How is Brandon doing and what will happen to him with new owner ?

[MarkAF43]

On #3 - we lead league in DEAD money, that's an indication that we've done worse than the other 31 teams, isn't it ?

 

On #4 - I don't know, I give him credit for the 10 year lease and locking the team up while we look for a new owner. To me, that's his crowning achievement. When lease was signed, I was adamant that the team needed a new stadium to remain here long term, everyone feels that way, so, there should have been more foresight, we had a 90+ year old owner, if not Russ, who should be doing that ?

 

On #5 -- Someone is to blame, or is it blameless ? RB was GM for a few years, hired/fired GM's/HC's in others -- he's the only common denominator, I guess you can blame RW

 

On #6 -- none of these on their own is a big deal, I get that, but, when you say he's blameless for performance on the field, and not responsible for new stadium etc. etc. What is he responsible for, so, don't blame him for the Jills ? the website leak ? the text messages ? -- what will you hold him accountable for ?

 

 

I never said he is blameless, i asked you to further elaborate, and now that you have it's become quite clear this is a crusade you have against him.

[May Day 10]

2008 2008 NFL AFC East 4th 7 9 0 2009 2009 NFL AFC East 4th 6 10 0 2010 2010 NFL AFC East 4th 4 12 0 2011 2011 NFL AFC East 4th 6 10 0 2012 2012 NFL AFC East 4th 6 10 0 2013 2013 NFL AFC East 4th 6 10 0

 

Cant really argue with that. Finishing Last in a 4 team division (that includes the Jets and Dolphins) 6 straight seasons is quite an anomaly. They always seem to blame it on the guys just let go, or guys "demoted" somehow, while Brandon keeps getting promoted and is swept away from all blame of failure, while getting credit for anything that goes right. Its Stockholm Syndrome.

[thebandit27]

Okay, taking these one at a time...

 

My first issue with Brandon is this, he joined the Bills in 1997, approximately 17 years ago and has been with the franchise for the entire 15 year playoff drought. He has been a high level executive the past 8+ years (since 2006), yet, in the last couple of press conferences he seems hell bent on pointing out to people that he has been in charge since January 2013, implying no culpability for the franchise's poor performance for the decade prior, it's an old marketing trick to try and rebrand a failing product, in this case, the failing product is Russ himself. Nice try Russ, but I'm not buying it, grade: D.

 

He didn't have much authority over the organization outside of marketing until 2013. The lone time he did was when he was GM in title, and he left the personnel decisions to Modrak and Guy. If you want to fault him for doing so, I can't really get behind that, as he didn't have the authority to dismiss those guys; that was Ralph's call at the time.

 

2- The Toronto series was his idea and it has failed miserably and the games themselves have been an embarrassment. I don't buy the notion that the series enabled the Bills to expand into the Southern Ontario market, they could have done that with effective marketing and promotion without sending a game north of the border, grade: D.

 

The league pressed the small market teams to make greater efforts to earn their own revenue; this was their solution. It didn't work out; that happens sometimes.

 

3- Cap management. This might be the worst area of performance. First, under spending the cap over the past few years and signing contracts that have been colossal failures. Second, how can a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years have the MOST DEAD MONEY of any NFL team in 2014 ? Bad financial management, grade: F.

 

I'm not sure why you are so determined to try to correlate spending to winning...there's zero correlation. I've pointed this out to you before. It's been the team's decisions regarding who they've spent their money on (e.g. Walker/Dockery over Peters, McGee over Greer--both decisions that most fans could've told you were lousy at the time) that have been poor, not whether or not to spend.

 

4- Stadium. While I love the fact that the lease prevents the team from moving for 10 years, why wasn't there any foresight 5 years ago that this franchise needed a new stadium ? We should be in the process of building a new stadium as we search for a new owner instead of scrambling to get our ducks in a row to prove that we'll be able to do it to ensure a new owner keeps the team, an A for short term an F for long term.

 

The Commissioner himself said, back in August of 2010, that Ralph Wilson Stadium can be a viable home into the future if renovated, so that's what they did. Also, it doesn't take 10 years to plan, design, and build a stadium. Obviously, based on the lease, they're targeting a 6-year plan, design, and build. That's not unreasonable (even in Erie County).

 

5- Performance on the field, grade: D-.

 

This has been covered by others--it would be prudent, IMO, to gauge this since January of 2013. I'd say it's more like a C-

 

6- PR (Jills lawsuit, website leak and text message lawsuit), I know they are all trivial, but all blemishes nonetheless, grade: D.

 

This kind of junk happens to every team in every city. Seattle is getting sued for their playoff ticket shenanigans, the Cowboys got sued over Superbowl tickets, the Redskins are having protests, the very same cheerleader lawsuits are occurring with the Jets and Bengals, etc.

 

I'm not sure you're viewing this objectively.

[GA BILLS FAN]

I have worked at an executive level in pro sports for 2 teams and 8 years total. I have worked directly with many team presidents and league level executives. They are amazed at the sponsorship revenues and lease deal that they were able to put together. He has always had his hands tied by Littman until the beginning of 2013. Regardless of his title there were many battles fought over spending that JL shot down. That is one thing that not a lot of people know but its the truth. Now RB doesn't need that approval. I think that we can all agree that this team is in a much better place than they were 18 months ago.

 

The regionalization IS the reason that the team will remain long term in WNY. The Toronto series was a necessary evil to infiltrate that market. In addition it secured an extra $8m (I believe) per year in non shared revenue. This money is essential to be competitors in FA. The Bills have had to be EXTREMELY creative in generating those revenues b/c RWS & WNY will never yield what Jerry World will. Those revenues drive the cap but do not get divided. There is little to no chance that this team would remain in WNY without the business decisions that the Bills have made over the last 15 years.

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

[RyanC883]

RB has done a great job, and is a local guy. He's not the GM or the HC. In his role, he has done very well. A few mistakes, sure, but overall I'd give him an A. If new ownership gets rid of him that is a bad sign. Also, RB is from the area!

 

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

 

RB's job is not the talent on the field. That is squarely on the GM and Coaches, who are hired by the ownership.

[May Day 10]

Larry Quinn is local too and under him the Sabres went from 5K a game to a waiting list and expensive tickets.

[NoSaint]

 

 

On #3 - we lead league in DEAD money, that's an indication that we've done worse than the other 31 teams, isn't it ?

 

On #4 - I don't know, I give him credit for the 10 year lease and locking the team up while we look for a new owner. To me, that's his crowning achievement. When lease was signed, I was adamant that the team needed a new stadium to remain here long term, everyone feels that way, so, there should have been more foresight, we had a 90+ year old owner, if not Russ, who should be doing that ?

 

On #5 -- Someone is to blame, or is it blameless ? RB was GM for a few years, hired/fired GM's/HC's in others -- he's the only common denominator, I guess you can blame RW

 

On #6 -- none of these on their own is a big deal, I get that, but, when you say he's blameless for performance on the field, and not responsible for new stadium etc. etc. What is he responsible for, so, don't blame him for the Jills ? the website leak ? the text messages ? -- what will you hold him accountable for ?

 

why does there have to be either a single person or no one at all?

[GA BILLS FAN]

Okay, taking these one at a time...

 

 

 

He didn't have much authority over the organization outside of marketing until 2013. The lone time he did was when he was GM in title, and he left the personnel decisions to Modrak and Guy. If you want to fault him for doing so, I can't really get behind that, as he didn't have the authority to dismiss those guys; that was Ralph's call at the time.

 

 

 

The league pressed the small market teams to make greater efforts to earn their own revenue; this was their solution. It didn't work out; that happens sometimes.

 

 

 

I'm not sure why you are so determined to try to correlate spending to winning...there's zero correlation. I've pointed this out to you before. It's been the team's decisions regarding who they've spent their money on (e.g. Walker/Dockery over Peters, McGee over Greer--both decisions that most fans could've told you were lousy at the time) that have been poor, not whether or not to spend.

 

 

 

The Commissioner himself said, back in August of 2010, that Ralph Wilson Stadium can be a viable home into the future if renovated, so that's what they did. Also, it doesn't take 10 years to plan, design, and build a stadium. Obviously, based on the lease, they're targeting a 6-year plan, design, and build. That's not unreasonable (even in Erie County).

 

 

 

This has been covered by others--it would be prudent, IMO, to gauge this since January of 2013. I'd say it's more like a C-

 

 

 

This kind of junk happens to every team in every city. Seattle is getting sued for their playoff ticket shenanigans, the Cowboys got sued over Superbowl tickets, the Redskins are having protests, the very same cheerleader lawsuits are occurring with the Jets and Bengals, etc.

 

I'm not sure you're viewing this objectively.

 

I don't think any of us are being OBJECTIVE, let's start there -- but I want to be clear, I have absolutely no personal relationship with RB or any other FO, my subjective (I admit) assessment is solely based on being a frustrated fan.

 

I also want to ask, respectfully to all of you who defend RB a couple of questions:

 

1- If you were owner of the Bills are you telling me you would not hold him accountable for any of the things I listed and would let him continue to run the franchise and make all the decisions ?

 

2- If RB is not accountable to what I listed, what do you hold him accountable for ?

[thebandit27]

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

 

I think that this is Kirby's point: up until January of 2013, Brandon had close to zero influence over the product on the field.

 

I don't think any of us are being OBJECTIVE, let's start there -- but I want to be clear, I have absolutely no personal relationship with RB or any other FO, my subjective (I admit) assessment is solely based on being a frustrated fan.

 

I also want to ask, respectfully to all of you who defend RB a couple of questions:

 

1- If you were owner of the Bills are you telling me you would not hold him accountable for any of the things I listed and would let him continue to run the franchise and make all the decisions ?

 

2- If RB is not accountable to what I listed, what do you hold him accountable for ?

 

I surely wouldn't say he's not accountable...I absolutely expect him to figure something else out with regard to Toronto, and for me, the clock would be ticking on the on-field product, as I expect improvement since 6-10 is not acceptable.

 

My point is simply that you're laying more than a few things at Brandon's feet that, IMO, shouldn't be laid there...that's all.

[NoSaint]

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

 

both sides are valid discussions. to totally discount the successful P/L for a guy that for the majority of his time has not been in charge of football operations and instead revenue based job titles, while putting the text message lawsuit at his feet, would seem to be cherry picking.

 

My point is simply that you're laying more than a few things at Brandon's feet that, IMO, shouldn't be laid there...that's all.

 

coupled with ignoring positives that he has accomplished

[Gordio]

Are you sure on his reputation ? I only have a couple of sources, friends who are involved in other teams and they've told me the exact opposite, that Brandon is not viewed in that manner. One friend, said the Bills are "laughing stock of the league". Another friend told me that he isolates himself and has few allies and friends in the NFL circle. Again, I will admit, I only have a couple sources on two different teams, so, if you know more, can you share ?

 

I have heard the same thing. I have heard it is common thinking around the NFL that Brandon has been in way over his head & that there is no other team in the league that would ever consider giving RB power like he has in Buffalo.

[GA BILLS FAN]

 

 

 

I never said he is blameless, i asked you to further elaborate, and now that you have it's become quite clear this is a crusade you have against him.

 

Don't use the word crusade, it implies I have a baseless agenda, which I do not have. I am honestly in disbelief that so many fans have such a high opinion of RB's performance and feel that he is doing a good job. I guess most of you have separated in your minds the team's W/L performance, which we know is an F (over the last 15 years) and RB.

[May Day 10]

since 2008 he has been the GM/CEO, CEO, and then Super-CEO or whatever. The team has finished nowhere but last place since.

 

He was the one interviewing coaching candidates the past 2 rounds. he sits front and center with the GM in the war room. He is comfortable fielding questions about the makeup of the team, personnel decisions, etc (as opposed to deferring them to the personnel guys). I think people are delusioned to think he isnt welding some degree of say

[Kirby Jackson]

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

The point you are missing is that he was not responsible for roster building. He was and is responsible for the revenues. He was GM for a brief period and as was the case when Marv was "GM" Modrak & Guy oversaw the personnel. RB and Marv had the titles but did not make the decisions. Since the start of 2013 he is now over the roster (and Whaley and Marrone). He lets the football people make the football decisions as he previously did but he gives a thumbs up or thumbs down. He is the one that now gives approval not Littman. His job was not to build the roster; it was to build revenues. He has continued to get more and more responsibility because he has proven to do his job very well. I am not trying to come across as condescending but you are confused as to what he is responsible for and why certain decisions were made. Edited May 15, 2014 by Kirby Jackson

[vorpma]

I thought it time to reassess our self-proclaimed "marketing genius" and GRADE his performance as a key executive with the Buffalo Bills and what we think will happen to him once there is a new owner ?

 

My first issue with Brandon is this, he joined the Bills in 1997, approximately 17 years ago and has been with the franchise for the entire 15 year playoff drought. He has been a high level executive the past 8+ years (since 2006), yet, in the last couple of press conferences he seems hell bent on pointing out to people that he has been in charge since January 2013, implying no culpability for the franchise's poor performance for the decade prior, it's an old marketing trick to try and rebrand a failing product, in this case, the failing product is Russ himself. Nice try Russ, but I'm not buying it, grade: D.

 

2- The Toronto series was his idea and it has failed miserably and the games themselves have been an embarrassment. I don't buy the notion that the series enabled the Bills to expand into the Southern Ontario market, they could have done that with effective marketing and promotion without sending a game north of the border, grade: D.

 

3- Cap management. This might be the worst area of performance. First, under spending the cap over the past few years and signing contracts that have been colossal failures. Second, how can a team that hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years have the MOST DEAD MONEY of any NFL team in 2014 ? Bad financial management, grade: F.

 

4- Stadium. While I love the fact that the lease prevents the team from moving for 10 years, why wasn't there any foresight 5 years ago that this franchise needed a new stadium ? We should be in the process of building a new stadium as we search for a new owner instead of scrambling to get our ducks in a row to prove that we'll be able to do it to ensure a new owner keeps the team, an A for short term an F for long term.

 

5- Performance on the field, grade: D-.

 

6- PR (Jills lawsuit, website leak and text message lawsuit), I know they are all trivial, but all blemishes nonetheless, grade: D.

Excellent Post - weak coaching, horrible scouting/drafting, poor FA aquisitions and the Toronto Boondoggle. While many are enthusiastic and hopeful regarding the coming 2014 season - I see another 7 - 9 finish. Once new ownership arrives, clean house completely and start over.

 

since 2008 he has been the GM/CEO, CEO, and then Super-CEO or whatever. The team has finished nowhere but last place since.

 

He was the one interviewing coaching candidates the past 2 rounds. he sits front and center with the GM in the war room. He is comfortable fielding questions about the makeup of the team, personnel decisions, etc (as opposed to deferring them to the personnel guys). I think people are delusioned to think he isnt welding some degree of say

Right on!

[stony]

So is your pro-Brandon argument that he created a successful P/L for an NFL team that is a perennial loser ? I'm not trying to belittle your position or be overly argumentative, but ask a serious question. Is Brandon a successful executive because he's run an NFL team and made a profit in a small market ? Which, by the way is a significant achievement. To me, the measure I use is whether he can run a team that wins. Again, I am not trying to belittle or be argumentative, we can agree to disagree, but should start with a common understanding of how you measure him. I for one give tremendous weight to success on the field, but realize you need more than that.

 

Do you really hold the cheer-leading fiasco and text-message lawsuit against him? Have these episodes really embarrassed you?

[May Day 10]

Do you really hold the cheer-leading fiasco and text-message lawsuit against him? Have these episodes really embarrassed you?

 

It embarrasses me... but more of an indictment on our society and where it is going. Everyone sues everybody. Cant even fire an employee anymore without buying him/her out.

[GA BILLS FAN]

The point you are missing is that he was not responsible for roster building. He was and is responsible for the revenues. He was GM for a brief period and as was the case when Marv was "GM" Modrak & Guy oversaw the personnel. RB and Marv had the titles but did not make the decisions. Since the start of 2013 he is now over the roster (and Whaley and Marrone). He lets the football people make the football decisions as he previously did but he gives a thumbs up or thumbs down. He is the one that now guves approval not Littman. His job was not to build the roster; it was to build revenues. He has continued to get more and more responsibility because he has proven to do his job very well. I am not trying to come across as condescending but you are confused as to what he is responsible for and why certain decisions were made.

I know he wasn't responsible for personnel for most of the 17 years he's been here. But, he was for a couple of years and performed miserably, right ? Whether he left the decisions during that time to Modrak or Guy, he was the guy with the GM title, wasn't he, and should be held accountable ? You seem anxious to dismiss that in your assessment. I only point out the other smaller issues (Jills, website leak) to try and view him in totality and if you don't hold him accountable for the performance on the field, do you hold him for PR issues, or do we blame Berchtold ? Do we hold him accountable for dead money, or is that Littman ? --- it just seems that as much as you pro-RB folks think Im only pointing out the negatives, you guys, to me, seem like you are taking him off the hook on everything, whether it's personnel, W/L, PR, finances etc.

[MarkAF43]

I know he wasn't responsible for personnel for most of the 17 years he's been here. But, he was for a couple of years and performed miserably, right ? Whether he left the decisions during that time to Modrak or Guy, he was the guy with the GM title, wasn't he, and should be held accountable ? You seem anxious to dismiss that in your assessment. I only point out the other smaller issues (Jills, website leak) to try and view him in totality and if you don't hold him accountable for the performance on the field, do you hold him for PR issues, or do we blame Berchtold ? Do we hold him accountable for dead money, or is that Littman ? --- it just seems that as much as you pro-RB folks think Im only pointing out the negatives, you guys, to me, seem like you are taking him off the hook on everything, whether it's personnel, W/L, PR, finances etc.

 

By the same token, you're holding him to the fire for EVERYTHING that has gone wrong. He has not been the end all be all final say on everything guy, so to hold him accountable for it all is baseless.

[GA BILLS FAN]

 

 

Do you really hold the cheer-leading fiasco and text-message lawsuit against him? Have these episodes really embarrassed you?

Neither are a big deal to me. But, at some point, I'm trying to figure out what RB is accountable for, it seems to me that he isn't being held accountable for anything. Those are small issues, having $20M in dead money isn't. W/L isn't. Toronto series isn't.