Changes coming to Bills front office?

[Mr. WEO]

I'll weigh in on saying Bills upper management was and remains unhappy with Whaley's lack of clarity during the press conference in what was considered a train-wreck from league-wide NFL people.

It was an absolute embarrassment, and the only reason both Terry and Kim Pegula were made available to the AP and WGR not long after the news conference ended.

 

I did make a request to speak to both Terry and Kim immediately after the news conference because much clarity was needed.

The fact that Terry called me within 15 minutes of my text was surprising. It was also an indication that the Bills went to Plan B and felt there was need for much clarification after Whaley revealed nothing and raised more question than answers.

 

It was a low point in Whaley's tenure, and much of it brought upon himself because he declined interview requests throughout the season except to speak briefly on Percy Harvin's signing, during which the questions were strictly limited to Percy.

 

Any astute manager should know that there was plenty of tension built up over such a lengthy period of time involving a variety of issues -- Rex's future and eventual firing/Lynn's promotion/Tyrod's benching/Tyrod's long-term future that it would take a skilled person to address those issues head on. Instead, we the media and Bills fans by extension were fed a lot of "I'm not privy to that" answers.

 

Well, if Whaley wasn't privy to these things, then it begged Bucky's question as to what in fact he does.

 

Whaley was put out there to speak for ownership.

That ownership had to scramble to the rescue reflected poorly on the GM.

 

No, GMs aren't judged on press conference's alone.

In this case, the exception was the rule, leading to many inside 1BillsDrive to question Whaley's ability.

 

jw

 

 

 

The news conference was not Scott's fault.

In fact, Pegula Sports and Entertainment chief spokesman Mark Preisler was also in attendance.

There was very little that could have been done to save Whaley from himself on that day.

 

Anyone interjecting from the BIlls side would've essentially been throwing fuel on this tire fire, in my opinion.

 

What's astounding is that I'm told that Whaley was prepped beforehand.

 

jw

 

What is amazing is that so many here struggle with the obviousness of all of this. They cling to the ridiculous notion that Whaley was just "giving it" to the local press. As though looking utterly dumb is some sort of big "F you" to the media.

 

No, he's that clueless.

[papazoid]

all indications are whaley wanted to move on from TT

 

McDermott looked at the tape and decided TT was going to be better for 2017 than any other draft choice or free agent.

 

TT accepts a restructured team friendly short term deal.

 

hence the whaley is in charge of the 53 is somewhere between blurred and bullchit.

 

I still say whaley is trying his best to fill all needs in free agency so they can pick the QB of the future at #10 or no later than the 2nd round.

[plenzmd1]

While I'm at it....

 

I remember a thread about sports media, a few years ago...when I predicted that FS1 would destroy ESPN, specifically because: Fox management has already proven it knows how to penetrate a seemingly impenetrable market(See: Ratings of Fox News, today), because the market, in truth, is rotten.

 

I was told that I was totally wrong, and the business was so big that all FS1 was doing was jumping into an underserved market, at best. I was told all sorts of crap as well. The numbers don't lie. In 1996 Fox got into the cable news business. The business results have been devastating for their competition.

 

Now: I direct your, and those who told me I was totally wrong, to this: ESPN's top "talent" like them or not, have moved to FS1. And, there's this small story, about $100 million in on-air layoffs.

 

I wonder where those clowns who argued with me, back when FS1 started are today. Surely, they aren't going to show up in this thread and admit they were wrong.

 

In any event, as an internet expert I say: You should only worry about clickbait...if you can't comprehend "The Boy Who Called Wolf". Most of us learned that story in Pre-K. Some of us learned it later. In all cases? What happens to the boy?

 

 

On Tuesday the Bayless-led Undisputed drew 86,000 viewers. On same day/slot, an episode of Bubble Guppies drew 940,000 on Nickelodeon.

 

 

On March 17 the Bayless-led Undisputed drew 82,000 viewers. On same day/slot, an episode of Elena of Avalor drew 982,000 on Disney Channel.

 

 

http://www.espnfrontrow.com/2017/01/fox-v-espn-anatomy-moving-target/

 

 

 

2016 marked the end of that three-year slog, so how did it work out? On a total day basis, ESPN beat FS1 nearly 5-to-1 (Nielsen data: ESPN 811K versus FS1 176K).

 

 

Since the “Fox Sports Live” relaunch last February, the 11 p.m. ET score is now 12-to-1 as SportsCenter delivered 692,000 viewers and FS1’s show in the window attracted 55,000.

Boy , you sure are a genius OC...FS1 is just CRUSHING ESPN....

 

I will give you this, you love to take credit for being a genius when all evidence is clearly against you...maybe you should run for the presidency next cycle.

[DrDawkinstein]

all indications are whaley wanted to move on from TT at that high price tag

 

McDermott looked at the tape and decided TT was going to be better for 2017 than any other draft choice or free agent.

 

TT accepts a restructured team friendly short term deal.

 

hence the whaley is in charge of the 53 is somewhere between blurred and bullchit.

 

I still say whaley is trying his best to fill all needs in free agency so they can pick the QB of the future at #10 or no later than the 2nd round.

 

Fixed that. There is a major qualifier there.

 

Whaley is ultimately responsible for the 53. That doesnt mean the HC should have zero input or they shouldnt work together. Our GM working with the HC to get him the players he needs is a good thing.

[Maury Ballstein]

http://www.espnfrontrow.com/2017/01/fox-v-espn-anatomy-moving-target/

 

 

 

Boy , you sure are a genius OC...FS1 is just CRUSHING ESPN....

 

I will give you this, you love to take credit for being a genius when all evidence is clearly against you...maybe you should run for the presidency next cycle.

Hilarious to see him rooting his own horn with a big bowl of wrong.

[Mrbojanglezs]

McDermott has been here a month, won 0 games and he is already telling the owners who to hire above him?

[PromoTheRobot]

If you are the Coach do you want someone else picking players for you? I don't

How are you supposed to know who to pick if you are busy coaching?

[Pbomb]

I think this Whaley not getting along with coaches stuff gets entirely overblown. Looking back it seems that Marrone was a control freak who wanted say so on everything (should be interesting to see him under Coughlin). Then with Ryan other than the Cassel thing Whaley went out and got pretty much anyone Ryan wanted. And it looks like the same thing is going on with McDermott. That is actually working with your coach, not against him.

 

Whaley is not a gifted public speaker, and one can argue whether or not that's a pre-requisite for being a good GM. I posted back in my BBMB days that I have met two different Nobel prize winners during my career, both brilliant, and both lousy public speakers. Whaley does not have to be a brilliant public speaker to be an effective GM. I don't know the last time I heard from or saw an interview with Ozzie in Baltimore yet he's a great GM. Making McDermott the voice in public makes sense if it's a skill set he has that the GM doesn't.

 

Whaley certainly is on thin ice. But that should properly be judged by the team's performance on the field and not his performance in a press conference.

 

Oh, and this all comes back to speculation by LaCanfora, and this is his trade in stock now. He seemingly just randomly throws crap against a wall, because he doesn't have to have any accountability apparently to his management if he's wrong. Must be nice to have a job where you can just throw around and/or make up rumors and get paid for it. Wonder where I can apply.

good post

[PromoTheRobot]

All this based on one LaConjecture throwaway.

[BillsFan17]

While I'm at it....

 

I remember a thread about sports media, a few years ago...when I predicted that FS1 would destroy ESPN, specifically because: Fox management has already proven it knows how to penetrate a seemingly impenetrable market(See: Ratings of Fox News, today), because the market, in truth, is rotten.

 

I was told that I was totally wrong, and the business was so big that all FS1 was doing was jumping into an underserved market, at best. I was told all sorts of crap as well. The numbers don't lie. In 1996 Fox got into the cable news business. The business results have been devastating for their competition.

 

Now: I direct your, and those who told me I was totally wrong, to this: ESPN's top "talent" like them or not, have moved to FS1. And, there's this small story, about $100 million in on-air layoffs.

 

I wonder where those clowns who argued with me, back when FS1 started are today. Surely, they aren't going to show up in this thread and admit they were wrong.

 

In any event, as an internet expert I say: You should only worry about clickbait...if you can't comprehend "The Boy Who Called Wolf". Most of us learned that story in Pre-K. Some of us learned it later. In all cases? What happens to the boy?

Change is inevitable, I mean to be fair I don't think anyone considered losing Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless losing big time talent to the competiton. Sure, espn tried to retain them, but they are shock jocks who are blatant blowhards to get views/attention.

 

Furthermore, espn was the only real entity to poach from. Why aren't we hearing about FS1 having their own big names they have essentially helped build?

 

ESPN has been the cornerstone of the sports networking for how long? Every big dog in the yard will eventually have someone who tries to take their title.

 

Yet, ESPN, as of now still owns the market.

Edited March 24, 2017 by BillsFan17

[Keukasmallies]

McDermott has been here a month, won 0 games and he is already telling the owners who to hire above him?

 

That just could be the case when one considers McD was hired into a dumpster fire of an organization that hasn't put a quality product on the field since Christ was a midshipman.

[BillsFan2313]

I think they just want SMcD to be the "face" of the franchise, so we will see him speaking publicly more then anyone else. I mean, we couldn't possibly be trying to make front office changes 1 freakin month before the draft, right? Oh wait, we are the Bills...

[papazoid]

yea...because LaCanfora was way off on the Rex Ryan rumor.......(by a couple weeks)

 

Rex Ryan in jeopardy of losing his job as soon as this week, as is Tyrod Taylor

 

The fractious relationship between Ryan and GM Doug Whaley hasn't gotten any better

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rex-ryan-in-jeopardy-of-losing-his-job-as-soon-as-this-week-as-is-tyrod-taylor/

Edited March 24, 2017 by papazoid

[oldmanfan]

Change is inevitable, I mean to be fair I don't think anyone considered losing Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless losing big time talent to the competiton. Sure, espn tried to retain them, but they are shock jocks who are blatant blowhards to get views/attention.

 

Furthermore, espn was the only real entity to poach from. Why aren't we hearing about FS1 having their own big names they have essentially helped build?

 

ESPN has been the cornerstone of the sports networking for how long? Every big dog in the yard will eventually have someone who tries to take their title.

 

Yet, ESPN, as of now still owns the market.

 

 

 

ESPN >>>>> FS1. The reason ESPN is laying people off is complex, but some of it has to do with folks getting info from social media vs. TV and some of it has to do with the parent company (Disney) losing money on other corporate areas so they are tightening the belt in all areas.

 

 

[TheFunPolice]

Why would Whaley being let go after the draft really shock anyone?

 

He's made a few good picks and a couple nice trades. So have most NFL GMs not named Grigson.

 

In any event, it sounds like McDermott has a lot of pull with the Pegulas. Hey, maybe we got it right this time with the coach.

Edited March 24, 2017 by TheFunPolice

[Pbomb]

yea...because LaCanfora was way off on the Rex Ryan rumor.......(by a couple weeks)

 

Rex Ryan in jeopardy of losing his job as soon as this week, as is Tyrod Taylor

 

The fractious relationship between Ryan and GM Doug Whaley hasn't gotten any better

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/rex-ryan-in-jeopardy-of-losing-his-job-as-soon-as-this-week-as-is-tyrod-taylor/

werent 90% people saying rex was gonna get fired and it was pretty obvious tyrod wasnt playing well and they didnt want him getting hurt so not sure he really went out on a limb with those predictions. Also hes bound to be right sometimes when you just randomly throw stuff out there, how many times has he been wrong just this offseason Edited March 24, 2017 by Pbomb

[BillsFan17]

Why would Whaley being let go after the draft really shock anyone?

 

He's made a few good picks and a couple nice trades. So have most NFL GMs not named Grigson.

 

In any event, it sounds like McDermott has a lot of pull with the Pegulas. Hey, maybe we got it right this time with the coach.

Why would you allow him to be a part of the draft if you have intentions on firing him?

 

Plus, I don't think the intent would be to fire him, but shift his title.

[Fan in Chicago]

And it looks like the same thing is going on with McDermott. That is actually working with your coach, not against him.

 

Whaley is not a gifted public speaker, and one can argue whether or not that's a pre-requisite for being a good GM. I posted back in my BBMB days that I have met two different Nobel prize winners during my career, both brilliant, and both lousy public speakers. Whaley does not have to be a brilliant public speaker to be an effective GM. I don't know the last time I heard from or saw an interview with Ozzie in Baltimore yet he's a great GM. Making McDermott the voice in public makes sense if it's a skill set he has that the GM doesn't.

 

Whaley certainly is on thin ice. But that should properly be judged by the team's performance on the field and not his performance in a press conference.

 

 

Good post, oldman.

[BillsFanInJax]

If Whaley gets fired, it will be because of his draft record and philosophy about how to build a rosters Whaley does not place as much emphasis on the draft as others do. He prefers to build through street free agents. That's fine. He still ahs to win with them. That will be the determining factor. Not whether or not he and McDermott love each other.

[Bray Wyatt]

 

 

Yeah, thank goodness we disregarded it when he said it looked like Tyrod and the Bills would re-negotiate a new deal.

 

 

 

Enough with the "attack the messenger" stuff. Seems like the most common form of argument on the internet sometimes and certainly on Bills boards, the whole "I don't like the idea, so let's attack the writer" nonsense. That's probably the status quo ... if you like what's reported, you discuss it and believe it, and if you don't like it, you blame the media.

 

 

 

I personally wouldn't mind a bit if Whaley loses power. He doesn't seem to me to have done enough to still be here.

 

I actually have no problem with the message, so there goes your narrative, the fact remains that he has little credibility with me and others and was making light of that.