Is Russ Brandon to Blame?

[Dorkington]

 

Simple answer: lousy quarterbacks.

 

They have chosen quarterbacks poorly and poorly allocated resources to acquire and/or develop one.

 

There's really nothing else to see here.

Hopefully if we're going to be bad this year, we're bad enough to get a real gem in next year's draft. But, if we do, will we develop him correctly? We certainly screwed up with the previous young guys.

[Fadingpain]

Russ Brandon is very good at the marketing/business functions that form the basis of his employment.

 

It didn't take Pegula very long to realize Ted Black at the Sabres was piss-poor in comparison and soon Mr. Black found his ass on the street...with Russ doing the same job for BOTH organizations.

 

Russ is going nowhere. He enjoys a great reputation around the NFL and Pegula is obviously in love with him.

 

Can Russ be shielded off from football operations 100%? I hope so, and hope that has already taken place or will take place in the near future.

 

The other guy we need to shield off from football operations is Pegula himself.

 

He played hockey GM for a while too. When that didn't work, I think he took a step back.

 

He has yet to take that step with the Bills (getting way too involved in hiring Rex).

 

I want Pegula making no sport-oriented decision ever, for both teams.

[nucci]

I think whomever decided to hire Rex Ryan is to blame and I do not believe it was Whaley. Why would he want to break up and start over after the defense he helped build with Schwartz? It doesn't make sense. A very good defense was in place.....The offense needed fixing. There were reports that Hue Jackson was going to be next Head Coach. Jackson himself said he expected to get the job. I believe Whaley was overruled by either Pegula or Brandon. And here we are......

[BillsVet]

I feel like Russ Brandon would be right at home playing the Wizard of Oz, saying, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

 

It's doubtful someone who once was the managing owner of the franchise would seamlessly transition into a role without any influence into football operations. Especially when one sees he was on the phone with potential UDFA's after the draft concluded.

[nucci]

I feel like Russ Brandon would be right at home playing the Wizard of Oz, saying, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

 

It's doubtful someone who once was the managing owner of the franchise would seamlessly transition into a role without any influence into football operations. Especially when one sees he was on the phone with potential UDFA's after the draft concluded.

I concur

[The Big Cat]

I think whomever decided to hire Rex Ryan is to blame and I do not believe it was Whaley. Why would he want to break up and start over after the defense he helped build with Schwartz? It doesn't make sense. A very good defense was in place.....The offense needed fixing. There were reports that Hue Jackson was going to be next Head Coach. Jackson himself said he expected to get the job. I believe Whaley was overruled by either Pegula or Brandon. And here we are......

 

What reports? This all sounds fabricated to satisfy at POV.

[Augie]

I think whomever decided to hire Rex Ryan is to blame and I do not believe it was Whaley. Why would he want to break up and start over after the defense he helped build with Schwartz? It doesn't make sense. A very good defense was in place.....The offense needed fixing. There were reports that Hue Jackson was going to be next Head Coach. Jackson himself said he expected to get the job. I believe Whaley was overruled by either Pegula or Brandon. And here we are......

Oops!

[Jauronimo]

I love that "football Czar" is the new cure all. Hire a Czar to pick the GM and coach and turn the organization around. Its sooo obvious that a Czar would possess unparalleled football wisdom. Adding another layer to the org chart is clearly the answer. 10/10 Bills fans choose Czar.

[nucci]

 

What reports? This all sounds fabricated to satisfy at POV.

Just things I read during the process. Also read a quote attributed to Jackson. I didn't fabricate anything. I read things and then formed my own opinion.

[Coach Tuesday]

You can't blame Russ Brandon for the team's lack of success on the field. They have to find a competent GM who can instill a winning strategic plan, which includes finding a QB, and efficiently allocating the team's resources ($$ and draft picks) towards a winning program. To my mind, Doug Whaley has failed at this - he is a good enough scout, but he doesn't know how to build a team, has failed at it in multiple attempts, and needs to be fired.

 

You can blame Russ Brandon for the mysterious and, some would say, misleading way that the team operates. The constant stream of misinformation concerning the status of players and injuries is an insult to the fans and is borderline fraudulent. And the atmosphere within OBD remains toxic, as it was during the Marrone years, with a penchant for odd, destructive "leaks" that seem to undermine players and coaches alike. As head of operations (effectively), Brandon is to blame for this and if I owned the team, I'd fire him for it. I'd add to that list the complete incompetence of the team's PR and medical staffs (the latter perhaps is not under Brandon, but arguably he has some say in it).

 

If I were the Pegulas watching this clown show, I'd fire Whaley and Brandon (and Rex), for different reasons, at the end of this season. I expect some version of a housecleaning will happen, although as Bandit said above it will start with the hiring of a Head of Football Ops (a "Czar"), who will insulate the Pegulas from some of the dirty work that is required.

I love that "football Czar" is the new cure all. Hire a Czar to pick the GM and coach and turn the organization around. Its sooo obvious that a Czar would possess unparalleled football wisdom. Adding another layer to the org chart is clearly the answer. 10/10 Bills fans choose Czar.

 

You need someone who can create and implement a strategic plan. It's not a myth.

[thebandit27]

I feel like Russ Brandon would be right at home playing the Wizard of Oz, saying, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

 

It's doubtful someone who once was the managing owner of the franchise would seamlessly transition into a role without any influence into football operations. Especially when one sees he was on the phone with potential UDFA's after the draft concluded.

You think Russ is deciding which UDFAs to sign, as opposed to working the phones at Whaley's behest?

 

Really?

[Jauronimo]

You can't blame Russ Brandon for the team's lack of success on the field. They have to find a competent GM who can instill a winning strategic plan, which includes finding a QB, and efficiently allocating the team's resources ($$ and draft picks) towards a winning program. To my mind, Doug Whaley has failed at this - he is a good enough scout, but he doesn't know how to build a team, has failed at it in multiple attempts, and needs to be fired.

 

You can blame Russ Brandon for the mysterious and, some would say, misleading way that the team operates. The constant stream of misinformation concerning the status of players and injuries is an insult to the fans and is borderline fraudulent. And the atmosphere within OBD remains toxic, as it was during the Marrone years, with a penchant for odd, destructive "leaks" that seem to undermine players and coaches alike. As head of operations (effectively), Brandon is to blame for this and if I owned the team, I'd fire him for it. I'd add to that list the complete incompetence of the team's PR and medical staffs (the latter perhaps is not under Brandon, but arguably he has some say in it).

 

If I were the Pegulas watching this clown show, I'd fire Whaley and Brandon (and Rex), for different reasons, at the end of this season. I expect some version of a housecleaning will happen, although as Bandit said above it will start with the hiring of a Head of Football Ops (a "Czar"), who will insulate the Pegulas from some of the dirty work that is required.

 

You need someone who can create and implement a strategic plan. It's not a myth.

Like a GM?

[Coach Tuesday]

Like a GM?

 

Maybe - but it extends beyond traditional GM duties. They need to re-brand this puppy top-down.

[thebandit27]

I love that "football Czar" is the new cure all. Hire a Czar to pick the GM and coach and turn the organization around. Its sooo obvious that a Czar would possess unparalleled football wisdom. Adding another layer to the org chart is clearly the answer. 10/10 Bills fans choose Czar.

I don't think it's a cure-all; I do believe it's what they'd do next though

You can't blame Russ Brandon for the team's lack of success on the field. They have to find a competent GM who can instill a winning strategic plan, which includes finding a QB, and efficiently allocating the team's resources ($$ and draft picks) towards a winning program. To my mind, Doug Whaley has failed at this - he is a good enough scout, but he doesn't know how to build a team, has failed at it in multiple attempts, and needs to be fired.

 

You can blame Russ Brandon for the mysterious and, some would say, misleading way that the team operates. The constant stream of misinformation concerning the status of players and injuries is an insult to the fans and is borderline fraudulent. And the atmosphere within OBD remains toxic, as it was during the Marrone years, with a penchant for odd, destructive "leaks" that seem to undermine players and coaches alike. As head of operations (effectively), Brandon is to blame for this and if I owned the team, I'd fire him for it. I'd add to that list the complete incompetence of the team's PR and medical staffs (the latter perhaps is not under Brandon, but arguably he has some say in it).

 

If I were the Pegulas watching this clown show, I'd fire Whaley and Brandon (and Rex), for different reasons, at the end of this season. I expect some version of a housecleaning will happen, although as Bandit said above it will start with the hiring of a Head of Football Ops (a "Czar"), who will insulate the Pegulas from some of the dirty work that is required.

 

 

You need someone who can create and implement a strategic plan. It's not a myth.

Thank you for pointing to real, actual responsibilities for which one could blame Russ.

 

This is a very reasonable post IMO, even if I disagree with parts of it

[PromoTheRobot]

He played hockey GM for a while too. When that didn't work, I think he took a step back.

 

When did this happen? The week between Regier and Murray?

[fridge]

Because it's essentially slander around these parts, I'll refrain from mentioning my (growing) list of instances where Brandon was heavily involved in major football decisions....

 

But I will say this: Selfishly, you should all want him gone and here's why...

 

1. We are already die-hard Bills fans. Any "he's a great marketing guy" arguments should be thrown right out the window because it doesn't apply to you. You're already hooked on the smack. There's no singular decision, marketing-wise, that could be made to remove you as a fan. Trust me, he already moved a game to Toronto for Christ's sake and we took it like the scorned house wives that we are.

 

2. Any input is still influencing decisions. Even if you don't believe he was a driving force behind many of our big decisions (I don't actually believe he's telling Whaley they need to trade up for Watkins or anything like that), his input as one of the top 4 guys making cuts for example, still means his opinion is valued. It shouldn't be. He's no more qualified on the football scouting side than any of us. He should be fired for no reason other than it's absurd that someone so unqualified could have such an influence on our team's decisions.

 

3. He's never going to turn in his keys. There's a myth that some of the main Kool-Aid drinkers around these parts believe. They think he magically handed in all his credentials from the football side of things and walked confidently into the night of this magical marketing center, filled with printers and pens and certainly not playbooks or anything resembling an NFL franchise. It's a myth. The dude has been in the draft war room for ages. Why would he stop now? I don't even blame him. Simply put, he was once the GM and CEO. Everyone in the building save for Terry and Kim Pegula have him as there boss. Who exactly is to prevent him from these football meetings? No one. It's not going to end. He needs to be fired because there's no f'ing way they bring in a football czar and the football czar tells Russ Brandon to GTFO. He'll be a major influence as long as he's here folks.

 

 

***As a total disclaimer: My hatred for Russ Brandon is not exclusive. I'm allowed to think he's a total hack and still find other faults in the organization. Please do not assume that just because I'd like to see my beloved Bills run without his presence in the draft room, that I think it's all his fault. It's not. He's a piece (a terrible, water damaged, discolored corner piece) to our crappy puzzle.

[TSOL]

Shouldnt a "Czar" essentially just be the GM? If theres a qualified Czar out there, hes qualified for the GM job, why add another layer? Thats whats wrong with politics,too many cooks in the kitchen. Which is what i suspect has been our problem for the last *sigh* bunch of years.

[fridge]

I feel like Russ Brandon would be right at home playing the Wizard of Oz, saying, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

 

It's doubtful someone who once was the managing owner of the franchise would seamlessly transition into a role without any influence into football operations. Especially when one sees he was on the phone with potential UDFA's after the draft concluded.

 

Well said. You nailed what I was trying to say in just two short, sweet sentences.

[Jauronimo]

 

Maybe - but it extends beyond traditional GM duties. They need to re-brand this puppy top-down.

Like what? Does he have veto power over the GM? Does he pick the coach? Does he get involved in culture, marketing, and sales initiatives?

[Coach Tuesday]

Shouldnt a "Czar" essentially just be the GM? If theres a qualified Czar out there, hes qualified for the GM job, why add another layer? Thats whats wrong with politics,too many cooks in the kitchen. Which is what i suspect has been our problem for the last *sigh* bunch of years.

 

That's not how big business works, I don't mean to sound condescending about it but there is a widespread belief that hiring outside consultants for a limited, defined time period and scope, is a good way to measure your business's progress and strategy.

Like what? Does he have veto power over the GM? Does he pick the coach? Does he get involved in culture, marketing, and sales initiatives?

 

Like cleaning out and rebuilding the team's Stalinesque PR and sales team, for one. Start with Scott Berchtold and his entire staff - talk about amateurs, it's amazing they still have jobs.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Coach Tuesday