Coach Tuesday Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) http://blogs.buffalobills.com/2011/01/10/chan-talks-to-mr-wilson/ What I find interesting in here is the mention that Ralph and Chan "visit every week" during the season. That may not seem like much, but it is. Over the years, I've seen it hinted at by insiders and reporters alike that one of the things that Ralph does that drives his subordinates insane is in-week meddling during the season. One reporter (can't remember which one) wrote that Ralph typically would bug his coaches on Monday and Tuesday about the previous game, making them spend hours on the phone with him on the two days that were most critical for gameplanning for the next game. Chan's comments make me wonder if this is still a problem. I also wonder how common it is among NFL owners. I'm guessing it's unusual for an owner to insist on access to the head coach every single week. It would drive me nuts as a coach - while the owner is my employer and surely is entitled to check in and kick the tires whenever he wants, he should try to restrain himself as much as possible. That's what a GM is for, among other things - running interference between ownership and middle management. Edited January 10, 2011 by Coach Tuesday
RealityCheck Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I don't believe it. The word around here is that Ralph is cheap and does not care about winning. Something smells fishy around here.
808 Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 could you imagine sparanos talks? a bunch of entertainers who know nothing of football asking him why henne isnt tom brady? would be screams to hear what sparano really thinks of that group
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I guess. And certainly history has proven that Ralph's methods by and large haven't been successful. OTOH, might it not be useful for Chan to have Ralph's ear if there's something he really, truly feels he needs? I generally agree with you, though: strong leadership and vision in the GM's office should mean that there's a good intermediary and enough communication from top-to-bottom without interfering with the necessary daily tasks. Maybe Whaley grows up into that leader while Nix sets things in order? One can hope...
Never NEVER Give-up Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Look, it's Ralph's team. He loves them - yes, probably even more than we do. He's the #1 fan and because he owns then, he can insinuate himself into anything going on at OBD - and rightly so. Mary Wilson gave Marv Levy this tip when Marv first joined the Bills as coach - talk to Ralph! So Marv set-up a weekly call with Ralph (I think it was Wednesdays), and a friendship was born. If Chan is doing omething similar - good for him - he's being smart about it. Maybe the arrogance of Mularkey & Williams is what did them in. Jauron was liked by Wilson, probably because he talked to Ralph - that's why it was so hard for Ralph to put him out of his misery. Bottom line: His team, his way!!
Coach Tuesday Posted January 10, 2011 Author Posted January 10, 2011 Bottom line: His team, his way!! How has that worked out for him? Not trying to be flippant - but at some point, even a moderately-savvy businessman is able to conduct a post-mortem on a decade + of failure and realize that there is one common denominator... and it's not like he's such an egomaniac like Jerry Jones that he refuses to look in the mirror, is it?
Buftex Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Look, it's Ralph's team. He loves them - yes, probably even more than we do. He's the #1 fan and because he owns then, he can insinuate himself into anything going on at OBD - and rightly so. Mary Wilson gave Marv Levy this tip when Marv first joined the Bills as coach - talk to Ralph! So Marv set-up a weekly call with Ralph (I think it was Wednesdays), and a friendship was born. If Chan is doing omething similar - good for him - he's being smart about it. Maybe the arrogance of Mularkey & Williams is what did them in. Jauron was liked by Wilson, probably because he talked to Ralph - that's why it was so hard for Ralph to put him out of his misery. Bottom line: His team, his way!! Ralph was very fond of Mularkey as well, from what I know of the situation. It was Tom Donohoe that he had the problem with, during Mularkeys' time at One Bills Drive. But, overall, I agree with your point. I think many of us assume way too much sometimes, when it comes to how things run with the Bills, or any other team. I would actually be more surprised to hear that any NFL owners didn't keep in touch with their head coach on a regular basis. Many of the owners are "captains of industry" who obtained their wealth, long before they were NFL owners. Their team is their passion, not necessarily their livelihood. Edited January 10, 2011 by Buftex
Dan Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 How has that worked out for him? Not trying to be flippant - but at some point, even a moderately-savvy businessman is able to conduct a post-mortem on a decade + of failure and realize that there is one common denominator... and it's not like he's such an egomaniac like Jerry Jones that he refuses to look in the mirror, is it? The assumption immediately inferred is that Ralph and Chan are meeting (or at least talking) each week and that Ralph is injecting some sort of opinion or mandate into how to run the team. An hour or two meeting/conversation with the owner each week about the team and what your doing is not too much too much to ask; IMO. I'd agree, if Ralph is insisting upon changes in the gameplan, then yes it's a problem. But, if he just wants to get the inside scoop every week from the HC; it's certainly within his right and I don't see how it can do any harm.
Never NEVER Give-up Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 All points relevant, I'm just saying it's his team & he's gonna run it as best he can - he just flipped the front office & coaches last year. He will meet with the "inner circle" at his FLA reesidence shortly - all in an effort to run his team the best he can. You ask, how's that working for him - it hasn't recently - he knows it and is sick about it - he feels Donahoe (thanks for the reminder) screwed the team on a long term basis. He brought in Marv because of his team building and collegial style - not becaue of his drafting accumen. That ate up 2 years and they made the mistake thinking Brandon could be GM - but the realization was they need a Football guy - so Nix is it now. Brandon is still there and probably doing everything he did before - just not handling football duties, rather the business side of things. Frankly (at least for 2 more years) the front office & coaches are set - the proof will be in the drafting. Then the players gotta play.
Coach Tuesday Posted January 10, 2011 Author Posted January 10, 2011 All points relevant, I'm just saying it's his team & he's gonna run it as best he can - he just flipped the front office & coaches last year. He will meet with the "inner circle" at his FLA reesidence shortly - all in an effort to run his team the best he can. You ask, how's that working for him - it hasn't recently - he knows it and is sick about it - he feels Donahoe (thanks for the reminder) screwed the team on a long term basis. He brought in Marv because of his team building and collegial style - not becaue of his drafting accumen. That ate up 2 years and they made the mistake thinking Brandon could be GM - but the realization was they need a Football guy - so Nix is it now. Brandon is still there and probably doing everything he did before - just not handling football duties, rather the business side of things. Frankly (at least for 2 more years) the front office & coaches are set - the proof will be in the drafting. Then the players gotta play. Sigh. That definitely, and succinctly, summarizes the past decade. It could be used by business schools as a teaching example of organizational mismanagement.
MattyT Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) The assumption immediately inferred is that Ralph and Chan are meeting (or at least talking) each week and that Ralph is injecting some sort of opinion or mandate into how to run the team. An hour or two meeting/conversation with the owner each week about the team and what your doing is not too much too much to ask; IMO. I'd agree, if Ralph is insisting upon changes in the gameplan, then yes it's a problem. But, if he just wants to get the inside scoop every week from the HC; it's certainly within his right and I don't see how it can do any harm. Agreed. It's a pretty small chain of command relative to most businesses so I'm not surprised by this at all. And it sure beats Jerry Jones who reportedly sits in on the weekly post-mortem film breakdown with the coaching staff. Edited January 10, 2011 by MattyT
Buffalo Barbarian Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Look, it's Ralph's team. He loves them - yes, probably even more than we do. He's the #1 fan and because he owns then, he can insinuate himself into anything going on at OBD - and rightly so. Mary Wilson gave Marv Levy this tip when Marv first joined the Bills as coach - talk to Ralph! So Marv set-up a weekly call with Ralph (I think it was Wednesdays), and a friendship was born. If Chan is doing omething similar - good for him - he's being smart about it. Maybe the arrogance of Mularkey & Williams is what did them in. Jauron was liked by Wilson, probably because he talked to Ralph - that's why it was so hard for Ralph to put him out of his misery. Bottom line: His team, his way!! If he was a fan he would spend the money and be over the cap to get the right players in here.
Coach Tuesday Posted January 10, 2011 Author Posted January 10, 2011 If he was a fan he would spend the money and be over the cap to get the right players in here. 1) There is no cap right now 2) When there is, by definition, you can't "be over" it.
Doc Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 Wait, I thought Ralph only micro-managed his GMs, like TD? So what's his chat frequency with Nix; daily?
Shoto Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 How has that worked out for him? Not trying to be flippant - but at some point, even a moderately-savvy businessman is able to conduct a post-mortem on a decade + of failure and realize that there is one common denominator... and it's not like he's such an egomaniac like Jerry Jones that he refuses to look in the mirror, is it? I'd say it has worked pretty good for him, he invested $25 K for $650 million, not bad. All while establishing a loyal fan base. I like an engaged owner. Long Live Ralph....Go Bills
purple haze Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 How has that worked out for him? Not trying to be flippant - but at some point, even a moderately-savvy businessman is able to conduct a post-mortem on a decade + of failure and realize that there is one common denominator... and it's not like he's such an egomaniac like Jerry Jones that he refuses to look in the mirror, is it? Nobody truly knows the truth of what's going on behind the scenes. But I find it strange anybody would be surprised that a man who owns a business wouldn't talk to the people he hired to manage the company. If Mr. Wilson wasn't talking to the coach I would find that strange and almost negligent. Because he talks to the coach does not mean he doesn't allow them to do their jobs. End of the day Coaches have plenty of time to prepare a game plan even if they spend a couple hours on the phone with Mr. Wilson and are made to give an accounting as to why the team performed in a certain way. The rest is just excuses. I have yet to work in a company where the owner is expected to have no access to his directors or anybody else they want to talk to.
Coach Tuesday Posted January 10, 2011 Author Posted January 10, 2011 Nobody truly knows the truth of what's going on behind the scenes. But I find it strange anybody would be surprised that a man who owns a business wouldn't talk to the people he hired to manage the company. If Mr. Wilson wasn't talking to the coach I would find that strange and almost negligent. Because he talks to the coach does not mean he doesn't allow them to do their jobs. End of the day Coaches have plenty of time to prepare a game plan even if they spend a couple hours on the phone with Mr. Wilson and are made to give an accounting as to why the team performed in a certain way. The rest is just excuses. I have yet to work in a company where the owner is expected to have no access to his directors or anybody else they want to talk to. I think it's unusual for an NFL owner in this day and age to insist that his head coach be available to him for a weekly "fireside chat." That is what the GM is for. By your logic, Ralph could demand weekly access to Posluzny to discuss tackling technique and angles. Does the have the right to do this? Sure, he's the owner. Is it good management? Absolutely not. It's counter-productive interference with the going concern.
eSJayDee Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 I haven't read the blog yet, but I'd also be willing to bet that Chan & CB "chat" weekly. CB is primarily a propaganda machine, & conversing w/ him provides virtually no benefit WRT the product out on the field. Ralph & Chan's chats might also have little benefit, but they are a necessary "overhead" that is required of management.
2003Contenders Posted January 10, 2011 Posted January 10, 2011 OK, here's the thing. In order to be a successful head coach, there is MUCH more in the job description than simply Xs and Os. Much of the real work involves proper communication and making use of strong people skills. This applies to both dealing with subordinates (assistant coaches, players, training staff, etc.) as well as superiors. Meaning that it is vitally important for the head coach to have a strong working relationship with the GM and (YES) the owner. If Ralph does indeed like to chat for a couple of hours a week with the head coach, then the coach (in this case, Chan) needs to set that time aside on his busy schedule and create a win-win situation in which he either does what he needs to patronize Ralph OR actually makes valuable use of the conversation and tries to persuade Ralph to open up his checkbook -- or even make suggestions about cultural changes within the organization. Chan seems to be a refreshingly straight shooter, and I have a feeling that he provides Ralph with an honest assessment in their weekly chats. How is that a bad thing?
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