What's going on at PSE?

[oldmanfan]

Just read Terry and Kim fired three execs including the COO and the marketing director. Any clue what's going on with that?  Wonder if it's more sexual misconduct stuff.

[YoloinOhio]

Rossi was just promoted last month

 

 

 

[Kirby Jackson]

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

11 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Just read Terry and Kim fired three execs including the COO and the marketing director. Any clue what's going on with that?  Wonder if it's more sexual misconduct stuff.

 

Hmmm.  Love triangle? 

[nucci]

4 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

The Sabres have been a mess since they took over....same with Bills though there is a glimmer of hope this offseason....I don't think they know how to run things

[TheFunPolice]

My impression is that the Pegulas fire a lot of people because sports don't work like private industry and they are getting frustrated that investing resources doesn't lead to success in sports the same way it does in business

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

Wawrow’s story on it 

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

8 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

 

 

What's wrong with zero  winning seasons so far?! 

 

Just a few more "generational players" to draft and the Sabres should be all set, right?  Can never have too many of those on the roster...

[thenorthremembers]

Personally feel like the Pegula's have done a good job with the Bills.  They have been a better than average team, made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and seem like they have a decent leadership team in place.

 

The Sabres are a different story, but I also think its incredibly unfair to lump the Bills and Sabres in the same boat.   Mike Schopp likes to do this when the Sabres are doing poorly, "Oh these Buffalo Sports teams are terrible" and then likes to segregate them when the Sabres are winning.

 

Rather than jump to conclusions, maybe this is exactly what the article says it is.  Kim taking a look at the organization and saying its time for some new blood.  We automatically assume these three people were great at their job.  Face facts, we have no clue.

[nucci]

1 minute ago, thenorthremembers said:

Personally feel like the Pegula's have done a good job with the Bills.  They have been a better than average team, made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and seem like they have a decent leadership team in place.

 

The Sabres are a different story, but I also think its incredibly unfair to lump the Bills and Sabres in the same boat.   Mike Schopp likes to do this when the Sabres are doing poorly, "Oh these Buffalo Sports teams are terrible" and then likes to segregate them when the Sabres are winning.

 

Rather than jump to conclusions, maybe this is exactly what the article says it is.  Kim taking a look at the organization and saying its time for some new blood.  We automatically assume these three people were great at their job.  Face facts, we have no clue.

Marrone quit, hired Rex, fired Whaley, fired Rex...they inherited a decent football team and messed it up....looks a bit more promising today

[oldmanfan]

3 minutes ago, thenorthremembers said:

Personally feel like the Pegula's have done a good job with the Bills.  They have been a better than average team, made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and seem like they have a decent leadership team in place.

 

The Sabres are a different story, but I also think its incredibly unfair to lump the Bills and Sabres in the same boat.   Mike Schopp likes to do this when the Sabres are doing poorly, "Oh these Buffalo Sports teams are terrible" and then likes to segregate them when the Sabres are winning.

 

Rather than jump to conclusions, maybe this is exactly what the article says it is.  Kim taking a look at the organization and saying its time for some new blood.  We automatically assume these three people were great at their job.  Face facts, we have no clue.

It seems odd they just promoted the one guy and now he's gone.

[Kirby Jackson]

2 minutes ago, thenorthremembers said:

Personally feel like the Pegula's have done a good job with the Bills.  They have been a better than average team, made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, and seem like they have a decent leadership team in place.

 

The Sabres are a different story, but I also think its incredibly unfair to lump the Bills and Sabres in the same boat.   Mike Schopp likes to do this when the Sabres are doing poorly, "Oh these Buffalo Sports teams are terrible" and then likes to segregate them when the Sabres are winning.

 

Rather than jump to conclusions, maybe this is exactly what the article says it is.  Kim taking a look at the organization and saying its time for some new blood.  We automatically assume these three people were great at their job.  Face facts, we have no clue.

It’s not winning and losing that we are talking about though. We are talking about business executives for PSE. They wear hats for both teams. Their job has nothing to do with winning and losing. It has to do with leading a sales team, service team, etc...

Just now, oldmanfan said:

It seems odd they just promoted the one guy and now he's gone.

That’s how I feel as well. If there is something that hasn’t come out yet (like the Russ situation) at least it will make sense. If this is just cleaning house it’s odd to do a month after appointing the guy.

[LikeIGiveADarn]

Do any of them live in Jupiter, FL?

[stony]

51 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

It certainly goes against the claim that one of their (or at least Terry's) greatest strengths was their ability to delegate responsibility and surround themselves with competent people.  

[thenorthremembers]

20 minutes ago, nucci said:

Marrone quit, hired Rex, fired Whaley, fired Rex...they inherited a decent football team and messed it up....looks a bit more promising today

Marrone quitting wasnt on the Pegulas, that was on Doug Marrone.   You really think that team was going to be any good with E.J. Manuel quarterback because Orton wasnt coming back and Tyrod never comes here without Rex being hired.   Rex was a mistake, but he wasnt as big of a mistake as people on this board make out.  He wasnt a 3-13, or 4-12 coach.  They were still a decent team.

[Happy]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

Wawrow’s story on it 

 

 

 

 

Popko’s departure comes while he was overseeing an extensive study to determine whether the Bills will keep playing at their current stadium in suburban Buffalo or build a new facility downtown.

 

Maybe the Pegulas didn't like the direction that Popko and the others were taking the Bills regarding a potential new stadium, and were butting heads over it.  That could be the background issue that caused the change of leadership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BringBackOrton]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

The Pegula's don't know what they're doing?  

 

Color me shocked.

[BillsVet]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

 

Don't forget LaFontaine and Marrone resigned, with the former being quite contentious.

 

Regardless, that's a lot of people in senior management over the course of about 12.5 years owning the Bills and Sabres.

[Just Jack]

1 hour ago, LikeIGiveADarn said:

Do any of them live in Jupiter, FL?

 

I was wondering that also, or maybe they visited during one of the Miami trips. 

[4_kidd_4]

Idk, but the sandwich I had at 716 last night might have been the worst food I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant.

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Idk, but the sandwich I had at 716 last night might have been the worst food I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant.

Which one did you get 

[4_kidd_4]

3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Which one did you get 

 

The “716 Beef On Weck”.

 

Flavorless pile of mush on a stale pretzel roll. The description sounded so good, it was a letdown. Service was brutal too. And I usually give a ton of leeway as the wife and I were both in the restaurant/service industry for a long time. 

 

 

[Big Turk]

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

 

Maybe they realize there are too many people and maybe they have thrown TOO much money at trying to fix it? Sometimes less can be more especially with these type of positions...too many people in charge leads to employees who have no idea who they should be really listening to...

 

10 minutes ago, 4_kidd_4 said:

Idk, but the sandwich I had at 716 last night might have been the worst food I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant.

Lmao...let me guess Raw chicken sandwich or you ordered something vegan and were served beef instead?

[Virgil]

Butt stuff.  Lots of butt stuff

[MJS]

Lot's of people pretending that they know what they are talking about.

 

Face it. We don't know why these individuals were fired. Jumping to conclusions and speculating is stupid.

 

Perhaps they were great moves, perhaps they were foolish moves. We'll never know.

 

And, BTW, winning and losing has nothing to do with these management positions. If the Sabres are winning does that mean their marketing director is effective? These are purely business moves and have nothing to do with the product on the FIELD.

Edited February 26, 2019 by MJS

[Heitz]

Marketing Manager you say?  Call me when that's upgraded to a Director or VP level...  ?

Edited February 26, 2019 by Heitz

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

For life of me, I can't figure out why anyone cares about this.

 

[MJS]

1 minute ago, Joe in Winslow said:

For life of me, I can't figure out why anyone cares about this.

 

Exactly. People looking for reasons to validate their opinion that the Pegulas are bad owners.

[4_kidd_4]

15 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Lmao...let me guess Raw chicken sandwich or you ordered something vegan and were served beef instead?

 

Raw chicken might have been an improvement lol.

[Kirby Jackson]

30 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

Maybe they realize there are too many people and maybe they have thrown TOO much money at trying to fix it? Sometimes less can be more especially with these type of positions...too many people in charge leads to employees who have no idea who they should be really listening to...

That shouldn’t be the case though. These leagues are pretty consistent in the positions that they have. They all work together and share ideas. You have a counterpart with every other team that you work fairly closely with.

 

You shouldn’t have a lot of “fat” on your staff if you are paying attention. In general you should have someone at the C level, someone (or a couple) at the VP level (SVP, EVP), directors of the departments, managers, and staff.

 

Not to be boring or too much of a tangent but this is what our group looked like:

 

President

 

SVP of ticket Sales and Service

 

Director of Ticket Ops, Director of Group Sales, Director of Retention, Director of Ticket Sales (packages), Director of Analytics

 

Manager of each of those groups

 

30 - 40 sales and service reps in the various departments. There were also a couple of analytics and ticket ops people at this level. 

 

That would be roughly 50 people in that department.

[vorpma]

3 hours ago, nucci said:

Marrone quit, hired Rex, fired Whaley, fired Rex...they inherited a decent football team and messed it up....looks a bit more promising today

What planet have you been living on - a decent football team? More like a perennial almost .500 team forever that never demonstrated the ability to make a serious playoff run; terrible scouting, drafting, coaching, and FO management from 2001 until 2017! 

1 hour ago, MJS said:

Lot's of people pretending that they know what they are talking about.

 

Face it. We don't know why these individuals were fired. Jumping to conclusions and speculating is stupid.

 

Perhaps they were great moves, perhaps they were foolish moves. We'll never know.

 

And, BTW, winning and losing has nothing to do with these management positions. If the Sabres are winning does that mean their marketing director is effective? These are purely business moves and have nothing to do with the product on the FIELD.

"Lot's of people pretending that they know what they are talking about." You must be new to TBD; it's what we do - with pride! 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

4 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I know that I’ll take heat for this but I don’t believe that the Pegula’s know what they are doing on that end. I don’t know the people that were fired (but know a little about Popko). The Pegula’s can’t continously turn over their senior level executives!! That’s crazy. There are A LOT of pro franchises that have had their senior leadership in place for 10 to 15 or even 20 years. This one guy didn’t make it a month!! What ends up happening is you spend all of your time trying to get someone up to speed to fill a role that is above their current pay grade. 

 

Think about out how many senior level executives have been let go by the Pegula’s since they started with the Sabres? Black, Brandon, Darcy, Ruff, Bylsma, Popko, Rex, Whaley, Rossi, Muhleman, those 2 guys last month, the guy at Harbor Center and so on... I hope that this is a part of a bigger issue. If these people are tied to a problem it at least makes sense. If this is just turnover for turnover’s sake it is a problem.

 

4 hours ago, TheFunPolice said:

My impression is that the Pegulas fire a lot of people because sports don't work like private industry and they are getting frustrated that investing resources doesn't lead to success in sports the same way it does in business

 

 

 

I'll give them somewhat of a pass as who knows what Russ Brandon had done with things over there.  Now Kim has taken over and may have found things that just didn't look/feel/sound good to her

[IgotBILLStopay]

Last I heard Lauren Hall is still employed at PSE, no? So it cant be workplace affair related.

[Kirby Jackson]

4 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

 

I'll give them somewhat of a pass as who knows what Russ Brandon had done with things over there.  Now Kim has taken over and may have found things that just didn't look/feel/sound good to her

Without being a contrarian I feel the opposite. I know a lot of the people that Russ had in charge and they were talented. He was talented. The Bills obviously has no choice but to fire RB but it wasn’t wise to clear out veteran sports business people like Popko. Those people know WAY more about the business than Terry & Kim Pegula. You should be embracing people like that to learn from, not firing them. 

[beerme1]

I feel like all of this may be related to the answers I gave in a survey about renovating the arena. Serves em right then. Thanks for listening Kim.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Without being a contrarian I feel the opposite. I know a lot of the people that Russ had in charge and they were talented. He was talented. The Bills obviously has no choice but to fire RB but it wasn’t wise to clear out veteran sports business people like Popko. Those people know WAY more about the business than Terry & Kim Pegula. You should be embracing people like that to learn from, not firing them. 

 

That's a valid point, but as the expression goes, "an apples doesn't fall far from the tree"  What if these others while great smart people in the business also had some skeletons in the closet too and thta's why they were let go. Maybe not anything as bad a Russ, but not completely squeaky clean either.

 

Maybe in Kim's inexperience, felt they could easily be replaced where as someone else would have put up with some small issues at least until thinks were going smooth.

[formerlyofCtown]

6 hours ago, oldmanfan said:

Just read Terry and Kim fired three execs including the COO and the marketing director. Any clue what's going on with that?  Wonder if it's more sexual misconduct stuff.

They were overheard asking Robert Kraft who his massage theropist is and where he gets his nails done.?

Edited February 27, 2019 by formerlyofCtown

[vincec]

"Off with their heads!"

[Helpmenow]

Russ Brandon hired them at his new company.

[Kirby Jackson]

34 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

That's a valid point, but as the expression goes, "an apples doesn't fall far from the tree"  What if these others while great smart people in the business also had some skeletons in the closet too and thta's why they were let go. Maybe not anything as bad a Russ, but not completely squeaky clean either.

 

Maybe in Kim's inexperience, felt they could easily be replaced where as someone else would have put up with some small issues at least until thinks were going smooth.

If there are skeletons I am all for clearing them out. I’m actually hoping that there is more to the story than “we wanted change.” It would make me feel more comfortable. I want the Bills and Sabres to have superior management.