Ted Black out: Russ Brandon to head Sabres and Bills

[YoloinOhio]

There is a lot of blame to go around for the record the last 15 years. Brandon has some accountability, but certainly not the majority of it. The most important thing you can do with any valued personnel is ensure they are in the correct role to maximize their talents and contributions. I think the Pegulas are doing that. Brandon as a GM wasn't a good fit, but that doesn't mean he isn't supremely valuable.

[Kirby Jackson]

Whose decision was the TO signing?

Jauron

[26CornerBlitz]

@BuffaloSabres

"It's the best time ever to live in Buffalo." More of @RussBrandon's comments this afternoon: http://goo.gl/kV0Chd

#OneBuffalo

 

7/27: BILLS & SABRES PRESIDENT RUSS BRANDON IN STUDIO ON WGR 17:23

@wgr550

Russ- Never in my wildest dreams did this cross my mind.

Russ-The main thing that we're focused on now is how we can create a high level of efficiency between the Bills and Sabres on the bus. side.

Russ-Buddy was in charge of football, period. Then it transferred to Whaley. I've never made a decision on the 53 man roster.

Russ-I don't know it (hockey) as well as I know baseball or football, but I don't need to from that aspect. I know how to run a business.

Russ-I always stress region, because it's important that we reach out and are successful regionally.

Russ-One of our goals with the Bills is to make this more of a "football destination" for players that want to come here.

Russ- The number one thing we're inheriting (with the Sabres) is an extraordinarily passionate fan base.

Russ-I'll be at league meetings for both franchises.

Russ-It comes down to relevance, and a 96% season ticket renewal rate is outstanding.

Russ-I pride myself on being very accessible. We will continue to do that. You need to be accessible to be successful.

 

@WGR550

Video: @pham1717 and @SalSports discuss and analyze Russ Brandon replacing Ted Black as Sabres President: http://www.wgr550.com/Video-Analysis-of-Brandon-replacing-Black-as-Sabre/21794969

 

[Kirby Jackson]

There is a lot of blame to go around for the record the last 15 years. Brandon has some accountability, but certainly not the majority of it. The most important thing you can do with any valued personnel is ensure they are in the correct role to maximize their talents and contributions. I think the Pegulas are doing that. Brandon as a GM wasn't a good fit, but that doesn't mean he isn't supremely valuable.

I think that the portion of the blame that he shoulders is having the wrong people making the football decisions (specifically Modrak, Guy and Jauron). Those guys made the decisions when Marv was the GM too (Marv literally slept through draft meetings). RB was the boss of those incompetent guys but he wasn't EVER involved in player decisions.

[K-9]

@BuffaloSabres

"It's the best time ever to live in Buffalo." More of @RussBrandon's comments this afternoon: http://goo.gl/kV0Chd

 

#OneBuffalo

 

7/27: BILLS & SABRES PRESIDENT RUSS BRANDON IN STUDIO ON WGR 17:23

 

@wgr550

 

 

 

@WGR550

Video: @pham1717 and @SalSports discuss and analyze Russ Brandon replacing Ted Black as Sabres President: http://www.wgr550.com/Video-Analysis-of-Brandon-replacing-Black-as-Sabre/21794969

 

"I've never made a decision on the 53 man roster."

 

Can we finally put claims to the contrary to rest?

 

GO BILLS!!!

[May Day 10]

He said he never offered any input on the roster... I find that far fetched

[Malazan]

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.

 

He's basically intimated that. Some of his statements give the impression he would prefer to be as far away from those decisions as everyone wants him to be.

 

I've never heard anything, but good things about his ability to run a business though.

[Heitz]

"I've never made a decision on the 53 man roster."

 

Can we finally put claims to the contrary to rest?

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Judging by the very next post, I say no?

 

He said he never offered any input on the roster... I find that far fetched

[Kirby Jackson]

He said he never offered any input on the roster... I find that far fetched

That's the truth as I understand it. Again, he did oversee some people not capable of doing that. If you want to pin the record on him that's the place to do it. Hold him accountable for believing in Modrak & Guy but not for ____ player.

[YoloinOhio]

@mikerodak: Russ Brandon to @WGR550: They have full autonomy Doug Whaley and coach [Ryan], Tim Murray and coach [bylsma]. And they report to owner."

[Kelly the Dog]

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.

From what I know about about it from someone who should know, Russ basically fired himself from the GM job and convinced Ralph to get a football man in the job, which is when Buddy was named GM. I think it was obviously a wise move.

"I've never made a decision on the 53 man roster."

 

Can we finally put claims to the contrary to rest?

 

GO BILLS!!!

Not really, simply because even though I think Brandon is absolutely great at his job and hope he retires as Prez of the Sabres and Bills in 30 years, I don't believe a word he says publicly as the truth.

[YoloinOhio]

 

@mikerodak: Russ Brandon also told @WGR550 that he never weighed in on 53-man roster decisions under Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley.

[bigdogtim]

This post proves that opinions ARE like !@#$s. Everyone has one

[BustaTimes]

Brandon is all about publicity stunts to sell tickets and jerseys like when he signed TO.

 

Dude cares about the bottom line, not about whether a team wins or loses. That is a bad thing.

[stony]

That's the truth as I understand it. Again, he did oversee some people not capable of doing that. If you want to pin the record on him that's the place to do it. Hold him accountable for believing in Modrak & Guy but not for ____ player.

But even then, are we presuming he would've had the power to oust those guys w/o Ralph's approval? It's interesting...and I'm curious to what extent Ralph was still involved in team affairs at this time.

Brandon is all about publicity stunts to sell tickets and jerseys like when he signed TO.

 

Dude cares about the bottom line, not about whether a team wins or loses. That is a bad thing.

Other than TO, what has he done as a pure "publicity stunt" to sell tickets?

Edited July 28, 2015 by stony

[Kirby Jackson]

But even then, are we presuming he would've had the power to oust those guys w/o Ralph's approval? It's interesting...and I'm curious to what extent Ralph was still involved in team affairs at this time.

 

Other than TO, what has he done as a pure "publicity stunt" to sell tickets?

RW wasn't really involved at that point but Littman was. I would assume that what Russ said would have stuck. That's an assumption though.

[Mike in Horseheads]

I think that Terry P did what a smart business man does. He evaluated all the personal, got rid of who he didn't think were doing his corporation any favors and set up his management team. He now has one president of business operations and two GM's and HC's he hired. I personally applaud him

[BADOLBILZ]

"I've never made a decision on the 53 man roster."

 

Can we finally put claims to the contrary to rest?

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Russ has been caught in a few lies so why would his word put a "claim to the contrary to rest"?

 

I think him never making a decision on the 53 man roster falls more in the category of half-truths.

Jauron

 

Mmmm that really isn't the way he told it back in the day.

 

His biggest personnel decision was trading Jason Peters for a piece of balsa wood.

[PromoTheRobot]

 

Russ has been caught in a few lies so why would his word put a "claim to the contrary to rest"?

 

I think him never making a decision on the 53 man roster falls more in the category of half-truths.

 

 

Mmmm that really isn't the way he told it back in the day.

 

His biggest personnel decision was trading Jason Peters for a piece of balsa wood.

Ha, we all know the Lamonica trade was Russ's worst.

[BADOLBILZ]

Ha, we all know the Lamonica trade was Russ's worst.

 

The two worst trades in Bills history took place AFTER Russ was promoted to GM.

 

He was responsible for the Peters trade. He botched that whole situation and got taken to the cleaners.

 

And his hand picked successor was responsible for the Lynch-for-beans trade.

 

Which was the worst of those two is debatable. That they are 1 and 2 is not.

 

Lamonica was a good player at a time when QB's weren't nearly as important as they are today and he had a nice run but those two are both on track to finish as HOF'ers and are still at the top of their game.

 

Russ was just promoted above his competency by a very old owner who was more concerned about hiring someone he trusted than hiring someone who could build a high quality football operation.

 

The Pegula family wisely and swiftly put an end to his influence on football ops.

 

He is right where he belongs now.

[PlayoffsPlease]

Russ has recently held the job of getting 1/32 of the NFL TV Money without lifting a finger, and selling 7 games in Buffalo, and 1 game in Toronto. He was a miserably failure in Toronto. In Buffalo, a combination of threatening fans with the team moving, the leagues lowest ticket prices, and the NFL black out rule allowed him to sell probably the same number of tickets anyone else following that strategy would have.

 

The challenge to sell 41 games of NHL is a much bigger challenge. It will be interesting to see how he does.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

The two worst trades in Bills history took place AFTER Russ was promoted to GM.

 

He was responsible for the Peters trade. He botched that whole situation and got taken to the cleaners.

 

And his hand picked successor was responsible for the Lynch-for-beans trade.

 

Which was the worst of those two is debatable. That they are 1 and 2 is not.

 

Lamonica was a good player at a time when QB's weren't nearly as important as they are today and he had a nice run but those two are both on track to finish as HOF'ers and are still at the top of their game.

 

Russ was just promoted above his competency by a very old owner who was more concerned about hiring someone he trusted than hiring someone who could build a high quality football operation.

 

The Pegula family wisely and swiftly put an end to his influence on football ops.

 

He is right where he belongs now.

If you think either Brandon or Levy made ANY football decisions as the "GM" I've got a bridge for sale. Neither of those two made a single football decision. They were GM in title only for different reasons. Marv was about the nostalgia and community aspect.

 

Russ was the guy that Ralph trusted to oversee his business. He basically was a de facto owner back then (working hand and hand with Littman). He was the guy on the ground. Much in the same way that owners defer to the football people Russ did the same. Now, if you take issue with the guys that he had underneath him running it go for it (I sound like a broken record). They were not good and RB certainly had the juice with RW to get rid of them. That probably took a year too long.

 

I always chuckle when I hear people complaining about the player decisions that Russ or Marv made. Marv literally slept through draft meetings!!!! He wasn't the guy pulling the trigger!! Let's try hard to not confuse title with responsibilities.

Russ has recently held the job of getting 1/32 of the NFL TV Money without lifting a finger, and selling 7 games in Buffalo, and 1 game in Toronto. He was a miserably failure in Toronto. In Buffalo, a combination of threatening fans with the team moving, the leagues lowest ticket prices, and the NFL black out rule allowed him to sell probably the same number of tickets anyone else following that strategy would have.

 

The challenge to sell 41 games of NHL is a much bigger challenge. It will be interesting to see how he does.

It has almost ZERO to do with ticket sales. They are what they are. It's all about corporate dollars. Edited July 28, 2015 by Kirby Jackson

[PlayoffsPlease]

If you think either Brandon or Levy made ANY football decisions as the "GM" I've got a bridge for sale. Neither of those two made a single football decision. They were GM in title only for different reasons. Marv was about the nostalgia and community aspect.

 

Russ was the guy that Ralph trusted to oversee his business. He basically was a de facto owner back then (working hand and hand with Littman). He was the guy on the ground. Much in the same way that owners defer to the football people Russ did the same. Now, if you take issue with the guys that he had underneath him running it go for it (I sound like a broken record). They were not good and RB certainly had the juice with RW to get rid of them. That probably took a year too long.

 

I always chuckle when I hear people complaining about the player decisions that Russ or Marv made. Marv literally slept through draft meetings!!!! He wasn't the guy pulling the trigger!! Let's try hard to not confuse title with responsibilities.

It has almost ZERO to do with ticket sales. They are what they are. It's all about corporate dollars.

 

This is wrong. After TV revenue, the Bills largest revenue source by far are ticket sales. Ticket sales excluding box sales, are the sabres largest revenue source.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

If you think either Brandon or Levy made ANY football decisions as the "GM" I've got a bridge for sale. Neither of those two made a single football decision. They were GM in title only for different reasons. Marv was about the nostalgia and community aspect.

 

Russ was the guy that Ralph trusted to oversee his business. He basically was a de facto owner back then (working hand and hand with Littman). He was the guy on the ground. Much in the same way that owners defer to the football people Russ did the same. Now, if you take issue with the guys that he had underneath him running it go for it (I sound like a broken record). They were not good and RB certainly had the juice with RW to get rid of them. That probably took a year too long.

 

I always chuckle when I hear people complaining about the player decisions that Russ or Marv made. Marv literally slept through draft meetings!!!! He wasn't the guy pulling the trigger!! Let's try hard to not confuse title with responsibilities.

It has almost ZERO to do with ticket sales. They are what they are. It's all about corporate dollars.

 

This is wrong. After TV revenue, the Bills largest revenue source by far are ticket sales. Ticket sales excluding box sales, are the sabres largest revenue source.

I am talking from a work focus. Teams put their top assets on the corporate and premium side. That's where the talent goes (and this is coming from someone that was a director of ticket sales). The sponsorship and corporate dollars are the sign of a great business operation. In addition it is more insulated from team performance. You can't rely on record for revenue.

 

In addition, ticket share revenue in the NFL is shared (think 60/40). With their pricing the Bills probably make more on the road from ticket sales than at home.

Edited July 28, 2015 by Kirby Jackson

[PromoTheRobot]

 

The challenge to sell 41 games of NHL is a much bigger challenge. It will be interesting to see how he does.

 

Considering the Sabres capped season ticket sales and have a 3,500 waiting list, I'd say ticket sales will be fine.

 

Seriously, read an article now and then.

Edited July 28, 2015 by PromoTheRobot

[Lurker]

Brandon is all about publicity stunts to sell tickets and jerseys like when he signed TO.

 

Dude cares about the bottom line, not about whether a team wins or loses. That is a bad thing.

Man, I hate these threads from a 'Manage Ignore Prefs' perspective...

[BADOLBILZ]

If you think either Brandon or Levy made ANY football decisions as the "GM" I've got a bridge for sale. Neither of those two made a single football decision. They were GM in title only for different reasons. Marv was about the nostalgia and community aspect.

 

Russ was the guy that Ralph trusted to oversee his business. He basically was a de facto owner back then (working hand and hand with Littman). He was the guy on the ground. Much in the same way that owners defer to the football people Russ did the same. Now, if you take issue with the guys that he had underneath him running it go for it (I sound like a broken record). They were not good and RB certainly had the juice with RW to get rid of them. That probably took a year too long.

 

I always chuckle when I hear people complaining about the player decisions that Russ or Marv made. Marv literally slept through draft meetings!!!! He wasn't the guy pulling the trigger!! Let's try hard to not confuse title with responsibilities.

It has almost ZERO to do with ticket sales. They are what they are. It's all about corporate dollars.

 

I always chuckle when people act like Russ wasn't responsible for anything because he consulted with the owner/HC etc.. when making big decisions.

 

Because.....I guess.......Whaley doesn't EVER do that?

 

You are right he was bad at hiring(or not firing) management the same way that Chan Gailey was bad at hiring DC's. Awful.

 

The final indignity was having the Syracuse crony he went to bat for walk out on their new boss......which I am sure he was not reportedly furious about.

 

Look, I appreciate RB for what he has done well.....off-field biz..........but I also know he was a significant part of the on-field problems over the past decade.

[Kirby Jackson]

 

I always chuckle when people act like Russ wasn't responsible for anything because he consulted with the owner/HC etc.. when making big decisions.

 

Because.....I guess.......Whaley doesn't EVER do that?

 

You are right he was bad at hiring(or not firing) management the same way that Chan Gailey was bad at hiring DC's. Awful.

 

The final indignity was having the Syracuse crony he went to bat for walk out on their new boss......which I am sure he was not reportedly furious about.

 

Look, I appreciate RB for what he has done well.....off-field biz..........but I also know he was a significant part of the on-field problems over the past decade.

He had some bad people running football ops at different periods - no doubt. That is the only on field area that he was ever responsible for. It did not go well.

 

Was Marrone bad? His team hit, played hard and had a better record than anyone in over a decade. In addition they improved. He was a pretty good football coach and a lousy human being.

 

It has NOTHING to do with consulting with the owner. Consulting and deferring are not the same. RB (and Marv) deferred all football related decisions. Ultimately neither was responsible for any particular player (good or bad). What Russ was responsible for was the people that added those players to the roster. Marv really wasn't responsible for anything.

 

Whaley makes football decisions by consulting the scouting staff. That's the same way that Nix, Modrak (college)/Guy (pro) and Donahoe before them did it. I'm not really sure what you are trying to get at but that's the way that it has worked at OBD for the last 15 years.

[HalftimeAdjustment]

So can I blame Marv for sleeping through meetings and apparently not even trying to improve the situation ? He may have been unqualified as GM but I am assuming he still had a knowledge of football.

[Kirby Jackson]

So can I blame Marv for sleeping through meetings and apparently not even trying to improve the situation ? He may have been unqualified as GM but I am assuming he still had a knowledge of football.

I'll PM you

[PromoTheRobot]

He was responsible for the Peters trade. He botched that whole situation and got taken to the cleaners.

 

We got Eric Woods with that 28th pick for an LT that spent two seasons on IR because he fell off his fat scooter.

 

Did anyone listen to John Murphy tonight? "Josh from Oshawa" called in to say that Russ Brandon sucked because (I'm not making this up) the Toronto series was such a financial catastrophe that Ralph Wilson was forced to sell the Bills! Jeebuz, are there really people that stupid out there?

Edited July 28, 2015 by PromoTheRobot

[LA Grant]

One of the reasons this is great is it guarantees that Russ won't have time to meddle with football operations. He'll be too busy!

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Russ Brandon right now, probably:

 

 

[bbb]

I'll PM you

 

PM me too, please. The way I read it Marv wasn't given any football responsibitities (his quote was something like sending letters to community groups). So, he probably just tuned out, since they weren't going to let him decide anything anyway.

[eball]

 

Other than TO, what has he done as a pure "publicity stunt" to sell tickets?

 

Come on, surely you remember the promotional Bills game played by midgets -- err, excuse me, "little people" -- on the eve of the "pick your seat" promotion at the Ralph in 2007?

[BADOLBILZ]

 

Come on, surely you remember the promotional Bills game played by midgets -- err, excuse me, "little people" -- on the eve of the "pick your seat" promotion at the Ralph in 2007?

 

 

isn't the back end of this thread about "Marv was hired to sell tickets"?

 

Is hiring a GM just for promotion not a big enough example?

[K-9]

isn't the back end of this thread about "Marv was hired to sell tickets"?

 

Is hiring a GM just for promotion not a big enough example?

More revisionism. Marv was hired because Mr. Wilson was reeling after the Donahoe fiasco. He felt betrayed and needed someone he trusted implicitly.

 

It could be argued that EVERYBODY hired by EVERY team is hired with the hope that it will help sell tickets. That's the idea. Especially when lacking the onfield success that generates and sustains a certain amount of sales on its own.

 

I get that people are disappointed when the team sucks, but the idea they were deliberately deceived by some grand scheme to get them to buy tickets is absurd.

 

But in the interest of public service, I will inform everyone that the BILLS are currently engaged in just such a scheme! They are actually trying to get the public to buy tickets! Right now, as we speak! Oh the humanity!

 

GO BILLS!!!

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

They do it in New Orleans & Seattle/Portland to name a few

didn't know that

thanks Kirby

[May Day 10]

I guess we have to see what the position entails to really make judgement. It seems like it may meld sometime into a PS&E Overlord who oversees the new football stadium, possible sports network, Bills, and Sabres. Wouldnt be shocked to see a "president" of each the Bills and Sabres in the next 5 years.

 

 

I hope as a Sabres fan that they dont lose the engagement with fans. They asked us, we said Kevin Sylvester is awful, and they immediately stopped grooming him for the heir apparent to RJ and took him off the broadcasts. We hated the 3rd jersey, they turfed it. Ted Black met with Season Ticket holders before home games (I was selected this year for one). It was great, we were treated very well, he spoke about the organization and gave insight people dont typically get... he took questions and gave honest answers, Girgensons came in to thank us, gave away auto'd jerseys, they provided snax & beer, gave us visiting team's family tix as upgrades, etc... It has been great. Many people complained about concessions... now they are much more friendly and efficient (while it took me almost a whole quarter to get pizza logs made for me at a Bills game last year with no line).

 

On the flip side, I dont feel nearly as engaged as a Bills fan. Maybe a case of the Pegulas continuing to take over

[eball]

 

 

isn't the back end of this thread about "Marv was hired to sell tickets"?

 

Is hiring a GM just for promotion not a big enough example?

 

Ralph called Marv and begged him to come back after the sting of Donahoe. Get your facts straight.