Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 13, 2017 Share Posted January 13, 2017 OK, missed the opening of McDermott's presser and just went back to listen to it. Did anyone else catch that after he thanked Terry and Kim Pegula he thanked the "entire search firm, as well as the search committee of Doug Whaley and Jim Monos"? It's about 1:43 or so into his speech. Is that what Terry meant in his interview with Tim Graham when he said Why was the search so narrow this time in terms of the four candidates you interviewed and that they all were coordinators who'd never been head coaches? TP: The search may appear to be narrow to you. Again, in our own private business, there was a lot more work done ... I assume what you're referring to is that we interviewed four candidates. Yes. TP: It was broader than you think. But I'm not going to get into that. Is that number incorrect? Were there more than four candidates? TP: The interviews were with four people. KP: We ended up with those four, but there was a lot of research, a lot of calls and references. There was a much wider net. Those were the four Doug brought to us as the leader of the search. That actually would not have been a bad strategy - if Whaley, Monos and the Pegulas came up with a list of important criteria for the next HC and hired a search firm to conduct research and make calls to references to help them narrow their list and recommend finalists who met all the criteria (for example, detail oriented, guy who stresses discipline and fundamentals, guy who delegates effectively, hard driven who prepares meticulously for each opponent). I know such firms exist - Korn Ferry for example. I think if it's true, I think I would feel better about the Bills HC search this time around, vs. jetting around the country talking to 12 people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 I heard that too, but you'll likely never get elaboration on it. Pegula's in stealth mode and not in a mood to give out any trade secrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 I heard that too, but you'll likely never get elaboration on it. Pegula's in stealth mode and not in a mood to give out any trade secrets. In fact I thought McDermott sort of caught himself up quickly there, like "whups, I wasn't supposed to mention that, was I?" perhaps Glad I wasn't the only one who heard that. And yeah, now that it's up it's in his transcript too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malazan Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 I think a search firm is generally hired to do research. They may be leaned on more or less, but I'd bet a box of awful donuts that one is involved in almost all head coaching searches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Executive search firms are commonly used to place high ranking executives in virtually every industry, including the NFL. Nothing uncommon here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heitz Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Interestingly, was listening to Sirius and one of the hosts (an ex-GM? Wish I could remember who) went off on some teams using search firm consonants to pick a HC or GM (I believe they were riffing off the Jax hires). Mentioned a team a few years ago that paid $250k to come up with "the same old names". That said, there's nothing in what Pegs said that leads me to believe they hired outside help. By all accounts they knew they were going to fire Rex several weeks before the end of season, so they probably started to do their DD then. It wouldn't take a $250k consonant to put McDermott close to the top of that list, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Makes no sense to interview 12 people. Sit down figure out who looks good ,do your homework, and do your interview.. If none work out move to the next 2 on your list. Don't get why people get hung up on how the search went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 McD also mentioned the search firm in his press conference. It's not likely that Pegulas engaged a search firm to vet candidates in the last week, because there isn't enough time for them to do the proper analysis. But it wouldn't surprise me that they had a search firm start the identifying process earlier in the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Executive search firms are commonly used to place high ranking executives in virtually every industry, including the NFL. Nothing uncommon here. No, not uncommon. In fact it's so common that several teams have been quite open about using these firms. It just struck me as odd, given all the questions about "why should we believe this coach search will differ from the previous ones?" Why not say "we're going to employ an executive search firm to ensure that we broaden our scope and research our candidates more thoroughly"? That said, there's nothing in what Pegs said that leads me to believe they hired outside help. By all accounts they knew they were going to fire Rex several weeks before the end of season, so they probably started to do their DD then. It wouldn't take a $250k consonant to put McDermott close to the top of that list, IMO. It's nothing that Pegula said. The words "search firm" were used by McDermott. Edited January 14, 2017 by Hapless Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Executive recruiting is an industry in and of itself. Why not engage the services of such a firm when you're looking for an executive to run a department of over 100 people who you're going to pay $4 or $5 million a year to for the next few years at least? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. It's a much better approach than having the lap dog Russ slobbering over an old college chum and new owners going ga-ga and losing their heads over a traveling carnival barker. It's time to get serious. It's way past time. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Sounds like a typical executive hiring process, further backed up by the fact Pegula said there were "many more" candidates they reviewed but only chose to interview four. I think an educated guess as to the process is this: 1. Search firm brings extensive list of "vetted" candidates to the Bills based upon criteria presented 2. Whaley/Monos further break down the list to those they truly feel fit the "Bill" 3. W&M present their shorter list to Pegulas and schedule the interviews Bottom line -- no "slip" by McD and nothing sinister or unusual in the Bills' process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beef Jerky Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 None of this matters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 None of this matters... No, no, keep digging. There must be dysfunction buried here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 NFL teams waste money. This board could have come up with a list with McDermott on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 McD also mentioned the search firm in his press conference. It's not likely that Pegulas engaged a search firm to vet candidates in the last week, because there isn't enough time for them to do the proper analysis. But it wouldn't surprise me that they had a search firm start the identifying process earlier in the season. The search firms are used to look for items like bankruptcies, arrests, drinking, and other red flags which a NFL owner may not want to deal with since contracts are guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 The Jags used a head hunter search firm this year for their head coaching job, and ended up with Saint Doug. Obviously not the way to go. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jaguars-casting-a-wide-net-turning-to-headhunter-in-search-for-next-coach/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 McD also mentioned the search firm in his press conference. It's not likely that Pegulas engaged a search firm to vet candidates in the last week, because there isn't enough time for them to do the proper analysis. But it wouldn't surprise me that they had a search firm start the identifying process earlier in the season. So, trying to phrase this delicately - would you say that both Whaley and the Pegulas lied and the decision to fire Rex was made back in November? The Jags used a head hunter search firm this year for their head coaching job, and ended up with Saint Doug. Obviously not the way to go. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jaguars-casting-a-wide-net-turning-to-headhunter-in-search-for-next-coach/ Well, there is an element of GIGO there. What parameters you give the firm and the priority you assign to them affects who they bring ya. The search firms are used to look for items like bankruptcies, arrests, drinking, and other red flags which a NFL owner may not want to deal with since contracts are guaranteed. This makes sense. I would also imagine the time they take depends upon the $$ you throw at them. Throw $$ at them, they could put more people on it and conduct a broader search in a shorter time, such as preliminary interviews with colleagues/former players etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 There are former executives (mostly GMs) who do consulting work for franchises seeking additional input and recommendations for important hires. There is nothing unusual with the owners seeking as much input from outside sources to help them be prepared for such an important decision. If the Pegulas would have exposed themselves to more sources familiar with the league I'm confident they wouldn't have hired Rex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hapless Bills Fan Posted January 14, 2017 Author Share Posted January 14, 2017 (edited) Sounds like a typical executive hiring process, further backed up by the fact Pegula said there were "many more" candidates they reviewed but only chose to interview four. I think an educated guess as to the process is this: 1. Search firm brings extensive list of "vetted" candidates to the Bills based upon criteria presented 2. Whaley/Monos further break down the list to those they truly feel fit the "Bill" 3. W&M present their shorter list to Pegulas and schedule the interviews Bottom line -- no "slip" by McD and nothing sinister or unusual in the Bills' process. I don't think it's a slip or sinister or unusual. It just pricked my attention because it struck me as an example of holding information close when it might influence public opinion to release it. ie, Whaley was asked "what's going to be different about this coaching search?" "last time we interviewed 12 candidates ourselves as an initial step, this time we're employing (the process you outline above) As others have said, it's not like the fact teams use executive search firms sometimes is exactly a proprietary secret. OTOH, maybe the press would have just spun that as further evidence the Pegulas don't and can't fully trust Whaley so it would have given the narrative du jour stronger life Edited January 14, 2017 by Hapless Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papazoid Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 the search firm ran a DMV, credit, criminal record and library card check....he's clean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 the search firm ran a DMV, credit, criminal record and library card check....he's clean I heard they were using "Eddie's Search Firm and Bail Bonds," which had a couple good yelp reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 I'm not surprised they used a search firm. I would have been more surprised if they hadn't. This is a huge decision. They had to dedicate a lot of resources. I heard of a team (forget which one) that had hired a detective to investigate their candidates. I know some fans were concerned the team only interviewed four candidates. But they researched many more. After doing their first round of due diligence, they settled on a final four. I don't see a problem. Each of us has our own opinion about who the Bills should have hired. I was a little disappointed when Whaley talked a lot about the importance of McDermott's coaching influences and his place on a good coaching tree. Not all disciples of good coaches become good coaches. But I also realize I only know maybe 1% of what Whaley knows about the candidates out there. I'm hoping that he acquired the right information to make the right decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 At least they didn't just post it on Craigslist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihilarian Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 There are former executives (mostly GMs) who do consulting work for franchises seeking additional input and recommendations for important hires. There is nothing unusual with the owners seeking as much input from outside sources to help them be prepared for such an important decision. If the Pegulas would have exposed themselves to more sources familiar with the league I'm confident they wouldn't have hired Rex. Clearly, they didn't use a search firm to hire Rex. So, perhaps they will have better success this time around. My thoughts are McDermott will only be as good as his coordinators and QB. Leslie Frazier is now the DC and he runs a 4-3 scheme and was the DC for the Bengals 2003 (28)*-2004 (21st), Vikings 2007-2009 (13)(8)(18), Vikings 2010(18), Tampa Bay 2014-2015(25)(26) and was the HC of the Vikings in between while his last job was the DB's coach of the Ravens 2016. It remains to be seen who the new OC will be for the Bills in 2017 and if Tyrod stays or goes. On the outside looking in it looks like Whaley wants Tyrod off the team and the owners want to keep him. If Whaley gets his way and dumps Tyrod, as I see it about the only way this team has a successful season is if they bring in Cutler, Romo or draft a rookie like Deshaun Watson. I'm hoping for the best and yet I need to see it on the field before I lose my skepticism. * points allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boater Posted January 14, 2017 Share Posted January 14, 2017 Using search firm consonants to find the particle sun is business as usual in the NFL. Nothing to see here... move along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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