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Fairburn: Bills Director of Player Personnel Dan Morgan is considered a future GM


YoloinOhio

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When injuries cut his NFL career short, Dan Morgan restarted from the bottom, all the way to the Bills’ front office

Excerpts from The Athletic article below ...

Quote

John Schneider first met Dan Morgan 18 years ago. Then the Seahawks director of player personnel, Schneider was handling interviews at the 2001 NFL Scouting Combine. Players were shuffling in and out of the Seahawks’ room in Indianapolis and in walked Morgan, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker prototype.

 


Morgan came with a sterling resume. He was the only three-time captain in the history of the University of Miami and the first linebacker to start as a freshman there since Ray Lewis. He capped his career as an All-American with numerous defensive awards. Schneider saw then what made Morgan the top linebacker in that draft.

“He was a rockstar,” Schneider said.

The Seahawks considered taking Morgan with the ninth pick, but ultimately decided on wide receiver Koren Robinson. Schneider then hoped his mentor in Green Bay, Ron Wolf, would take Morgan at No. 10, but the Packers drafted Jamal Reynolds instead. The Panthers snagged Morgan with the 11th pick.

That first impression lasted with Schneider and, in a way, put Morgan on the path to becoming the Buffalo Bills’ director of player personnel.
.......

Most seem to think Morgan becoming a general manager is a matter of when, not if. That’s what Bills general manager Brandon  saw last spring. When Brian Gaine left the Bills’ staff to become the Texans’ general manager, Beane only needed to conduct one interview. Morgan was at the top of the running list of potential hires Beane keeps. He was in Carolina when Morgan played and they had stayed in touch at the Senior Bowl and Combine over the years. Beane believed he would be a good fit, and the interview cemented it.

The Bills hired Morgan as director of player personnel, which was another step up for him. After rising from intern to director of pro personnel in seven seasons with the Seahawks, Morgan hit a ceiling in Seattle. The Seahawks didn’t have a promotion available, but they also didn’t want to lose him. Schneider and Morgan became close friends and took family vacations together.

....
Morgan’s discipline has been on full display since the minute he walked in the door. No, he’s  taking practice reps anymore, but Morgan’s routine is meticulous. He’s up at 5 a.m. to get a workout in at a local gym. He’s at the facility by 6:30 a.m. and watching film half an hour later.

“I watch tape from 7 o’clock in the morning until 8 o’clock at night,” Morgan said. “It’s not glamorous, but it’s something that I love to do. It was pretty easy for me to get back into it. I’ve never been scared to work and that was the one thing I knew with this job was that the hours were going to be long and I was going to have to put in a lot of work. I was completely fine with that.”

Those hours aren’t an exaggeration, either, Beane points out.

“He loves ball,” Beane said. “He likes talking ball. If I go back (into the office), I guarantee he has the film on.”

How he watches tape has changed, though. He’s looking less at schemes and tendencies and more at traits of individual players and how they could help the Bills. He’s brought over some of the ideas he picked up in Seattle, but he’s also made an effort to fit in with the current group of personnel staff, including Joe Schoen, Malik Boyd and Terrance Gray.

 

 

Edited by YoloinOhio
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Many of us said at the time that first front office staff that Beane put together really was an exceptional group. Two guys have already gone out on promotion - Brian Gaine to be GM of Houston and Marvin Allen to be Assistant GM of the Dolphins. There will be more to come. He hired an outstanding staff.

 

The question now is does he still have his finger on the pulse to replace them? Some guys prepare their ideal first staff for years waiting for their big chance but then once in the job take their eye off the high fliers lower down the ranks. Beane doesn't strike me as that sort and I hope he isn't.

Edited by GunnerBill
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1 hour ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...sure sounds like McBeane made some excellent hires for his staff when others come knocking........dammit.....

 

Watever - just another Carolina Connection!  These guys need to get smart and bring in some REAL talent!!!

 

?:beer:

 

 

 

(Great article!)

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25 minutes ago, boco357 said:

Mcdermott when he was hired, said they wanted to never hold back their employees and encourage promotions, so looks that way so far

 

That being said if he is that good pay the man $$$$$ so he does not feel so "held back".

 

I am a bit selfish regarding this, as I would like to see more continuity in the Bills FO.

 

That being said, you still don't block guys from taking a promotion if your perks can't sway them towards retention.

 

 

 

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13 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Many of us said at the time that first front office staff that Beane put together really was an exceptional group. Two guys have already gone out on promotion - Brian Gaine to be GM of Houston and Marvin Allen to be Assistant GM of the Dolphins. There will be more to come. He hired an outstanding staff.

 

The question now is does he still have his finger on the pulse to replace them? Some guys prepare their ideal first staff for years waiting for their big chance but then once in the job take their eye off the high fliers lower down the ranks. Beane doesn't strike me as that sort and I hope he isn't.

Gains was never going to be here long. He actually interviewed for the GM role for the Bills at the same time as Beane. It was always just a matter of the right fit coming open for him.  Allen took a demotion when he came to Buffalo, so I feel the same way about him. He was Director of College Recruiting for KC and came to Buffalo as a Sr Scout. I think Joe Schoen or Dennis Hickey will be in the mix next hiring cycle if the Bills are successful. Depending on this next draft, I’d also look for Terrance Gray and Lake Dawson to get close looks. Dawson already has gotten some interviews.

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4 minutes ago, FeelingOnYouboty said:

It's the first time in forever where the league is looking at the Bills FO to hire guys. Credit to Beane but I hope he continues to hire young guys who look at the league differently. 

It’s not in the FO but I really like the ST coach hire. It’s different and fresh to bring in former ST stud on the field instead of the old guy who just keeps getting jobs because of experience and connections. 

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7 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Gains was never going to be here long. He actually interviewed for the GM role for the Bills at the same time as Beane. It was always just a matter of the right fit coming open for him.  Allen took a demotion when he came to Buffalo, so I feel the same way about him. He was Director of College Recruiting for KC and came to Buffalo as a Sr Scout. I think Joe Schoen or Dennis Hickey will be in the mix next hiring cycle if the Bills are successful. Depending on this next draft, I’d also look for Terrance Gray and Lake Dawson to get close looks. Dawson already has gotten some interviews.

 

Yea - that was the thing it was an exceptional cast of guys with a good mix of experience and youth. Every hire that came in, especially after hiring Schoen and Gaine into the two top assistant roles I was like "how did they get him?"

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4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Yea - that was the thing it was an exceptional cast of guys with a good mix of experience and youth. Every hire that came in, especially after hiring Schoen and Gaine into the two top assistant roles I was like "how did they get him?"

I assumed it was Pegs $$$

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9 minutes ago, Logic said:

I enjoyed the article and I love the Athletic. But aren't we, um...NOT supposed to post full articles from pay sites on here?

That’s what i thought too but last time I only posted part of it and a poster told me it’s allowed? I believed him but should probably check myself.  Just trying to help by posting it.

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