The (losing) culture at One Bills Drive

[cale]

First let me say that I think the Nix hire could very well be the best move the franchise has made in the last 10 years. It also has the potential to completely implode like a black hole.

 

When an organization/institution has had a lack of success in 10 years, you can bet that there needs to be a see change in the culture of the organization. The fact that Nix is now GM indicates to me that Ralph and Brandon are comfortable with the way things are at OBD.

 

That doesn't bode well for the long term health of the organization. Sure Nix was from San Diego - but he has even deeper roots in Buffalo. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I think there is a better chance of Nix slowly getting comfortable with the way "things are done" at OBD. And the fact that he isn't final say guy (Brandon is) doesn't look promising.

 

The telling part at the press conference yesterday was that the top two guys in the organization either:

 

a) compiled a list of FO guys that haven't accomplished anything. Hence they didn't know their accomplishments.

 

or

 

b) are not familiar with their roles in successful organizations. If David Gettleman and DaCosta were not on their list, I don't see how that was a valid list. Plus those guys used to work at OBD. So how can they possibly not know about them even after a couple of phone calls.

 

To me this signals how out of touch this franchise has become. It starts from the top and *&^% flows down. I have great respect for Wilson and Nix (and I like Nix as GM) - but this organization needs an overhaul. An overhaul that can't possibly be provided by one guy. Cause the present power structure is essentially still in place.

 

A new era should include someone who knows how the new NFL works. I don't see this as the beginning of a new dawn. More of the delaying/extending of a long awaited sunset.

 

I don't see things changing until ownership changes. Wilson still likes his toy and will take it and go home if it doesn't suit him.

 

C

[BillnutinHouston]

While you can argue that Ralph and Russ didn't even look outside the organization for a GM, in a sense Nix is from the outside, albeit one year removed.

 

There is no question that ever since the Donahoe experiment blew up, Ralph is becoming increasingly insular - turning to Marv, then abandoning the GM position altogether, then going back to Nix, a known commodity. Ralph seems to have a very limited network within the league due to age, and Russ has a limited one due to his non-football background.

 

There is hope though I think. The stale atmosphere might be mitigated somewhat if Nix removes Modrak and/or Guy and brings in some fresh blood to fill out his staff.