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New TG Story - Bruce and Willford lobbied for Reich to follow Marrone - Russ and Whaley pushed back


Reed83HOF

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2 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Not so much “complaining” on my part, just a desire to finally let it go.

 

Great times, they certainly were. But this franchise can’t keep living 30 years ago, and it seems like they’re wise to it. Except for milking the jersey retirements the last two years, which I see no problem with for marketing purposes.

 

 We don’t need to know/care what Bruce or JK or whoever would do if they were ‘in charge’.

 

Us fans can discuss but this shouldn't bother Owner, or Gm since in the past. Us fans can discuss this. 

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2 minutes ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

But it all begins and ends with Luck's shoulder, no? Also, even if Luck is healthy - given all the assets - if they suck next year, FR may be out, no? And Daboll does so well at Buffalo next year that he is hired somewhere as HC. Then we can have BS and WW once again lobbying to have FR as our OC. 

That’s all kinda crazy. They have one of the better GMs in the league and Reich’s not going anywhere anytime soon. As Bills fans, we like to boast about the cap space, Colts have over 100 million to spend and they could very well be heading to the AFCCG after this weekend. 

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7 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

 

Not so much “complaining” on my part, just a desire to finally let it go.

 

Great times, they certainly were. But this franchise can’t keep living 30 years ago, and it seems like they’re wise to it. Except for milking the jersey retirements the last two years, which I see no problem with for marketing purposes.

 

 We don’t need to know/care what Bruce or JK or whoever would do if they were ‘in charge’.

complaining wasn't the right word, and i completely agree with the concept.  i'm not a fan of teams listening to past players either.  we appreciate you time, now please move along.

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13 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This, pretty much.   We are all creatures of our aggregate experience.

 

At the time Marrone exercised his clause and left, Reich had I believe two years experience as the OC of the San Diego Chargers.  After improvement his first year and despite a HOF QB, the Chargers offense was struggling - I think 26th overall in points, 31st in rushing yards.  Reich was fired and went to the Eagles.

 

It's entirely possible that the whole experience of being fired led to reflection and regrouping that caused success when Reich got the chance to work with Pederson and the Eagles.  Possibly he learned something working for Pederson and with Schwartz as DC that is helping him find success with the Colts.

 

Hindsight is 20/20 but we can never know.

 

That said, I will say it is lame not to have at least taken the calls.

 

He could have had Schwartz here as his DC. Albeit we also would have Whaley as our GM and most likely have not traded with KC & drafted Mahomes who both Whaley and IIRC Terry liked. I may very well be able to live with that.

 

The pressure would have been immense and expectations would be high. I also like that we finally cleaned house.  

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I doubt their lobbying helped Reich's cause. If anything, it hurt the cause with a bunch of former players lobbying to get him hired. "Hire Frank, he never partied with us, knew the X's and O's in 1993!" Glad Brandon is gone and Reich actually would have been a good hire, but I could envision that not going well with any front office.

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3 minutes ago, CommonCents said:

That’s all kinda crazy. They have one of the better GMs in the league and Reich’s not going anywhere anytime soon. As Bills fans, we like to boast about the cap space, Colts have over 100 million to spend and they could very well be heading to the AFCCG after this weekend. 

I dont know about their GM or that it matters much, but in his first year he led them to the playoffs AND Won the game. If McDermott cant be on the hot seat for the team taking a giant step back after falling backwards into a playoff spot, how will Reich be on the hot seat after winning at least one playoff game in his first try?

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31 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Good to see the front office let go of the 90’s.

 

Let that era finally rest. It’s ancient and completely irrelevant at this point.

Obviously I'm a biased voice, I mean, look at my pic, 0:). That disclaimer out of the way, don't discount the value to a franchise of being able to draw upon its past to both inform and inspire, as well as setting a certain standard or bar that each successive regime/player generation should at least try to attain to/supersede. Why are some of the NFL's oldest franchises also its proudest for good reason, such as the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers or Bears? They honor their history and seek to (mostly) do that level proud, while at the same time forging updated offensive/defensive identities along the way to help sustain that. My point is, embrace it, don't try to run away from it. I'm not arguing to keep schemes the same, I'm arguing that past excellence to the extent that your franchise ever had it, should be the standard by which later eras are judged in comparison, and that's not a bad thing! And if there are some things that obviously worked back then, which could help you contemporaneously, why not try to incorporate it? Much of the Bills no-huddle approach in the 90's, such as a competent QB able to act as his own field general was still relevant as recently as Peyton's run in Indy, where he tweaked the no huddle to fit what worked for his skill set there. Football is football. How many times can it be re-invented before what is old becomes new yet again, like fashion? Frank Reich is who he is today because of his lifetime of football experience and IQ, a foundation honed in Buffalo in the 90's. How exactly is that irrelevant now to the success he's had over the past few years in coaching? Just my .02 cents, worthless as it is. :) Carry on.      

 

Also, many complaints were raised on this board this very year (not sure if you are included in this) that our FO/HC combo was too stuck in the 1950's...but now they're suddenly cutting edge compared to the 90's? That rationale is giving me mental whiplash.

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28 minutes ago, Logic said:

I think it's for the best that Reich never became the Bills head coach.

The pressure on him here would be ASTRONOMICAL. Not only that, but the fear that all of his ex-teammates would be too much of a distraction is probably a real one.

All things considered, I'm happy with how things turned out. 

 

This is a good point.

To have asked Reich to come in and break the drought would have been incredible pressure and it would have looked similar to when Marv Levy was brought in as GM in 2006.

 

There's no doubt that Reich benefitted from his time with Philly. He fell into a great situation with Indy and he's making the most of it. Happy for him. I don't wish that he was here.

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i pretty much hold the belief that Reich is charmed. not just because he had a pretty good career in the NFL or that he led not only the greatest comeback in the NFL but in the college ranks as well.  moreso because he wasn't hired by the Bills. no way was any coach going to be successful with the likes of the QB's we had here. forward to today... McDaniels pulls perhaps the biggest boneheaded move of all time and backs out of the Indy job to pave the way for Frank. the colts are set up to be very good for a very long time. get 'em Frank!

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17 minutes ago, Cheektowaga Chad said:

So they were worried about potential nepotism with Frank reich only to hire rex ryan.

 

Now thats funny

Well put!

The Buffalo Bills are a failed organization since 2000; despite a 2017 playoff appearance they remain a failed organization until they win consistently!! If you are butt hurt over criticism regarding past coaches, GM's, Russ Brandon or Doug Whaley, keep in mind that outside of the NFL they would have been fired much sooner! I agree maybe the timing was not right to hire Frank as the HC - but someone hired Rex Ryan who promptly let the DC of a top five defense walk then restructure the defense into a colossal failure!

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38 minutes ago, IgotBILLStopay said:

But it all begins and ends with Luck's shoulder, no? Also, even if Luck is healthy - given all the assets - if they suck next year, FR may be out, no? And Daboll does so well at Buffalo next year that he is hired somewhere as HC. Then we can have BS and WW once again lobbying to have FR as our OC. 

 

Let's just agree to disagree, but the likelihood of what you're proposing actually happening is less than 1 percent of 1 percent. 

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I agree with the notion that there were no guarantees Reich would have been the right guy at the time.  He hadn't had his success in Philadelphia yet - he learned a lot there.  

 

I think there's a more important point, however, a point that I think isn't lost on the Pegulas or McBeane.  To be successful, long term, you need a growing, unified organization.   When the Bills win the Super Bowl, it has to feel like a win to Kelly and to Bruce and to Kyle.   Everyone stays in the family, forever.   That's something Ralph didn't understand.  Don't burn bridges with Cookie and with Saban.   It's all a family, and it's always building.

 

And part of that is having the humility to listen to all those family members, even the drunk uncle who only drops in every five years.   Listen and make what you hear part of your decision making.   I think Brandon and Whaley, although I generally was supportive of what they were trying to do, had a circle-the-wagons mentality, but they didn't let everyone into the circle.  It was a small circle, and they tended not to care about what people outside thought.   It's easy for me to see them dismissing Bruce and Wolford, because they clearly were outside the circle. 

 

The Browns learned the lesson with Jim Brown.  They kept him out for a while.  It was a mistake.   You don't have to make him GM, like Elway, but you have to keep him inside the circle.  And you have to listen to him.

 

I think the Pegulas have figured this out.  In fact, I think McBeane have taught them about this, and they've taken it to heart.  McDermott preaches Bills history and community.   It's the OneBuffalo concept.  When Bruce called, Russ Brandon probably told his assistant to take a message.   When Bruce calls Beane, I'd guess Beane takes the call if he can.   And Kim and Terry, too.   They won't take your call or mine, but they'll talk to Bruce. 

 

Thinks have changed at OBD.   Timing may not have been right for Reich, but things have changed, and the Bills are headed in the right direction.  

11 minutes ago, vorpma said:

Well put!

The Buffalo Bills are a failed organization since 2000; despite a 2017 playoff appearance they remain a failed organization until they win consistently!! If you are butt hurt over criticism regarding past coaches, GM's, Russ Brandon or Doug Whaley, keep in mind that outside of the NFL they would have been fired much sooner! I agree maybe the timing was not right to hire Frank as the HC - but someone hired Rex Ryan who promptly let the DC of a top five defense walk then restructure the defense into a colossal failure!

The Pegulas learned a big lesson with Rex.  Several lessons.  Their process wasn't right, and the people they had running the process weren't right.  They figured that out and they changed it.  It's too early to tell, but I think they got it right this time.  They ran - THEY ran - a better process, and they made hires that resulted in a coherent, integrated front office team, owners, GM and HC headed in one direction together.   

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9 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I agree with the notion that there were no guarantees Reich would have been the right guy at the time.  He hadn't had his success in Philadelphia yet - he learned a lot there.  

 

I think there's a more important point, however, a point that I think isn't lost on the Pegulas or McBeane.  To be successful, long term, you need a growing, unified organization.   When the Bills win the Super Bowl, it has to feel like a win to Kelly and to Bruce and to Kyle.   Everyone stays in the family, forever.   That's something Ralph didn't understand.  Don't burn bridges with Cookie and with Saban.   It's all a family, and it's always building.

 

And part of that is having the humility to listen to all those family members, even the drunk uncle who only drops in every five years.   Listen and make what you hear part of your decision making.   I think Brandon and Whaley, although I generally was supportive of what they were trying to do, had a circle-the-wagons mentality, but they didn't let everyone into the circle.  It was a small circle, and they tended not to care about what people outside thought.   It's easy for me to see them dismissing Bruce and Wolford, because they clearly were outside the circle. 

 

The Browns learned the lesson with Jim Brown.  They kept him out for a while.  It was a mistake.   You don't have to make him GM, like Elway, but you have to keep him inside the circle.  And you have to listen to him.

 

I think the Pegulas have figured this out.  In fact, I think McBeane have taught them about this, and they've taken it to heart.  McDermott preaches Bills history and community.   It's the OneBuffalo concept.  When Bruce called, Russ Brandon probably told his assistant to take a message.   When Bruce calls Beane, I'd guess Beane takes the call if he can.   And Kim and Terry, too.   They won't take your call or mine, but they'll talk to Bruce. 

 

Thinks have changed at OBD.   Timing may not have been right for Reich, but things have changed, and the Bills are headed in the right direction.  

The Pegulas learned a big lesson with Rex.  Several lessons.  Their process wasn't right, and the people they had running the process weren't right.  They figured that out and they changed it.  It's too early to tell, but I think they got it right this time.  They ran - THEY ran - a better process, and they made hires that resulted in a coherent, integrated front office team, owners, GM and HC headed in one direction together.   

Great post and well articulated!

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