Coach Tuesday Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Brandon would most assuredly be retained. But on the marketing side, where he's done a tremendous job. Evans and Walker were good moves in retrospect. Edwards prior to being cut, hadn't done much and wasn't making all that much anyway. Wrong about Walker. Demoting him was a good move. Cutting him - which cost us considerable depth - was a HORRIBLE move.
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted January 2, 2013 Author Posted January 2, 2013 Buddy reports to Brandon now, not Ralph. And when Brandon actually was GM we saw how he handles football personnel decisions - poorly. Brandon said he empowers the experts to make the decisions. These two things to me say that Nix now has more power, not less. I think Ralph always has inserted himself into these decisions, and this was not always in the best interest of the team.
K-9 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 That's not what Brandon said at his presser. He specifically said the football operations will be headed by the General Manager Buddy Nix and Buddy will make all football decisions as he has over the past 3 years. I don't think there is any change at OBD, but they'll package it as one and hope they get lucky on a coach. Little change in the football ops part as I believe Buddy had the control he needed since he was hired. And Whaley has always been the one waiting in the wings for when Buddy steps down which I believe will be after the draft. However, it represents a HUGE change in terms of who's presiding and where. For the first time in franchise history, One Bills Drive in Orchard Park, NY is an autonomous operation. From a logistics standpoint alone, it's a huge change. Like I said yesterday, if Littman and Overdorf don't interfere and Brandon has the good sense to let better football people make coaching and other personnel decisions (and I think he does), this may work out OK. GO BILLS!!!
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I watched the whole Brandon presser this morning and I recommend everyone do the same. Watch it and let me know if you still feel the same way. The only thing Brandon mentioned adding to the football equation is "layering in" a Bill James sabremetrics element to their scouting and player evaluations. Buddy Nix is the king of the football castle. Buddy officially answers to Brandon, but really, he answers to the fans. If he doesn't put a good roster together, the Bills will continue their losing ways and Brandon will be pressured to make a change. Then it will be Whaley. That is why Nix will remain the GM and Whaley the assistant. If Nix screws up again, Brandon has the next GM in house. He can say they made a change. So I expect Nix to the the GM for at least 2 more years, unless they further bottom out next year. Brandon did say that Buddy is the GM and has had no loss of power. It is true he said that. Buddy reports to Brandon now, not Ralph. And when Brandon actually was GM we saw how he handles football personnel decisions - poorly. Brandon said he empowers the experts to make the decisions. These two things to me say that Nix now has more power, not less. I think Ralph always has inserted himself into these decisions, and this was not always in the best interest of the team. Interesting take. One thing I'll say about Brandon's earlier stint as GM is that at the time the Bills insisted that they were working on a "consensus model." It's really hard to say to what degree Jauron, Modrak, Guy, and Brandon divvied up the decisions, who had the most power, who made what decisions, etc. If nothing else, there should be a bit more clarity going forward. I guess I would say that there's a possibility that Nix has more power than he has had the last three years but also there's a possibility that he has less because many people here think that there is an imminent and hidden succession to Whaley. I suppose there's the possibility that he has the same amount of power too. We really don't know.
Haven Moses Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Brandon is hiring the next coach not Buddy. Whaley's involvement in the coaching search would lead me to belive that Buddy gets some nebulous, Modrak-like role once the draft is over. No established HC would want to come to Buffalo if Buddy was truly "in charge". I think Russ knows that. If some old Pittsburgh guy gets the job (Wiz, Horton, Arians, or even Grimm) that would signal that Whaley is going to move up the food chain fast.
Malazan Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 The change isnt really from Ralph to Russ-- Ralph by every indication has been out of it for some time. The change is that the football operation will be headed by Brandon rather than Nix. I'm curious where this information came from as everything I have read indicated that Ralph had final say and in the past all coaching candidates and major decisions had to be approved by Ralph.
BobChalmers Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I know they would not put people on the spot like this, and paint Ralph in a worse light, but to point out how things might be different now I wonder what decisions were made recently where Russ would have gone one way but was overruled by Ralph or someone else. This question absolutely was asked, and Brandon sensibly deflected it. WTF was he going to say? Yeah, Mr. Wilson was screwing everything up??
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted January 2, 2013 Author Posted January 2, 2013 This question absolutely was asked, and Brandon sensibly deflected it. WTF was he going to say? Yeah, Mr. Wilson was screwing everything up?? Yes, perhaps I should have used the word 'answered' instead of 'asked'
Wayne Cubed Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 Yes, perhaps I should have used the word 'answered' instead of 'asked' I think he answered it as well. Refering to the Bills brand as being tarneshed.
Van_phelaN1 Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I can see both sides of the argument. The proof will be in what they do, not what they say. ^This I am sure that on some level Ralph was still involved but to what extent I have no idea. When it is all said and done, we will see if the product on the field improves or not. Or, if they manage to catch one of the "top tier" name coaches it may have an indication on how different things are. Last time around, coaches avoided Buffalo like the plague and it can be argued it was because they didn't want to have to deal with Mr. Wilson. Or, they didn't want to deal with the general mess that this team was.
JÂy RÛßeÒ Posted January 2, 2013 Author Posted January 2, 2013 I think he answered it as well. Refering to the Bills brand as being tarneshed. Not really. Here's the thing. The only change is that Russ is now Nix's "boss" - he now has decision making authority in the football operation where he used to only be on the business side of the house. But from the sound of it, he's empowering Buddy to make those decisons to me meaning he's not going to overrule buddy because buddy is the expert. Reading between the lines, this says to me that "someone" has overruled Buddy in the past. I'd like to know what those specific occasions were and what Buddy's recommendation was at the time.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I think he answered it as well. Refering to the Bills brand as being tarneshed. If it was Buddy up there speaking, he would have said "tarnation."
Haven Moses Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 If we hire another hillbilly retread, we're doomed.
jumbalaya Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I wouldn't be surprised if former players like Thurman, Tasker, and Brown--who were at the PC, helped influence Ralph's decision. No good coach wants to be told by an owner what to do, and Ralph had a history of meddling. I think they got Ralph to take one for the team, and he was wise enough to do so. I think Ralph was finally wise enough to understand at age 94 football really doesn't matter much.
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 I think the past couple of years it was the opposite, he wasn't doing anything, but was still viewed as being in charge and needed his blessing. It was like steering a rudderless ship as they say. Prior to that, he was too involved. Kind of ironic, but I do feel the Bill's went from too far in one direction to too far the other way in a few short years. Yes, I'm sure Ralph Wilson in an unhealthy state in his Detroit home has been deciding draft picks, coaching hirings and roster cuts for the last three years. Oy vey
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