BuffaloRush

Scouting staffs usually follow the GM’s. What is rare is how McDermott was able to get rid of staff who either outranked him or were completely lateral. Marrone and Rex were both unable to do this. It’s also rare how Beane was able to get rid on long time staffers who were thought of to be “untouchable”

Thank you - this is my point as well. It is common for changes when you bring in a new GM to run the organization but many of these changes were made before Beane was hired. Essentially McDermott got Terry to fire people who were either above him (Whaley) or those who were on a lateral level that reported to Terry directly (Berchtold). Then there is Beane who was able to get rid of some of the long time mainstays (Carpenter) and some of the people that Russ put in place (Lyons). How did did they convince Terry?

One of the most remarkable things about the hiring of McDermott and Beane (to a lesser extent) is how they have eesentiallu completely turned over the entire organization and the football roster as well. if you recall in 2014, when Terry Pegula bought the team very little changed. Russ was moved to President as PSE but the overall structure seemed very similar (one exception was Rex reporting to TP and not the GM). Essentially the same decision makers who “tarnished the brand” for year were still employed and in power to make questionable decision. Cut to 2017, when McDermott was hired he immediately made big changes by firing the following long-time employees PR Scott Berchtold (still a “consultant” but powerless”) GM Doug Whaley Jim Monos (Director of Pro Personnel Buddy Nix (Still was working as a scout) Whaley’s Entire Scouting Dept James Trapp (Chaplan) Paul Lancaster (Director of Engagement) Michael Lyons (Director of Analytics) Entire Analytics Staff Bud Carpenter (Trainer) Shone Gibson (Trainer) This leaves Jim Overdorff as really the last connection to Ralph Wilson. So here is my question - how did McDermott do it? It just seems unprecedented that someone could come in an clean house within the span of year - nonetheless a coach and GM. I remember hearing that Marrone was not happy with some of these people and yet he was not successful at getting any of them fired. He had problems with Whaley but Terry elected to keep him. I guess what I’m wondering is why was McDermott and Beane able to drain the swamp, whereas Marrone was not able. It seemed as though the Pegula’s were pretty happy with their staff and yet within a year everyone was fired. How do you think this went down behind the scenes?

Wow I cant say I’m surprised to hear this given the rumored ethical issues which have been reported about Russ this week. One thing I will say, I too know people that have dealt with Russ and the Bills both in business and philanthropy. Everyone had good things to say about him and that he was “a good guy.” Also they told me he was a scapegoat from the fans, and Russ even knew about it. So while I have heard stories like you mentioned above, there were also people that did seem to positive experiences him.

I ageee 100%, from everything Ive heard the allegations are not criminal. Tim Graham described them as being more ethical issue, so it could be anything

You’re damn right I should

Its not even on the Bills app. I think you are onto something here

Same here. Like I posted before in another thread. Sal and Leo from the Rochester D and C were defending him as were Schopp and the Bulldog. My guess is that he cultivated pretty good relationships with the media and they are being far easier on him than, say, a Doug Whaley

Can’t see the article. #BNPAYWALL

Russ didn’t do a whole lot with football or hockey operations other than delegate. I think the she’ll do ok

Their only insider is Sal. He knew nothing about it as did the majority of the Buffalo media. Give Graham credit... he’s a dammmmm good reporter

He’s not their boss. He resigned. They can’t say “big news coming out of OBD. With the resignation of President Russ Brandon.” It makes them look so lame by not even acknowledging the biggest story of the year

Listening to most of One Bills Live because I was curious to hear how they’d deal with the ugly Russ Brandon resignation. In the past they’ve mentioned head coaches and GM’s getting axed. But instead they didn’t even touch the Brandon situation. Arguably one of the biggest stories of they hear and they pretend that nothing happened. They didn’t even mention he resigned and say “we’re not going to talk about that” nor did they thank Russ. Of course this was a Buffao Bills call... things must have been bad.

Terrible. You want to compare Russ with those other guys? The difference is, not one person has come out with an allegation against Russ. Also you are jumping to the conclusion that it’s some kind of sexual harassment. Workplace misconduct can be a lot of things. It’s wrong to make those claims. As you drink from your Bills pint glass tonight, have a few extras on Russ Brandon. Because he kept the team in Buffao

We don’t know this for sure. His press release said it was time for him to move on

Probably a few lighter as well... it’s the case with most Bills fans

Check out the 20 minute broadcast below from the D and C: Sal and Leo defend Russ Brandon. I’ve never heard this before but Sal says that Russ saved the Bills twice from Ralph Wilson. Now these are their words, not mine, but I know Sal and Leo are pretty credible reporters: 1.) Apparently Ralph had threatened relocation several times, including in 1998 after the luxury boxes were built. If the boxes didn’t sell, he was threatening to move th Bills to San Antonio. Sure enough, Russ sold the boxes to local businesses and Wilson made some nice $$$$ and was happy to keeping. 2.) Russ steered the sale of the Bills to the Pegula’s because he knew they’d keep them in Buffalo. Also, Russ brought the Bills training camp to St. John Fisher - which was a much better location and better experience for fans than SUNY Fredonia so there’s that. On a side not to those who have my popular features “Hits and Misses.” Sal confirmed that Russ admitted to him that while he served as GM for 2 season, he never actually drafted players. That was Tom Modrak. Still, I give Russ very high marks for he strong selections Modrak made while he was GM. So while people want to dump on Russ, know it was Russ Brandon....not Ralph Wilson that kept the team in Buffalo!

For real? All I know is that the people who knew Russ always said he was a great guy. No wild stories like this. Maybe its this kind of talk that related in the “professional conduct” allegation.

Were has this been reported? I don’t buy it from what people told me Russ. Seems like a stand up, dude.

Nah it’s a giant mess to try to sitting through nearly a hundred page. If that’s the case, why don’t we just one giant “Buffalo Bills Discussion” thread with thousands of pages. Search function works for some of us, right?

I think Russ got a piece of the Bills sale. He can afford the $10 hems

LOL yes the “robust” analytics were supposed to be used for football decisions like in Philly. When Tim Graham pressed him on it, he said it was used for season ticket projections LOL

Yea but the media bought it! I remember Howard talking about what a big moment it was for the Bills

As Russ Brandon has "resigned," let's take a moment to share our favorite or least favorite memory. I had several: First I remember when he was named as General Manager in 2008, after our pal Marv Levy quietly retired...not re-tired as GM. I remember at the time thinking it was a joke to name Brandon GM, and I was pretty much right. The one thing that Russ knew how to sell was hope and his biggest move as GM was signing Terrell Owens. This was a very fun weekend to be a Bills fans, as TO was a huge name in the league. I was really surprised to see TO end up signing with the team and a big reason why was because of Russ Brandon. In the end, TO was on his best behavior but this was a more that was more about selling ticket than winning football games. He had a few good games as a Bills, but ultimately his signing did very little to help improve Trent Edwards. He did help introduce fans to a little known QB know as Ryan Fitzpatrick. I also remember Sal Capaccio broke the story as he was trying to get a break in broadcasting. He had a really cheesy website. All in all though, the weekend the Bills signed TO was a very exciting time. The second memory should have been good but was all smoke and mirrors. I remember Russ calling a press conference on New Year's Day 2013 to announce that he had been named President. This was huge because Ralph never gave that much power to any one individual since the failed Donahoe experiment. Russ promised the world at this press conference and whether they admit it or not, guys like Howard Simon and The Poodle Chris Parker were saying how big this was for the franchise. Russ has a famous quote - "the brand has been tarnished" in reference to the poor decisions made by Ralph Wilson while running the team. He then goes to thank Buddy Nix because "the cupboard was bare" when he took over. This made me bash my head against the wall because Buddy's poor job as GM was part of the reason why the brand had been tarnished. Russ also famously promised a "robust analytics department" to help assist in football decision which was all the rage at the time. Of course, he did hire Michael Lyons to lead the department but it never was involved in football. Far from what he originally promised. Lyons was finally axed last year by Beane. Russ also promised and expansive coaching search to find the right candidate. Instead, he hired Doug Marrone the head coach at his alma mater, Syracuse University. Some search. To be fair, I do know some people that know Russ through business/philanthropic relationships and they have had nothing but good things to say about him personally. I think he does get somewhat of a bad rap from Bills. Russ wasn't a power hungry executive trying to take over football operations - the Bills were a dysfunctional organization and he was hand appointed by Ralph to make football decisions. Once he had the power to do so, he moved Buddy Nix into the position (bad hire). Share some of your thoughts!

Gotcha man. It sucks that you went through it. I think it’s a real heightened time for that kind of thing these days.