Buddy Nix Steps Down as GM

[San-O]

Isn't amazing how some people love failure mediocrity so much they spend all their time figuring out how EVERY move the Bills make is a bad good one? Even before anything bad good has happened yet, they pick stats and spin events to argue we are already eddoom better, and make sure everyone knows it.

 

PTR

[PromoTheRobot]

Isn't amazing how some people love failure mediocrity so much they spend all their time figuring out how EVERY move the Bills make is a bad good one? Even before anything bad good has happened yet, they pick stats and spin events to argue we are already eddoom better, and make sure everyone knows it.

Oh snap! I guess we know where you land. I know most of the negativity stems from the desire to say "I told you so."

 

PTR

[Best Player Available]

Yeah, really. Adam Schefter said as much on Twitter and numerous times on ESPN, and I venture to guess he knows a bit more about which guys teams wanted than you do. Russ' connection with Marrone from Syracuse probably had something to do with a sought-after coach actually choosing the Bills.

Well, if Adam friggin bobblehead Schefter said it on twitter, and ESPN/ It's got to be true. My bad.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Well, if Adam friggin bobblehead Schefter said it on twitter, and ESPN/ It's got to be true. My bad.

 

Schefter is a graduate of one of the top journalism schools in the country and has authored three books. Before NFL Network he was with the Denver Post and before that the Rocky Mountain News, and covered the Broncos for some 15 seasons. Sports Illustrated once named Schefter one of its "Power 40+," a list of the most influential people in or around the NFL. 

 

He is a former President of the Pro Football Writers of America.

 

If he isn't reputable, I don't know who is.

 

How about the San Diego Union-Tribune? How about another former President of the Pro Football Writers of America, Mark Gaughan?

 

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/press-coverage/2013/01/chargers-liked-marrone.html

 

"The San Diego Chargers had a strong interest in Doug Marrone and might have tried to sign him if their coaching search was in position to act, league sources told The Buffalo News over the weekend. [...] The Chargers are searching for a general manager and a head coach. The team has stated it intends to hire a GM first."

 

"The Chargers had a Saturday night dinner with Marrone, the Union-Tribune reported today. 'The Chargers were extremely impressed with Marrone, [...] but he appeared to have already made up his mind by the time he met with the Chargers,' the paper reported."

 

"The bottom line is the Browns had interviewed Marrone and all indications are they were very interested. Obviously, this doesn't mean Marrone is sure to succeed. Once upon a time Charlie Weis was a hot coaching candidate. But the Bills had reason to move decisively once they agreed Marrone was their man."

 

Marrone also had a meeting set up with the Eagles that was cancelled when he agreed with Buffalo.

 

While we don't know anything until the bullets fly, it would seem NFL executives with their reputations on the line have a high opinion of the Bills coach.

Edited May 15, 2013 by J-Gun Boone

[truth on hold]

Who cares? Without doubt kelly was the hotter prospect, and by a wide margin.

 

Like BPA I like the early signs I'm seeing out of the new crew, but let's not kid ourselves marrone's stock was anywhere near Kelly's.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Joe_the_6_pack

[eball]

Who cares? Without doubt kelly was the hotter prospect, and by a wide margin.

 

Like BPA I like the early signs I'm seeing out of the new crew, but let's not kid ourselves marrone's stock was anywhere near Kelly's.

 

All you do around here is kid yourself; your takes are consistently some of the most poorly thought out. Arguing over whose "stock was higher" is moronic; the bottom line is the Bills had their pick of coaches and made a hire widely acclaimed around the league.

 

Probably not a stretch to say that some fans on this board have never seen a winning Bills team. Or maybe one year?

Hope springs eternal. You would think Vince Lombardi drafted EJ. I hope the kid succeeds along with a new coach (with the college record of 25-25 in a weak conference.) As for Whaley, just like Nix was he will become a first time GM. There's a lot of IF's in this new regime. With very few proven FO personnel. Hard to fathom just what Nix could teach any of them?

Nix as a GM ranks as one of the leagues worst. Cornell Green anyone? The Merriman hire should cement his place as a poor judge of talent past it's prime. And, it reeked of cronyism just like some coaching hires his HC made. One year ago on this board people were praising the coming of the Stache. How awesome his cowboy's D's were, on and on. How did that turn out?

Now it's Doug Marrone as someone wrote "was the hottest coaching prospect" out there this year. Really?He can't hold C. Kelly's jock in turning a college program around nor his won/loss record.

I have tempered hope that maybe some moves were made correctly. Marrone doesn't feel like a Nix hire. I'd be thrilled with a 8-8 record, and a D that actually becomes responsible for some of those W's.

Enough of the unbridled optimism, the proof is in the W's. And they have been far and few between during the Nix "dynasty".

 

Terribly reasoned post. Loads of assumptions and unsupported "facts." If I read one more post about how things that have happened since 1/1/13 do or don't "feel" like a Nix/Brandon move I'll vomit.

[Wayne Cubed]

Probably not a stretch to say that some fans on this board have never seen a winning Bills team. Or maybe one year?

Hope springs eternal. You would think Vince Lombardi drafted EJ. I hope the kid succeeds along with a new coach (with the college record of 25-25 in a weak conference.) As for Whaley, just like Nix was he will become a first time GM. There's a lot of IF's in this new regime. With very few proven FO personnel. Hard to fathom just what Nix could teach any of them?

Nix as a GM ranks as one of the leagues worst. Cornell Green anyone? The Merriman hire should cement his place as a poor judge of talent past it's prime. And, it reeked of cronyism just like some coaching hires his HC made. One year ago on this board people were praising the coming of the Stache. How awesome his cowboy's D's were, on and on. How did that turn out?

Now it's Doug Marrone as someone wrote "was the hottest coaching prospect" out there this year. Really?He can't hold C. Kelly's jock in turning a college program around nor his won/loss record.

I have tempered hope that maybe some moves were made correctly. Marrone doesn't feel like a Nix hire. I'd be thrilled with a 8-8 record, and a D that actually becomes responsible for some of those W's.

Enough of the unbridled optimism, the proof is in the W's. And they have been far and few between during the Nix "dynasty".

 

The bolded is a ridiculous statement. Chip Kelly turned Oregon around? Mike Bellotti, the previous HC for Oregon, is considered the person who turned them into a football powerhouse. Chip Kelly, who was OC for 2 years previous at Oregon, walked into a dream situation.

 

Marrone on the other hand took over a Syracuse program that was 10-37 under Greg Robinson. The last winning season for Syracuse was in 2001, the last bowl game was in 2004. Syracuse was in the dump, recruitment was most certainly down. The situations each coach walked into were worlds apart.

[BADOLBILZ]

For the life of me I don't comprehend the infatuation with "football people running a football operation." I think it's been proven conclusively that most people in football are idiots, with many who are promoted to the Peter Principle level based solely on being another lucky guy's roommate 20 years ago in college, or some other random happenstance that has nothing to do with being a successful manager in their line of work. Why is it that sports resist to the concept of professional managers who can run a successful operation. NFL is no different than any other talent driven business, and in many of those, outsiders come in and do very well, especially when they need to completely overhaul a dying operation.

 

That's why it's not a coincidence that when Bills fans and the brain-dead press clamored for a "football man" to run the Bills after the apparent disaster that Russ Brandon was in his first tenure, you got Buddy Nix, who had impeccable credentials as a football man, but would be laughed out of any position that required minimal managerial skills. So it shouldn't be a surprise to you that despite his lifetime in football, his Bills teams delivered a worse performance than that of the newbie to football GM Brandon, because Nix was not a good manager.

 

Then if we were to borrow the experiences from other leagues or teams, exactly how much lifetime baseball experience did Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein possess before they got the reigns of franchises that are far more storied that the Bills? How did they work out?

 

You nitpick on Brandon's years as GM, but don't acknowledge that he inherited a bigger mess from Levy, and actually was on a path to restore the roster. The OL fiasco wasn't his doing, he certainly didn't hire Nix, as it was Wilson panicking that he needed a football man to run the team. That was the move that put off the high profile coaches out of the running, because that was more incomprehensible than having a marketing guy run the operation. Then, I'd venture to guess that if the amateur Brandon was still the GM, he would not have ignored the QB position over 3 drafts that were deep in QBs.

 

So while you like to focus on titles, I focus on results and look at who in the organization can deliver them. Despite the obvious fact that Brandon may not be liked by a lot of insiders and outsiders, he's done a great job for the franchise and his early job as GM was not a disaster, which puts him ahead of the four guys who had the job in the last decade.

 

Tell me again......for the first time actually........what Brandon did as GM that was so good?

 

Extending Dick Jauron's contract? Losing the only All Pro player the Bills had in the decade? Enlighten me.

 

Oh wait, that was all on Ralph Wilson.

 

Ralph Wilson......the largely successful businessman and non-football man who micro-managed this team into futility for most of half a century. But apparently, that wasn't a large enough sample size for you to judge a "non-football man" upon.

 

Let's get one thing clear, baseball is an uncomplicated game by comparison to football. Comparisons in baseball are apples to apples. The margin for error is MUCH larger in MLB. The variables are a fraction of those in the game of football. That is why it is relatively easy for a "non-baseball" guy to step in and use traditional business analysis techniques and attain some results. I have no doubt that in time analytics will player a larger role in the NFL, but by the same token I don't see where Russ Brandon is the next Billy Bean. His marketing success has been mostly based on common sense.......not the uncommon sense that a guy like Bean had.

 

Brandon is just a marketing guy who got promoted because he was managing to make his boss money while the team lost games. It wasn't any miraculous work though. Everyone in the NFL makes money. That's the way it is set up. But when your boss is 90 years old and doesn't know who else to hire.......there you have it.

Edited May 15, 2013 by BADOLBEELZ

[JohnC]

Who cares? Without doubt kelly was the hotter prospect, and by a wide margin.

 

Like BPA I like the early signs I'm seeing out of the new crew, but let's not kid ourselves marrone's stock was anywhere near Kelly's.

 

There is no doubt that Kelly was hottest HCing prospect this past offseason. That doesn't mean that he would have been the best fit for the Bills. Just because you don't or can't hire a particular HC that doesn't mean that the HC you do select won't do a superb job for you.

 

The Bills conducted a tight and thorough HCing search that examined a number of good candidates. The process was demonstrably more professional and focused than was conducted when Gailey was hired. Marrone was selected. He accepted the job while he was still under serious consideration by other franchises. He wanted to be in Buffalo knowing full well that he would be faced with a challenging rebuilding project.

 

Since his hire he has put together a quality staff. With his staff he has thoroughly analyzied the roster and has since steadily reworked the roster with the type of players he wants. So far there is a coherency with what is being done.

 

I'm certainly at this point not declairing Marrone a success. But so far he and his staff are doing things the right way in a process that is going to take time. So much time has been squandered by the previous regimes. The organization has moved out the outdated old guard and is moving forward with a refresing infusion of new blood. What is not to like?

Edited May 15, 2013 by JohnC

[PromoTheRobot]

Who cares? Without doubt kelly was the hotter prospect, and by a wide margin.

 

Like BPA I like the early signs I'm seeing out of the new crew, but let's not kid ourselves marrone's stock was anywhere near Kelly's.

Why let facts spoil my unfounded beliefs?

 

PTR

[HankBulloughMellencamp]

Tell me again......for the first time actually........what Brandon did as GM that was so good?

 

Extending Dick Jauron's contract? Losing the only All Pro player the Bills had in the decade? Enlighten me.

 

Oh wait, that was all on Ralph Wilson.

 

Ralph Wilson......the largely successful businessman and non-football man who micro-managed this team into futility for most of half a century. But apparently, that wasn't a large enough sample size for you to judge a "non-football man" upon.

 

Let's get one thing clear, baseball is an uncomplicated game by comparison to football. Comparisons in baseball are apples to apples. The margin for error is MUCH larger in MLB. The variables are a fraction of those in the game of football. That is why it is relatively easy for a "non-baseball" guy to step in and use traditional business analysis techniques and attain some results. I have no doubt that in time analytics will player a larger role in the NFL, but by the same token I don't see where Russ Brandon is the next Billy Bean. His marketing success has been mostly based on common sense.......not the uncommon sense that a guy like Bean had.

 

Brandon is just a marketing guy who got promoted because he was managing to make his boss money while the team lost games. It wasn't any miraculous work though. Everyone in the NFL makes money. That's the way it is set up. But when your boss is 90 years old and doesn't know who else to hire.......there you have it.

 

Outstanding post ... I can not believe that someone is actually suggesting that because moneyball worked and Russ didn't do too bad/can't do any worse, let's get him back in the saddle as our GM. To hell with the guy we just groomed who actually knows/played/scouted the game for a living as opposed to selling tickets.

[truth on hold]

 

 

There is no doubt that Kelly was hottest HCing prospect this past offseason. That doesn't mean that he would have been the best fit for the Bills. Just because you don't or can't hire a particular HC that doesn't mean that the HC you do select won't do a superb job for you.

 

The Bills conducted a tight and thorough HCing search that examined a number of good candidates. The process was demonstrably more professional and focused than was conducted when Gailey was hired. Marrone was selected. He accepted the job while he was still under serious consideration by other franchises. He wanted to be in Buffalo knowing full well that he would be faced with a challenging rebuilding project.

 

Since his hire he has put together a quality staff. With his staff he has thoroughly analyzied the roster and has since steadily reworked the roster with the type of players he wants. So far there is a coherency with what is being done.

 

I'm certainly at this point not declairing Marrone a success. But so far he and his staff are doing things the right way in a process that is going to take time. So much time has been squandered by the previous regimes. The organization has moved out the outdated old guard and is moving forward with a refresing infusion of new blood. What is not to like?

I generally agree with all that. I was challenging the assertion he was hottest prospect ahead of kelly

[GG]

Tell me again......for the first time actually........what Brandon did as GM that was so good?

 

Extending Dick Jauron's contract? Losing the only All Pro player the Bills had in the decade? Enlighten me.

 

Oh wait, that was all on Ralph Wilson.

 

Ralph Wilson......the largely successful businessman and non-football man who micro-managed this team into futility for most of half a century. But apparently, that wasn't a large enough sample size for you to judge a "non-football man" upon.

 

Let's get one thing clear, baseball is an uncomplicated game by comparison to football. Comparisons in baseball are apples to apples. The margin for error is MUCH larger in MLB. The variables are a fraction of those in the game of football. That is why it is relatively easy for a "non-baseball" guy to step in and use traditional business analysis techniques and attain some results. I have no doubt that in time analytics will player a larger role in the NFL, but by the same token I don't see where Russ Brandon is the next Billy Bean. His marketing success has been mostly based on common sense.......not the uncommon sense that a guy like Bean had.

 

Brandon is just a marketing guy who got promoted because he was managing to make his boss money while the team lost games. It wasn't any miraculous work though. Everyone in the NFL makes money. That's the way it is set up. But when your boss is 90 years old and doesn't know who else to hire.......there you have it.

Let's try to focus the topic shall we? Sorry, I don't buy the concept that managing football is too different than managing other professional sports franchises. NFL rosters are bigger, but baseball operations have much more people involved in the entire system because MLB doesn't fully outsource talent development to the NCAA.

 

Again, I never said that Brandon was a great GM, but you're nitpicking factoids and are avoiding the main issue that despite his inexperience in the position and a more inferior coaching, Bills had a better record under his two years than they did under Nix's tenure.

 

You're also placing a lot of blame of what happened between 2008 and 2010 at his feet, when a lot of that activity was orchestrated by Wilson & Overdorf. I don't think we need to rehash the Peters saga and who controlled the purse strings on that one, or who ordered that Langston Walker be cut because he wasn't cut out to be a LT, but was a perfectly fine RT?

 

Bills had a much better draft in '09 than they did in '08, and we have no idea of how the coaching search would have gone in '10 if Brandon remained GM and Buddy was given greater scouting duties. Instead, Wilson submarined the whole process with a rash hiring of Nix without bothering to interview any other candidates. That was the proverbial straw that turned off any competent candidates from considering the job.

 

BTW, I always get a kick out of the stories circulating in '09 that league insiders were snikering at Brandon's attendance at scouting events. Fully reminded me of the scene in Moneyball, where the old-hand scouts were laughing at the new process. Doesn't surprise me one bit that old timers would resist something new. If more of these guys were competent at their jobs, you wouldn't have such a high turnover rate.

[Sisyphean Bills]

You're also placing a lot of blame of what happened between 2008 and 2010 at his feet, when a lot of that activity was orchestrated by Wilson & Overdorf. I don't think we need to rehash the Peters saga and who controlled the purse strings on that one, or who ordered that Langston Walker be cut because he wasn't cut out to be a LT, but was a perfectly fine RT?

 

This doesn't really jive with what Russ Brandon said himself about the Jason Peters situation. He said on NFL radio that Jason Peters had come to him personally to talk about his contract and he told Jason in no uncertain terms that he was not a priority, that Overdorf was going to work on Lee Evans' contract, and that Jason should get the !@#$ out of his office. That does not paint a picture that the rapid deterioration of the relationship was exclusively Overdorf's doing. Of course, the gasoline-on-the-fire of paying a bottom tier LG nearly the exact same contract as the best LG in the NFL received 1 year prior precipitated many bad feelings for a guy that had taken some "home town discounts" (his agent's view certainly) prior as well, so Overdorf and Levy did have their role.

[JohnC]

I generally agree with all that. I was challenging the assertion he was hottest prospect ahead of kelly

 

I agree with you that he was the hottest prospect and the most interesting prospect this offseason because of his unique "fast paced" approach to the game. My main point in the prior post is that a good HCing selection for one franchise isn't necessarily the right selection for another franchise. My secondary point was that even if Kelly was this franchise's first choice that doesn't mean that there aren't good fall back selections that won't turn out just as well if not better.

[Sisyphean Bills]

The Bills conducted a tight and thorough HCing search that examined a number of good candidates.

That part is debatable and some people, including media types, have actually disputed it.

The process was demonstrably more professional and focused than was conducted when Gailey was hired.

The process was certainly handled much more aggressively. Instead of waiting for the hundreds of calls from agents to light up the cellphone, the Bills aggressively went out and targeted coaching candidates and made, what was for them, a stunningly quick decision and before most, if not all, other vacancies were filled. There is no doubt that the process was conducted differently just given the observable details.

[tennesseeboy]

proof is in the pudding. If Marrone wins more than Kelly does...he's the better choice. If Kelly wins more than Marrone does...he's the better choice. Kelly has a little edge in the talent in my opinion, but you gotta play the cards you are dealt. End of the season we will have a pretty good idea who is the better coaching choice. At the end of season 2 we will know for sure.

[hondo in seattle]

Who cares? Without doubt kelly was the hotter prospect, and by a wide margin.

 

Like BPA I like the early signs I'm seeing out of the new crew, but let's not kid ourselves marrone's stock was anywhere near Kelly's.

 

Who cares about who had the higher stock? The only thing that matters is who will be the better NFL Head Coach.

 

Both Kelly and Marrone were respected in NFL circles when they were coaching in college. Neither - at this point - seems like a bad choice but time will tell.

 

Btw, I agree that Kelly had the higher stock but not by that much. Forget the media buzz and compare the list of teams reportedly interested in Kelly with the list of teams reportedly interested in Marrone. Kelly's list isn't that much longer.

 

The thing about Marrone is that he already understands the NFL and - to a certain extent - has already proven himself on this level. Kelly hasn't.

[Best Player Available]

Schefter is a graduate of one of the top journalism schools in the country and has authored three books. Before NFL Network he was with the Denver Post and before that the Rocky Mountain News, and covered the Broncos for some 15 seasons. Sports Illustrated once named Schefter one of its "Power 40+," a list of the most influential people in or around the NFL.

 

He is a former President of the Pro Football Writers of America.

 

If he isn't reputable, I don't know who is.

 

How about the San Diego Union-Tribune? How about another former President of the Pro Football Writers of America, Mark Gaughan?

 

http://blogs.buffalo...ed-marrone.html

 

"The San Diego Chargers had a strong interest in Doug Marrone and might have tried to sign him if their coaching search was in position to act, league sources told The Buffalo News over the weekend. [...] The Chargers are searching for a general manager and a head coach. The team has stated it intends to hire a GM first."

 

"The Chargers had a Saturday night dinner with Marrone, the Union-Tribune reported today. 'The Chargers were extremely impressed with Marrone, [...] but he appeared to have already made up his mind by the time he met with the Chargers,' the paper reported."

 

"The bottom line is the Browns had interviewed Marrone and all indications are they were very interested. Obviously, this doesn't mean Marrone is sure to succeed. Once upon a time Charlie Weis was a hot coaching candidate. But the Bills had reason to move decisively once they agreed Marrone was their man."

 

Marrone also had a meeting set up with the Eagles that was cancelled when he agreed with Buffalo.

 

While we don't know anything until the bullets fly, it would seem NFL executives with their reputations on the line have a high opinion of the Bills coach.

I never said Marrone isn't highly regarded. Whaley who also has never been a GM is supposedly highly regarded.At this point what is an opinion worth? Especially at the beginning of yet another Bills FO honeymoon period.

 

But I'm interested in how Schefter's opinion on crowning "the hottest head coaching prospect" carries any weight at all? Credentials aside, Being a Journalism guru and all means what? How about the journalists/Ex GM's. etc. that laughed and some still are at the Bills pick at 16. Are they right or wrong? Or do people tailor their unbridled optimism of the Bills on popular fan opinions?

Where did Schefter play football or coach? And what exactly makes his educated opinion fact? I say He's wrong Chip Kelly was the hottest prospect for obvious reasons.

[GG]

This doesn't really jive with what Russ Brandon said himself about the Jason Peters situation. He said on NFL radio that Jason Peters had come to him personally to talk about his contract and he told Jason in no uncertain terms that he was not a priority, that Overdorf was going to work on Lee Evans' contract, and that Jason should get the !@#$ out of his office.

 

This is the first time I'm hearing this version of the story.