Archives for January 2, 2013

‘A source confirmed to FOXSports.com that Buddy Nix will be retained despite the team’s 6-10 record in 2012. However, FOXSports.com has learned Bills executive Russ Brandon will be receiving a promotion that shall be announced at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.’

‘Whether or not there’s a specific timetable in place, Whaley is still the successor to the 73-year-old Nix whenever Nix decides to hang it up. That’s the same as it was before Tuesday. It is very possible, however, that Nix could retire sooner rather than later, in which case Whaley would become the new GM.’

‘Here’s a quick look at the coaches whose names have been linked in reports with the Bills’ vacant coaching job so far…’

‘Buffalo Bills execs are in Arizona tonight to interview Ken Whisenhunt, according to league sources, and to interview Cardinals coordinator Ray Horton on Wednesday.’

‘One of the biggest “What Ifs” for the Bills is a simple one — what if Chan Gailey had utilized Spiller, his best player, more? Would Gailey still be around as coach of the Bills? It’s entirely possible. But for whatever reason, Gailey limited his star RB’s carries throughout the course of the season — even keeping him on the bench during critical moments in games. That Spiller went on to have a tremendous season with those limitations is a testament to his amazing physical abilities.’

‘One positive? Buffalo will play two of the worst teams in the league from this year — Kansas City and Jacksonville — because the Bills finished fourth in the AFC East. Buffalo’s 2013 opponents combined for a 121-135 record in 2012 (.473).’

‘Ralph Wilson no longer has the final say in organizational decisions. That is humongous news to Bills fans, and very important to the outlook of the franchise moving forward.’

‘Anytime I speak with football administrators around the NFL, they say to a man he’s very well thought of around the league.’

‘For the first time since he bought the franchise in 1960, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson junior is giving up organization control. WGR 550 has learned CEO Russ Brandon will officially be named Team President during a noon news conference today. It will be carried live on WGR. WGR has also learned Buddy Nix will be staying on as General Manager in the short term, likely through the April draft. Nix will then be succeeded by Assistant G-M Doug Whaley.’

‘”I respect Ralph Wilson’s decision to cease operations and essentially pass the torch to whoever is the best man in line. I think Buffalo needs a new young exciting coach,” said Bills Fan Maura Goud.’

‘”When you have an owner who is 500 miles away [in Detroit], he’s not the face of the franchise,” Necci says. “Who do you report to? That’s why they can’t get a big coach to come here because we don’t have a face of the franchise. I think that might have changed today. You can’t have a 94-year-old man be the face of the franchise… owner or not. You need some fresh, young blood here.”‘

‘”Russ Brandon has done a tremendous job in his 16 years with our organization and is very highly respected throughout the National Football League,” said Wilson in a team statement. “He has proven to be extremely successful with each new level of responsibility he has been given and has earned this opportunity. Russ is a proven leader and he will now have full authority over the entire Buffalo Bills operation. I have granted him full autonomy to run the organization as he feels is best.”‘

‘It is time to start, create and lead this franchise into the future with a new legacy. I make three promises to our fans. Number one, I can promise you that this will be a forward-thinking, progressive and attacking organization heading into the future. One of the items that I am going to spend a lot of time on with Buddy, with Doug Whaley and with Jim Overdorf is we are going to create and establish a very robust football analytics operation that we layer into our entire operation moving forward. That is something that is very important to me and very important to the future of this franchise.’

‘”I think that you don’t want to eliminate anybody,” Nix told Buffalobills.com. “You think about guys that have never been a head coach or a coordinator. Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin. John Harbaugh coached special teams. The league is full of them. So you’ve got to go with a gut feeling sometimes. You do all your work and say this guy has got something about him. He’s the one let’s do it.”‘