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Is Russ Brandon to Blame?


Dorkington

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If you truly feel that his influence is somewhere in the 6-8 range (note: I see that you changed your post to 4-7; did you reconsider or did you realize that maybe your initial charge wasn't strong enough to support the vitriol?) then what could possibly be your issue with him nodding his head that you'd opine so strongly about his involvement and influence?

 

This has been my point from the beginning: being a "yes man" constitutes significant influence in your estimation?

 

I thoroughly disagree.

 

And no, I'm not being obtuse. I just assumed you had sound reasoning that I hadn't considered.

 

I now realize that your opinion is simply disjointed IMO. I will, however, leave you to it at this point.

 

No, actually I changed it because I removed some numbers from the list at the top and what I had initially typed down there had no longer applied. I was typing too quick and being a bit sloppy.

 

I really do not agree with you, and sadly, you've considered my opinion disjointed. It's possible that Brandon will be in charge of the organization for many more years to come, and I fully expect more losing. I like to use his involvement in football decisions as an example of pure hypocrisy. He had stated on numerous occasions that he was removing himself from the football side of things. He also promised an analytics department and moved the team to play a game in Toronto. He's all over the place, and will always say each move is done with winning in mind. If that's the case, well he should be fired. Not a single decision he has made has resulted in success on the field.

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PT Barnum aka Brandon was a marketing/PR whiz kid, and used his former position to move up the company ladder to Team President of the Bills AND Sabres. Pretty quick and sudden climb.

 

I wonder if he was able to con Pegula into a small percentage of the team much like Larry Quinn did with former Sabres owner Tom Golisano? Wouldn't surprise me one bit if it did happen.

 

Like I said in a post yesterday, get comfortable with him because unless he chooses to leave on his own accord, he will be here for a very very long time.

He is a managing partner. :blink:

 

 

All we fans can hope for is the owner hiring that football czar and allowing that new hire to make all the football decisions

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No, actually I changed it because I removed some numbers from the list at the top and what I had initially typed down there had no longer applied. I was typing too quick and being a bit sloppy.

 

I really do not agree with you, and sadly, you've considered my opinion disjointed. It's possible that Brandon will be in charge of the organization for many more years to come, and I fully expect more losing. I like to use his involvement in football decisions as an example of pure hypocrisy. He had stated on numerous occasions that he was removing himself from the football side of things. He also promised an analytics department and moved the team to play a game in Toronto. He's all over the place, and will always say each move is done with winning in mind. If that's the case, well he should be fired. Not a single decision he has made has resulted in success on the field.

I don't know why my view that your opinion is disjointed makes you sad; it's not personal. It just doesn't make sense to me that anyone would consider the amount of influence that you credit Russ with to be significant. If that felt insulting then you have my most sincere apologies.

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No, when he was dictating player acquisitions to Regier, well before he was fired.

 

The whole Robyn Regehr/Ville Leino time frame.

Those were player personnel moves coming from the owner.

 

:doh:

Pegula gave Regier a pile of cash and said make us better. Darcy not knowing what to do with money spent it like a idiot.

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Alright man - have it your way. I'm telling you this is how businesses often work. Consultants come in with an objective perspective and comparative analytics and advise the board/ownership where changes could be made to improve performance. Don't be surprised if that's exactly what the Pegulas do in December/January.

 

An objective review which is long overdue, but too many people at OBD with their own agendas will not permit this to happen.

 

It's part of the reason they interviewed no one from outside the organization when Brandon wanted out of the GM role. He either couldn't get interviews, or wanted to keep things in house by interviewing Nix and John Guy with the latter fired.

 

I get that TPegs wants to demonstrate loyalty, but there will be a time when winning trumps that approach. I would hope that means an objective set of eyes be placed on his billion dollar plus investment and not entrusted to RW cronies like Brandon, Whaley, et al.

 

The short answer is no.

 

The game evolved too fast for the Bills organization and the organization itself was slow to change.

 

They hired personnel in the 00s that were or would have been great in the 90s NFL like Donahoe or a Gregg Williams.

 

We were successful in the 90s because we were ahead of the curve at that point. Teams were still playing 80s football when Butler and Levy rolled out personnel and strategy that was ahead of its time.

 

This.

 

This.

 

This.

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The problem is, these choices don't fall out of the sky and magically plague the Bills. Brandon has been at the forefront of most major decisions.

The only decisions I really particularly pin on Brandon were Marrone and promoting Whaley. Before that he was just doing Ralph's bidding and Rex is on Terry and Kim.

 

Whaley and Marrone were both good appointments independantly of each other. The problem was they couldn't work abd co-exist together.

Edited by GunnerBill
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I wonder what Tom Coughlin is doing these days. I could think of worse people for the Pegulas to reach out to as consultant. Would love to see his opinion of our front office orgazational structure.

Interesting name. Since i believe he said he wasn't interested in being a HC at this time. Or maybe because of age ever again.

NO thanks too Polian though he had a huge role in the teams past. It was great but fresh eyes and ears would be nice too.

I'd rather a "czar" or simply a very qualified consultant like Coughlin with zero former or current emotional ties to the team.

It Would be nice for a hopefully objective opinion. Although his and Ryan's philosphies are 180 degrees apart. Mario would never have attempted that crap on a coughlin coached team.

If the Tuna was 15 years younger and motivated he would be another great choice. The Bills are the only team in the AFCE he never worked for.

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The only decisions I really particularly pin on Brandon were Marrone and promoting Whaley. Before that he was just doing Ralph's bidding and Rex is on Terry and Kim.

 

Whaley and Marrone were both good appointments independantly of each other. The problem was they couldn't work abd co-exist together.

 

Marrone was not a good appointment, independent of anything. He is a horrible human being.

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I wonder what Tom Coughlin is doing these days. I could think of worse people for the Pegulas to reach out to as consultant. Would love to see his opinion of our front office orgazational structure.

Why would you hire someone who's never worked in a front office to assess our front office?

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The short answer is no.

 

The game evolved too fast for the Bills organization and the organization itself was slow to change.

 

They hired personnel in the 00s that were or would have been great in the 90s NFL like Donahoe or a Gregg Williams.

 

Jeff Fisher is another current guy caught in the time warp. He's never stopped coaching the 1998 Titans and that's why the Rams are terrible.

 

We were successful in the 90s because we were ahead of the curve at that point. Teams were still playing 80s football when Butler and Levy rolled out personnel and strategy that was ahead of its time.

you nailed it. we're no longer trying to reinvent, we're trying to keep up. and maybe that comes with having continuity with a qb/front office/coaching staff. i don't know. but what i do know is that by week 3 the pats will be exploiting the **** out of the new kickoff rules somehow and then everyone will be doing it three weeks later, and they'll be on to the next thing.

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Why would you hire someone who's never worked in a front office to assess our front office?

Give me a better name? Who would you choose to consult the Pegulas, independantly, to assess the direction of our seemingly directionless organization?

Edited by mastershake
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Was Maroon hired in part because of a regional fanbase expansion effort by Russ

Or soley on being a 2x pinhead bowl winner? Because hiring a college coach with a record hovering at.500 is risky at best.

 

The Marrone hire love on this board was off the charts. And any other opinion at the time was met with the typical "you call yourself a fan" nonsense.

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Gotta laugh at all these people still believing Russ has no say in the football team. Hypothetical scenario...Whaley and the coaching staff are sent packing at the end of the year, and the Bills are looking to replace them. Can anyone, with a straight face, claim that Russ wouldn't be an active part of the search for their replacement? If you really think that, Russ has a car for you to buy.

 

This might be a bit too radical even for me, but what about stompin' Jimmy Johnson? (shields self)

 

From what I recall reading, he's the guy Belichick goes to in the off-season to talk football with.

Edited by QB Bills
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I find it odd that so many people seem to defend Russ Brandon when his name comes up for possible criticism.

 

He had a big part, I would argue a very big part, in the hiring of Buddy Nix, Doug Whaley, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan.

 

We know for a fact that Russ Brandon was one of three people in the rooms to interview both Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan. He has been an integral part in the hires of head coaches that seem to have an allergy to passing the football. The head coaches he has hired also love to punt on 4th and 1 from the 50 yard line. The last 2 coaches he's had a big part in hiring love the idea of running the football, punting, and playing the field position battle. So please let's not act like on Sundays when we watch an incompetent offense and a painfully conservative, risk averse coaching staff that it has nothing to do with Russ Brandon. It most certainly does.

 

Do not fool yourself........Russ Brandon has the ear of Terry and Kim Pegula. I've attended many home and away games, and I've seen with my own eyes the relationshop between Russ and the owners. Who is the one who leads both Terry and Kim out onto the field? Who is the one that introduces them to NFL owners, broadcasters, announcers and the like? Who is the one who's gotten a huge promotion and his role expanded under the leadership of the Pegulas? It's Russ Brandon folks.

 

I think being critical of Russ Brandon is not only fair I think it's totally warranted. I've been looking forward to the day for a long time that he's relieved of his duties in Buffalo. I was hopeful that day was near when the Pegulas first took over ownership. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. The Pegulas leaned on Russ Brandon big time in their first search of a head coach, and then double downed and handed him a big time promotion. I hope they realize their mistake sooner than later, but it appears we will have to endure many more losing seasons before anything happens.

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