Rico

Nice post. It's definitely a mess, I feel bad for the Pegulas. The one good thing is that it should be crystal clear to them who's responsible for the mess. They know who hired the coach, who signed off on the $4M opt-out, and who couldn't manage the Marrone-Whaley relationship. The buck stops at Russ.

Agreed. He needs to have a great off-season this year though to truly lock down the job.

The Pegulas have no other choice than to play the hand they've just been dealt. There's no one on-board truly qualified to make the bottom-line decision. Up until a few days ago, a football 'czar' was coming in to evaluate the organization. It appears that's not happening now, at least not soon enough. Whaley has done some very good things, but he's also made serious mistakes... he deserves to stay this year, but he's not ready to be given the keys to the car. Brandon is a proven chump who's responsible for hiring the last coach & not being able to manage the Marrone-Whaley relationship, this mess is clearly in his lap. With no one there that he can 100% trust, I don't blame Pegs for being highly involved in the hiring process at all.

Russ was/is one of Ralph's stooges, along with Littman. I'm sure JL has given him advice re: Polian.

No, that would be too much right now, just all of Ralph's stooges.

Highly unlikely that Polian would want anything to do with a chump like Brandon. That's the 'power jockie".

Absolutely.

Nice.

Where's Lil Antoine Blitz when you need him?

Polian confirms that Bills were working behind Brandon’s back http://profootballta...-brandons-back/

Maybe he saw Russ Brandon could no longer protect him.

Lol. One thing's for sure, yesterday was not a good day for Russ Brandon. Happy New Year Russ, here's to you moving on to bigger and better things.

Russ needs to know his role then and STFU (ie, after the Pats game).

The best thing about yesterday to me is that it sure does appear Russ Brandon is truly out of the loop now. We went from: Russ saying no eminent changes after the Pats game then Marrone leaving with the statement issued by Pegula and no Russ to be seen or heard anywhere.

Very Meathead-esque. So long, good luck, and goodbye Doug... here's to Brandon being the next to go.

If the Browns can hire Pettine to be their head coach, anything's possible. Two years into their gigs, I have no problems with either Doug staying, as I only want to see Ralph's stooges gone.The 3rd year will be key though, no excuses will be acceptable.

Not sure but I don't think he's on the roster yet.

In a perfect world, EJ would win the gig. Based off what I've seen so far, I don't think that's happening, and I do think the Dougs can't afford to go into next season again without a viable alternative. I'm not an EJ basher either, I just have serious doubts.

I think Orton will return as a 2nd-stringer, he's a great backup... and I don't think next year's starter is on the roster yet.

Not on the Week 1 Roster: Pears Rivers EJ

I think it matters a lot to the coaches and the front office, it's a chance to make a final impression going into the off-season. A very good to great performance over the Pats at Gillette & a 9-7 record could save some jobs. A lackluster effort and an dismal 0-2 end of the season could make it easier for changes to be made.

2 out of 3 works for me.

Outstanding, I truly hope this all goes down. Polian should know better than anyone the need to sweep Ralph's trash to the curb.