Was Buddy Nix A Good GM? Make Your Case

[BuffaloRush]

Working on my popular blog post "Hits and Misses: How Successful Was GM Buddy Nix in The Draft,"   made me wonder - do my fellow Bills fans think Buddy Nix a good GM? In my opinion, I will say NO he was not a good GM.   People complain about the tenure's of Marv Levy and Russ Brandon as GM, but the winning percentage of the Bills was actually much higher under Levy (14-18) and Brandon (13-19) than Buddy(16-32).

 

He had some good draft picks in Gilmore, Cordy, Marcell.  Buddy also should be credited with the trade of Jerry Hughes for Kelvin Sheppard (which his assistant Doug Whaley was heavily involved with).  He also had a really cool accent and a "hip for an old guy" look.

 

But there's a lot that he didn't do well including missing on many other selections including drafting Torrell Troupe over Rob Gronkowski and then wasting a very high draft pick on CJ Spiller when the team was stacked at RB.

Buddy also mismanaged the QB position by hitching his wagon to Ryan Fitzpatrick as his franchise QB and signing him to a long-term deal which hindered their salary cap.  In the process he put off the decision to draft a QB of future and passed on several prospects.  In the end, Buddy put the team in "QB purgatory" resulting in ridiculous over-drafting of EJ Manuel in round 1 (which Doug Whaley was heavily involved). 

 

Then there's free agency - Buddy never seemed to get that right.  He would tend to overpay very average talents (Dwan Edwards, Brad Smith, Erik Pearz) and severely overpay good talents (Matio Williams, Mark Anderson, Spencer Johnson).  Unlike some of the great Bills GM's, he never really had a great free agent signing.  

 

But I am sure someone will make the argument for Buddy being a good GM.   In the end, I don't think his tenure as GM really helped the team.   Instead you can make the argument he left them worse off than the previous regime 

 

 

 

[jtothebrown]

Who really cares? Hes long gone, and most of who he drafted is too!

[Buffalo716]

I really don't think of Good ol Buddy Nix too much but he definitely started the rejuvenation of the Bills bedsides some questionable decisions 

 

he brought in NFL talent 

[26CornerBlitz]

Just now, jtothebrown said:

Who really cares? Hes long gone, and most of who he drafted is too!

 

16-32. He's gone.  Onward!

[BringBackOrton]

Buddy Nix drafted many blue chip talents, acquired some blue chip talents in FA, but never found a QB.  His era is largely over from top to bottom on this roster, but the best players from 2010 - 2017 were almost all his doing.

6 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Working on my popular blog post "Hits and Misses: How Successful Was GM Buddy Nix in The Draft,"   made me wonder - do my fellow Bills fans think Buddy Nix a good GM? In my opinion, I will say NO he was not a good GM.   People complain about the tenure's of Marv Levy and Russ Brandon as GM, but the winning percentage of the Bills was actually much higher under Levy (14-18) and Brandon (13-19) than Buddy(16-32).

 

He had some good draft picks in Gilmore, Cordy, Marcell.  Buddy also should be credited with the trade of Jerry Hughes for Kelvin Sheppard (which his assistant Doug Whaley was heavily involved with).  He also had a really cool accent and a "hip for an old guy" look.

 

But there's a lot that he didn't do well including missing on many other selections including drafting Torrell Troupe over Rob Gronkowski and then wasting a very high draft pick on CJ Spiller when the team was stacked at RB.

Buddy also mismanaged the QB position by hitching his wagon to Ryan Fitzpatrick as his franchise QB and signing him to a long-term deal which hindered their salary cap.  In the process he put off the decision to draft a QB of future and passed on several prospects.  In the end, Buddy put the team in "QB purgatory" resulting in ridiculous over-drafting of EJ Manuel in round 1 (which Doug Whaley was heavily involved). 

 

Then there's free agency - Buddy never seemed to get that right.  He would tend to overpay very average talents (Dwan Edwards, Brad Smith, Erik Pearz) and severely overpay good talents (Matio Williams, Mark Anderson, Spencer Johnson).  Unlike some of the great Bills GM's, he never really had a great free agent signing.  

 

But I am sure someone will make the argument for Buddy being a good GM.   In the end, I don't think his tenure as GM really helped the team.   Instead you can make the argument he left them worse off than the previous regime 

 

 

 

I don't think you can.

[Rockee96]

Is this even a question? He was a horrible GM!

[Captain Murica]

 

Basically my thoughts on Buddy Nix. 

[JohnC]

A checker player playing in an elite chess tournament. He represented the old school of thought when everyone else was practicing the new school of thought. 

[Maynard]

Why? Are you that bored? Guess I am because I’m responding.....yay

[BuffaloRush]

17 minutes ago, jmc12290 said:

Buddy Nix drafted many blue chip talents, acquired some blue chip talents in FA, but never found a QB.  His era is largely over from top to bottom on this roster, but the best players from 2010 - 2017 were almost all his doing.

I don't think you can.

 

Take a look at his winning percentage 16-32.  He never finished a season with more than 6 wins, while both Marv Levy and Russ Brandon who are lauded as "bad" GM's never won less than 6. 

 

Also who are the "many" blue chip talents?  I think I listed the three players he drafted outside of that he didn't have as many "hits."   

 

And who were his FA hits?  Mario Williams was good in Buffalo but he never was a difference maker and his contract left the team in Salary Cap Hell. 

 

9 minutes ago, Maynard said:

Why? Are you that bored? Guess I am because I’m responding.....yay

 

Ugh terrible post

Edited March 23, 2018 by BuffaloRush

[frostbitmic]

No .... Because I can't make a case for why he was a good GM.

[BringBackOrton]

1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Take a look at his winning percentage 16-32.  He never finished a season with more than 6 wins, while both Marv Levy and Russ Brandon who are lauded as "bad" GM's never won less than 6. 

 

Also who are the "many" blue chip talents?  I think I listed the three players he drafted outside of that he didn't have as many "hits."   

 

And who were his FA hits?  Mario Williams was good in Buffalo but he never was a difference maker and his contract left the team in Salary Cap Hell.  Your take on Buddy is unfound.

 

Ugh terrible post

No, wrong.

 

The Bills pre-2010 had almost zero talent, thanks to mismanagment.  Dick Jauron got them to 7-9, but those teams sucked.

 

Gilmore, Dareus, Cordy, Bradham, Searcy, Aaron Williams etc etc.

[BuffaloRush]

23 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

I really don't think of Good ol Buddy Nix too much but he definitely started the rejuvenation of the Bills bedsides some questionable decisions 

 

he brought in NFL talent 

 

The rejuvination!?!?!?  It took the team 7 years, 3 GMs, 4 HCs, and 1 new owner until they made the playoffs!  That’s one long rejuvination.

[Scorp83]

No! He wasn't as bad as Russ Brandon acting like a GM... but you don't take Spiller when you already have BeastMode & FredEx on the roster. Then... drafting EJ... & leaving it on Whaley was just plain wrong! 

[Your Brown Eye]

nope

[BuffaloRush]

2 minutes ago, jmc12290 said:

No, wrong.

 

The Bills pre-2010 had almost zero talent, thanks to mismanagment.  Dick Jauron got them to 7-9, but those teams sucked.

 

Gilmore, Dareus, Cordy, Bradham, Searcy, Aaron Williams etc etc.

 

You may say that they “sucked,” but the records don’t lie.  Those teams consistently had more wins than any team that Buddy put on the field in his 3 years as GM.

 

Aaron Williams and Nigel bradham were good pics and nice NFL players.  I would not call them “blue chippers.”  Beside Most Bills GMs hit on players like this.

 

Calling DaNorris Searcy a blue chipper is beyond laughable.  He was a competent starter at best.  Probably not the player that you want to use to support your argument 

3 minutes ago, Scorp83 said:

No! He wasn't as bad as Russ Brandon acting like a GM... but you don't take Spiller when you already have BeastMode & FredEx on the roster. Then... drafting EJ... & leaving it on Whaley was just plain wrong! 

 

You say Buddy wasn’t as bad as Russ but the bottom line is that Russ’s teams had a super winning percentage.

 

Also don’t be fooled that Whaley wasn’t “all in” on EJ.  He wouldn’t have made the ridiculous trade for Sammy in 2014 if he didn’t believe in him.

[BringBackOrton]

1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

You may say that they “sucked,” but the records don’t lie.  Those teams consistently had more wins than any team that Buddy put on the field in his 3 years as GM.

 

Aaron Williams and Nigel bradham were good pics and nice NFL players.  I would not call them “blue chippers.”  Beside Most Bills GMs hit on players like this.

 

Calling DaNorris Searcy a blue chipper is beyond laughable.  He was a competent starter at best.  Probably not the player that you want to use to support your argument 

I guess they aren't blue chippers, but Dareus, Gilmore and Cordy ceratainly were.  The rest were just good picks and players.  Mario was a blue chipper too.

 

I think you can EASILY make the argument that Mario Williams was the best FA signing in the last 10 years. Maybe 20.

[Buffalo716]

9 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

The rejuvination!?!?!?  It took the team 7 years, 3 GMs, 4 HCs, and 1 new owner until they made the playoffs!  That’s one long rejuvination.

 

If you look at the rosters pre Nix and When he retired i think you will see that he added a lot of talent to the roster 

 

we had GMs like Marv Levy who sucked and Russ Brandon. We didn't field an NFL line backing core

 

He added a lot of talent to make our defense very Good 

Edited March 23, 2018 by Buffalo716

[BuffaloRush]

Just now, jmc12290 said:

I guess they aren't blue chippers, but Dareus, Gilmore and Cordy ceratainly were.  The rest were just good picks and players.  Mario was a blue chipper too.

 

I think you can EASILY make the argument that Mario Williams was the best FA signing in the last 10 years. Maybe 20.

 

Are we talking the best signing on paper or on the field?

 

because I can tell you that John Butler signing Bryce Paup and Ted washington in 1995 were far better signings and their performance translated in improvement on the defense.

 

Now I will say, Mario was perhaps the highest profile FA to sign with the team.  He had a few good years but I really don’t remember him making an impact in games like a Khalil Mack or JJ Watt do.  Also that contract really did hurt the Bills under the cap.  

Just now, Buffalo716 said:

 

If you look at the rosters pre Nix and When he retired i think you will see that he added a lot of talent to the roster 

 

we had GMs like Marv Levy who sucked and Russ Brandon

 

He added a lot of talent to make our defense very Good 

 

Again...you say that they suck but how can you quantify that statement when Buddy’s teams always had less wins that any team Brandon was a part of?

[BringBackOrton]

1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Are we talking the best signing on paper or on the field?

 

because I can tell you that John Butler signing Bryce Paup and Ted washington in 1995 were far better signings and their performance translated in improvement on the defense.

 

Now I will say, Mario was perhaps the highest profile FA to sign with the team.  He had a few good years but I really don’t remember him making an impact in games like a Khalil Mack or JJ Watt do.  Also that contract really did hurt the Bills under the cap.  

 

Again...you say that they suck but how can you quantify that statement when Buddy’s teams always had less wins that any team Brandon was a part of?

That was 23 years ago.

 

Best FA signing in the last 20 years.  Mario.  Nix.

Edited March 23, 2018 by jmc12290

[ctk232]

36 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

Working on my popular blog post "Hits and Misses: How Successful Was GM Buddy Nix in The Draft,"   made me wonder - do my fellow Bills fans think Buddy Nix a good GM? In my opinion, I will say NO he was not a good GM.   People complain about the tenure's of Marv Levy and Russ Brandon as GM, but the winning percentage of the Bills was actually much higher under Levy (14-18) and Brandon (13-19) than Buddy(16-32).

 

He had some good draft picks in Gilmore, Cordy, Marcell.  Buddy also should be credited with the trade of Jerry Hughes for Kelvin Sheppard (which his assistant Doug Whaley was heavily involved with).  He also had a really cool accent and a "hip for an old guy" look.

 

But there's a lot that he didn't do well including missing on many other selections including drafting Torrell Troupe over Rob Gronkowski and then wasting a very high draft pick on CJ Spiller when the team was stacked at RB.

Buddy also mismanaged the QB position by hitching his wagon to Ryan Fitzpatrick as his franchise QB and signing him to a long-term deal which hindered their salary cap.  In the process he put off the decision to draft a QB of future and passed on several prospects.  In the end, Buddy put the team in "QB purgatory" resulting in ridiculous over-drafting of EJ Manuel in round 1 (which Doug Whaley was heavily involved). 

 

Then there's free agency - Buddy never seemed to get that right.  He would tend to overpay very average talents (Dwan Edwards, Brad Smith, Erik Pearz) and severely overpay good talents (Matio Williams, Mark Anderson, Spencer Johnson).  Unlike some of the great Bills GM's, he never really had a great free agent signing.  

 

But I am sure someone will make the argument for Buddy being a good GM.   In the end, I don't think his tenure as GM really helped the team.   Instead you can make the argument he left them worse off than the previous regime 

 

 

 

No. Scoreboard. Now, on to the draft.

[Scorp83]

3 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

You may say that they “sucked,” but the records don’t lie.  Those teams consistently had more wins than any team that Buddy put on the field in his 3 years as GM.

 

Aaron Williams and Nigel bradham were good pics and nice NFL players.  I would not call them “blue chippers.”  Beside Most Bills GMs hit on players like this.

 

Calling DaNorris Searcy a blue chipper is beyond laughable.  He was a competent starter at best.  Probably not the player that you want to use to support your argument 

 

You say Buddy wasn’t as bad as Russ but the bottom line is that Russ’s teams had a super winning percentage.

 

Also don’t be fooled that Whaley wasn’t “all in” on EJ.  He wouldn’t have made the ridiculous trade for Sammy in 2014 if he didn’t believe in him.

I don't think he believed in him... cause if he did... he wouldn't have traded up for Sammy. The Sammy Trade was more "This Kid isn't good... but we can't bail on him with only 14 games...so let's get him the best WR to come out since Julio Jones & maybe it will hide EJ flawes".

 

If Whaley believed in EJ,  he would have just took any WR that fell to him...but he wanted to hide his deficiencies & with only 14 starts at the time... we just couldn't bell on him...all we knew is that he wasn't that good & will probably need ALOT of weapons for him to be ok. I can't blame that on Whaley... it's would of made us look like a dumpster fire.

 

Every media outlet took as we're trying to build around him. Which we were but if he was good we didn't have to do that.

[Buffalo716]

17 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

Are we talking the best signing on paper or on the field?

 

because I can tell you that John Butler signing Bryce Paup and Ted washington in 1995 were far better signings and their performance translated in improvement on the defense.

 

Now I will say, Mario was perhaps the highest profile FA to sign with the team.  He had a few good years but I really don’t remember him making an impact in games like a Khalil Mack or JJ Watt do.  Also that contract really did hurt the Bills under the cap.  

 

Again...you say that they suck but how can you quantify that statement when Buddy’s teams always had less wins that any team Brandon was a part of?

 

Because we had a older coach in Chan who Made the most out of what he had on offense ... chan was hired because NO ONE else really wanted the job. We were that devoid of talent 

 

Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick were his QBs...  Stevie Johnson was his best receiver 

 

we were very limited and easy to gameplan for. Our whole offense ran within 12-15 yards of the LoS

Edited March 23, 2018 by Buffalo716

[BuffaloRush]

1 minute ago, Scorp83 said:

I don't think he believed in him... cause if he did... he wouldn't have traded up for Sammy. The Sammy Trade was more "This Kid isn't good... but we can't bail on him with only 14 games...so let's get him the best WR to come out since Julio Jones & maybe it will hide EJ flawes".

 

If Whaley believed in EJ,  he would have just took any WR that fell to him...but he wanted to hide his deficiencies & with only 14 starts at the time... we just couldn't bell on him...all we knew is that he wasn't that good & will probably need ALOT of weapons for him to be ok. I can't blame that on Whaley... it's would of made us look like a dumpster fire.

 

Every media outlet took as we're trying to build around him. Which we were but if he was good we didn't have to do that.

 

No it wouldn’t.  Washington trades the house to draft RG3 and still took Kirk Cousins in the 3rd round.  If paid off big time for them and no one accused them of being a “dumpster fire.” 

 

Also, there is a video from 2013 where Doug firmly is behind EJ and basically says he won’t be GM if EJ is not successful (he was right).  PLUS Doug admitted his involvement with drafting EJ numerous times on air.  He was a “Buffalo Bills pick.”  

 

Im not saying that he made the final call but I do believe that Whaley was invested in EJ, perhaps as much as Buddy was. 

[K-9]

Franchise QB: didn't have one, couldn't get one. 'Nuff said. 

[Gugny]

Have the Bills ever had a good GM?

 

Seriously.

 

I think Beane MIGHT be the first.  I also think Whaley was the closest to good that this team has ever had.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I saw this really compelling, objective and statistically sound analysis that proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he belongs in the hall of fame, as he was far better than a predecessor that’s already indoctrinated. 

[BuffaloRush]

8 minutes ago, Over 29 years of fanhood said:

I saw this really compelling, objective and statistically sound analysis that proved beyond any shadow of doubt that he belongs in the hall of fame, as he was far better than a predecessor that’s already indoctrinated. 

 

What in the blue hell are you talking about 

19 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Have the Bills ever had a good GM?

 

Seriously.

 

I think Beane MIGHT be the first.  I also think Whaley was the closest to good that this team has ever had.

 

Sure the Bills never had a good GM...Polian, Butler...never

[hemma]

Was he better than the guy who preceded him?

How about the one before that or for that matter, the one after he retired?

 

Sometimes I wonder if site owners aren't paying a smallish group to create troll threads as 'traffic bait'.

I saw the same **** at BBMB for many years.

 

Give the man a break.  He is in his 70's, always loyal to his team and served the NFL for many years. 

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

1 minute ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

What in the blue hell are you talking about 

 

Sure the Bills never had a good GM...Polian, Butler...never

Oh you know. You know

[BuffaloRush]

8 minutes ago, hemma said:

Was he better than the guy who preceded him?

How about the one before that or for that matter, the one after he retired?

 

Sometimes I wonder if site owners aren't paying a smallish group to create troll threads as 'traffic bait'.

I saw the same **** at BBMB for many years.

 

Give the man a break.  He is in his 70's, always loyal to his team and served the NFL for many years. 

 

 

How in the world is this “traffic bait?”  It’s a question that Bills fans, as you’ll in this thread, have varying opinions of.  

 

What does his age have to does to do with it?   

[Ray Finkel]

32 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

What in the blue hell are you talking about 

 

Sure the Bills never had a good GM...Polian, Butler...never

Butler lived off Polian's coat tails.

[K-9]

1 minute ago, Ray Finkel said:

Butler lived off Polian's coat tails.

And got us into cap hell, too. 

[Ray Finkel]

Just now, K-9 said:

And got us into cap hell, too. 

No doubt.  He knew he was going to San Diego.

[Scorp83]

54 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

No it wouldn’t.  Washington trades the house to draft RG3 and still took Kirk Cousins in the 3rd round.  If paid off big time for them and no one accused them of being a “dumpster fire.” 

 

Also, there is a video from 2013 where Doug firmly is behind EJ and basically says he won’t be GM if EJ is not successful (he was right).  PLUS Doug admitted his involvement with drafting EJ numerous times on air.  He was a “Buffalo Bills pick.”  

 

Im not saying that he made the final call but I do believe that Whaley was invested in EJ, perhaps as much as Buddy was. 

When he said "It was a Buffalo Bills pick" that's him not throwing Buddy under the bus. If Whaley was guilty of anything, it was showing too much loyalty to the wrong people. Loyalty to Buddy... & Loyalty to EJ... he's a better man then most. Cause if it was me... I would have said "EJ wasn't my pick & we're moving in a different direction" ... but he didn't want to do that. How would you have looked at him if he said that?

[Buffalo86]

Buddy Rip Van Nix fell asleep under a tree the night before free agency opened & woke up just in time for the season.  

 

When he spent his first two picks on Spiller and Troup, I distinctly heard the sound of a toilet flushing.  

 

But never let it be said that he was not highly skilled in the ways of the dumpster dive.

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, jmc12290 said:

I guess they aren't blue chippers, but Dareus, Gilmore and Cordy ceratainly were.  The rest were just good picks and players.  Mario was a blue chipper too.

 

I think you can EASILY make the argument that Mario Williams was the best FA signing in the last 10 years. Maybe 20.

Mario was the man for his first 4 years in Buffalo.  The point about the Mario signing that is often over looked is the statement that move made.  Buffalo was known as a franchise that wouldn't pay for talent and wasn't committed to winning.  Wade Philips had sue to Ralph to get what was contractually owed to him after being fired.  The Bills had a terrible reputation around the league.

 

Signing Mario put Buffalo on map up there with North Haverbrook, Ogdenville and Brockway.  The message was received around the league and we've had much better success in free agency since.  God bless all them deers in Jim's backyard.

[Freddie's Dead]

Not even sure why this is a question.  Drafted Spiller when Bulaga was there to fill a need.  Actually traded up for TJumptomakeacatch Graham, passing over both Russell Wilson and Captain Kirk.  Dumped Fitz and drafted EJ.  I could go on, but I got better things to do.

[JimKellyTryouts]

He was a turd that didn't stink as much as his predecessors, but was awful nonetheless.

• Stressed the importance of holding onto his draft picks and needing to nail all 9 of them in his first year, only for it to be one of the worst drafts in franchise history - and that's saying something.
• FA at midnight? "Hell no, I'm going to sleep."
• Even without the wiretap leak to Mark Dominik, he made it 100% transparent that 2013 was the time to draft a franchise QB. Go ****ing figure it was such an awful class.
• Indirectly responsible for the team continuing to stay in mediocrity by having the right to pick his successor in Doug Whaley. I've been a big supporter of Whaley, but in retrospect, he simply was not a good GM and will likely not get another shot to run a team.

Heck, maybe if someone besides Chan Gailey wanted to interview with us in 2009, he could have been much better off, but I wouldn't count on it. The talent on our team definitely improved throughout his tenure, but again, that's not really saying that much. Once Doug and the remainder of our scouting department/lifers left, we were finally ready to move on from Ralph's to Terry's Buffalo Bills.

[Watching since 1964]

I asked Mark Gaughan about the EJ pick and he replied that it was Nix’s and Whaley’s together.