He moved training camp from Fredonia to Rochester which improved ticket sales from the Rochester area The Toronto series (as painful as it was) improved ticket sales from Southern Ontario Brandon was heavily involved in the 10 year iron-clad lease between Ralph Wilson Stadium and Erie County making it virtually impossible to move the Bills in case the team was sold to a bidder that wanted to move the team outside of WNY Brandon was heavily involved in the sale of the team and the strict stipulations involved in the sale Pegula also publicly applauded Russ's roll in the last head coaching search. He's well thought of (except by TBD)... Edited July 27, 2015 by stony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Some guys are just in the right place, right time. I see Brandon as the ultimate bungler, largely responsible for the Bills' non-playoff history. But he lucked into lining up with two owners who see him as a bright businessman and that's all that counts. Luck>talent, I guess.. Ill informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Some guys are just in the right place, right time. I see Brandon as the ultimate bungler, largely responsible for the Bills' non-playoff history. But he lucked into lining up with two owners who see him as a bright businessman and that's all that counts. Luck>talent, I guess.. Get better glasses. Russ Brandon never wanted to be in charge of personnel. He has turned the Bills into an incredibly well run organization and is being rewarded for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 No posters on this board know what is going on with the Bills finances, and on top of that they shouldn't care. So long as Brandon isn't filling out the rosters who cares that his bosses have been happy with him? Good for Brandon. His job was to make his boss happy and his boss said he was good at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Great at marketing. Really bad at player decisions so I don't know how to feel about this. Brandon never made a unilateral player decision in his life. Always deferred personnel decisions to those who knew best. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Great at marketing. Really bad at player decisions so I don't know how to feel about this. Hasn't made any in years and NEVER WANTED TO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Some guys are just in the right place, right time. I see Brandon as the ultimate bungler, largely responsible for the Bills' non-playoff history. But he lucked into lining up with two owners who see him as a bright businessman and that's all that counts. Luck>talent, I guess.. Wow. You don't have much faith in Pegula's business acumen! Yep, Terry grew a multibillion dollar business from nothing because he's poor at evaluating the business acumen of the people in his organizations. Edited July 27, 2015 by hondo in seattle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Does Russ Brandon even think Russ Brandon made good football decisons? I'm sure if you asked him honestly, and off the record, he'd say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Does Russ Brandon even think Russ Brandon made good football decisons? I'm sure if you asked him honestly, and off the record, he'd say no. That is an interesting way of looking at it. The football decision that he made was empowering Modrak and Guy to make football decisions. That definitely did not work out well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wow! Good for Russ, and lol at the folks that thought he was a dead-man walking when the Pegulas took over. Yeah the failed at playing fantasy owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 That is an interesting way of looking at it. The football decision that he made was empowering Modrak and Guy to make football decisions. That definitely did not work out well. And Marv and Jauron and Buddy and Gailey and Whaley. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I have not read the 6 pages of commentary .... Seeing how both sports overlap in late fall and winter would this be a distraction to one team or the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 All I Need is Hope, A couple of examples I can think of with Brandon are: The Toronto series (as painful as it was) improved ticket sales from Southern Ontario We've reached the point where we're now lauding RB for the Toronto series? I definitely feel like I've landed in Jonestown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I have not read the 6 pages of commentary .... Seeing how both sports overlap in late fall and winter would this be a distraction to one team or the other. They do it in New Orleans & Seattle/Portland to name a few Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Pegula also publicly applauded Russ's roll in the last head coaching search. He's well thought of (except by TBD)... That proves he is good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I couldn't disagree more. I'm in sales and if I need to come down 5% for a strategic reason I have to run it by my boss. He's not a salesman and his talent isn't diagnosing what all goes into what's needed to get an order - that's what they pay me to do. But I do have to explain myself to him so that he can approve of my analysis. I think it's perfectly legitimate for everyone under Russ to do the work and on big happenings he's involved. My boss and I work as a team - he trusts me to understand situations and only give up profit when it's strategically needed. It's important he knows so he can one answer any questions if our owner looks at the sale - and it gives me an opportunity to prove that I'm capable of understanding situations to build trust with my boss. I don't just need him to count the order totals and work on the layouts of our brochures. Not the correct analogy. I'm assuming that you sell your company's product, over which you don't have much say in development and manufacturing. So your decision is to structure the best deal that will make both you and the customer happy with the outcome. You run the sales proposal by the boss to make sure that it fits the company's RoI. That's different from Brandon making the determination on the roster decisions to drum up ticket sales. It would be like your boss, without sales experience telling you who to sell for and for how much. Of course he's going to get involved in high level discussions about the Bills & Sabres operations. I hope he'll be less involved in the roster decisions, like dialing other teams when they were looking to complete the Watkins trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Not the correct analogy. I'm assuming that you sell your company's product, over which you don't have much say in development and manufacturing. So your decision is to structure the best deal that will make both you and the customer happy with the outcome. You run the sales proposal by the boss to make sure that it fits the company's RoI. That's different from Brandon making the determination on the roster decisions to drum up ticket sales. It would be like your boss, without sales experience telling you who to sell for and for how much. Of course he's going to get involved in high level discussions about the Bills & Sabres operations. I hope he'll be less involved in the roster decisions, like dialing other teams when they were looking to complete the Watkins trade. In my time I have never seen a president do this (and I worked in an organization where the GM and coach reported to the president). Sales decisions and personnel decisions are independent of one another. The president's job (and other sales leaders) is to sell the product that they are given. People for some reason have a hard time separating the two but the business people respond and react to the football decisions that are made. The dog wags the tail not the other way around despite what some here seem to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 He hasnt made roster decisions in at least 4 years. That's what he wants you to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 In my time I have never seen a president do this (and I worked in an organization where the GM and coach reported to the president). Sales decisions and personnel decisions are independent of one another. The president's job (and other sales leaders) is to sell the product that they are given. People for some reason have a hard time separating the two but the business people respond and react to the football decisions that are made. The dog wags the tail not the other way around despite what some here seem to believe. Whose decision was the TO signing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Buffalo Joe Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Whose decision was the TO signing? We've already established that he never made good football decisions. But for the job that he was hired to do, run the Buffalo BIlls, and now Sabres, from a buisness perspective, he's been largely successful. I don't even see why there's an argument here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Whose decision was the TO signing? Ultimately, it was Jauron's. But this is a great example of Brandon seeking consensus on a personnel decision. He ran it up the flagpole in Detroit and Buffalo and made sure everyone saluted it. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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