Are the Pegula's meddling owners?

[ddaryl]

They're just really new at this and are learning the hard way IMO.

 

They are not qualified, and neither was Ralph to make any decision regarding the actual product on the field IMO.. You hire a GM for that and if you can't trust the GM well then you need a new GM.

 

I think almost all of us are really frustrated that Rex is our HC now and it came to this because they were involved and fell in love with his interview.

 

Yes its their team they paid the money to own it but we are the customers and they need to remember who really pays the bills that is us and we are tired of sub standard BS product

Edited September 21, 2016 by ddaryl

[Nihilarian]

If the owners hire the head coach then, of course, they are meddling!

 

What most Bills fans don't get is the mere fact that the owners made the decision to hire Rex Ryan and not allow their GM to hire who he wanted tells me that they already made one of the very most important decisions in an NFL team.

 

What, or more importantly, who? Gave these new owners the idea that they had the NFL acumen to know which head coach to hire. Oh yeah, the man who told them that they would know who to hire after listening to all the candidates! You guessed it, Russ Brandon! Clearly, the man wanted to stay involved in the football side of things so the team hierarchy is the Pegula's and Brandon, Whaley and the HC all report to them. To say they are not meddling is just being in denial.

 

The owners, meeting with the players is really no big deal is what others would have you believe. What other NFL team owners meet with their players during the season to discuss what's happening on the field? I can tell you, NONE!

 

 

 

However, I do believe it was all Rex Ryan who wanted to replace Greg Roman as his OC was letting him down by not producing a run game that works in the first two games and it was getting his defense killed. Rex Ryan did hire Roman to make the Bills offense a "run first offense". So it begs the question, how does the #1 rushing team from last year suddenly become 24th in the league this year?

[BillnutinHouston]

2. I am more concerned about Russ Brandon's involvement there. "Terry Don't let Rex out of the building" Does any one actually think after that Happens Whaley with only one year left on contract at the time is going to continue to fight for his guy.

 

 

 

As I stated in the prep thread, while this quote likely happened, it's not known if Russ' statement actually LEAD Pegula to go in that direction, or if it was uttered AFTER Pegula had expressed his preference for Rex (and was Russ' way of helping his boss get what he wanted).

[May Day 10]

 

As I stated in the prep thread, while this quote likely happened, it's not known if Russ' statement actually LEAD Pegula to go in that direction, or if it was uttered AFTER Pegula had expressed his preference for Rex (and was Russ' way of helping his boss get what he wanted).

 

Brandon seems to be the guy guiding the Pegulas through ownership and showing them the ropes.

 

Maybe we should prefer a guy there who would tell them the hard truth as to why this is a really bad idea and to teach the Pegulas the 'right' way.... instead of just agreeing with what they say and/or providing misdirected guidance.

 

Outside of Buffalo, it was pretty much universal scorn for this move, and I have to say, everything people said from the get-go has come to fruition

Edited September 21, 2016 by May Day 10

[MAJBobby]

are you referring to Brandon? because he's the President.

 

Yes Brandon, who is the Managing Partner I get. However they go out of their way to try and say he has no say in football stuff then you find out these little tidbits that show he actually does.

 

and Since he has been here the losing started.

[quinnearlysghost88]

 

Yes Brandon, who is the Managing Partner I get. However they go out of their way to try and say he has no say in football stuff then you find out these little tidbits that show he actually does.

 

and Since he has been here the losing started.

I see what you're saying, but my REAL argument against him would be that he's stretched way, way too thin to be making critical decisions. Not that he's unqualified to have an opinion, just that he doesn't have the headspace to be making any type of real, impactful decisions.

 

From TBN this summer: As president of the Bills, Sabres, the AHL’s Rochester Americans, and the hotel, restaurant and music entities that fall under the PSE umbrella, there’s always a meeting to attend, a text or email to send, another meeting, a call to return, another meeting, a plane to catch, another meeting … and another … and another.

[Buftex]

The rule is whatever you do you should have done something else.

Words to live by!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

As I stated in the prep thread, while this quote likely happened, it's not known if Russ' statement actually LEAD Pegula to go in that direction, or if it was uttered AFTER Pegula had expressed his preference for Rex (and was Russ' way of helping his boss get what he wanted).

 

This is a valid point, like if I'm trying to help my kid and she expresses a strong desire to do something that's not my first choice, I'm "OK then, if that's what you really want, let's talk about how to make it happen for you."

 

The thing is, Rex as HC was such a PR bonanza for the team last year that it's hard to imagine marketing-man Russ not being "all in" for hiring him.

[Jerry Jabber]

I remember when Russ was named the CEO of the Bills right after Chan Gailey was fired. Russ ranted and raved about how the Bills brand was tarnished and he would leave "no stone unturned" in finding the new head coach, only to settle on his third interview [Marrone]. Yeah, that's leaving "no stone unturned," only interviewing three guys? Marrone, the only good things he did was hire two good DC's, Pettine and Schwartz.

[Bob in STL]

Nope. It is their team and their money. Talking to the coaches and the players is not meddling, if anything it could create a beneficial atmosphere if done properly.

 

At year end, after our 5-11 finish, just hope they do these things:

 

1. Keep Bandon away from football decisions - I think they reclassified his role to do just that, so they need stick to that.

 

2. Replace Whaley with a proven GM ... and knock off all this Football Czar talk, just hire a GM that eats and sleeps football.

 

3. Let the new GM evaluate the team, let the new GM fire Rex, let the new GM pick the coach, let the new GM run the draft, let the new GM run free agency, let the new GM handle all that is football.

 

4. Be willing to suck up the money to eat the salary's they have in place from listening to Brandon and Whaley in the first place.

[DirtDart]

if i paid 1.4 billion for a team i'd be calling plays from the owners box

Jerry Jones does, HE is a prime example of a meddling owner. Really? Owner, and GM??????

[Hapless Bills Fan]

 

Brandon seems to be the guy guiding the Pegulas through ownership and showing them the ropes.

 

Maybe we should prefer a guy there who would tell them the hard truth as to why this is a really bad idea and to teach the Pegulas the 'right' way.... instead of just agreeing with what they say and/or providing misdirected guidance.

 

Outside of Buffalo, it was pretty much universal scorn for this move, and I have to say, everything people said from the get-go has come to fruition

 

The Pegulas do seem to have them some Brandon-love the way they keep expanding his role.

 

I'm not so sure on the universal scorn for the Rex hire outside Buffalo. There was criticism, but there also seemed to be a substantial faction that thought Rex had a rough deal with the Jets, GM and coach not aligned etc, and he could be good in a different environment.

[CommonCents]

Nope. It is their team and their money. Talking to the coaches and the players is not meddling, if anything it could create a beneficial atmosphere if done properly.

 

At year end, after our 5-11 finish, just hope they do these things:

 

1. Keep Bandon away from football decisions - I think they reclassified his role to do just that, so they need stick to that.

 

2. Replace Whaley with a proven GM ... and knock off all this Football Czar talk, just hire a GM that eats and sleeps football.

 

3. Let the new GM evaluate the team, let the new GM fire Rex, let the new GM pick the coach, let the new GM run the draft, let the new GM run free agency, let the new GM handle all that is football.

 

4. Be willing to suck up the money to eat the salary's they have in place from listening to Brandon and Whaley in the first place.

I'm all onboard this train.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Nope. It is their team and their money. Talking to the coaches and the players is not meddling, if anything it could create a beneficial atmosphere if done properly.

 

At year end, after our 5-11 finish, just hope they do these things:

 

1. Keep Bandon away from football decisions - I think they reclassified his role to do just that, so they need stick to that.

 

2. Replace Whaley with a proven GM ... and knock off all this Football Czar talk, just hire a GM that eats and sleeps football.

 

3. Let the new GM evaluate the team, let the new GM fire Rex, let the new GM pick the coach, let the new GM run the draft, let the new GM run free agency, let the new GM handle all that is football.

 

4. Be willing to suck up the money to eat the salary's they have in place from listening to Brandon and Whaley in the first place.

 

5-11? Optimist.

 

I agree with you that adding a layer of management with more role/responsibility confusion by adding a "Czar" does not seem like a winning path.

 

Isn't that what the Jets did - conduct a hiring search for a GM, then let the GM hire the coach? That seems to have worked for them so far - at least, their trajectory appears to be "up".

 

The issue is, who is this proven GM that we're somehow going to find and hire? I'm not saying I'm not on board with it, just that we're likely going to have to roll the dice to get someone who looks like a promising football guy but is not proven, or else we'll be hiring a retread, because successful proven GMs don't usually switch jobs.

[LabattBlue]

They were involved in the hiring of Rex

 

/endthread

Edited September 21, 2016 by LabattBlue

[DirtDart]

If the owners hire the head coach then, of course, they are meddling!

 

What most Bills fans don't get is the mere fact that the owners made the decision to hire Rex Ryan and not allow their GM to hire who he wanted tells me that they already made one of the very most important decisions in an NFL team.

 

What, or more importantly, who? Gave these new owners the idea that they had the NFL acumen to know which head coach to hire. Oh yeah, the man who told them that they would know who to hire after listening to all the candidates! You guessed it, Russ Brandon! Clearly, the man wanted to stay involved in the football side of things so the team hierarchy is the Pegula's and Brandon, Whaley and the HC all report to them. To say they are not meddling is just being in denial.

 

The owners, meeting with the players is really no big deal is what others would have you believe. What other NFL team owners meet with their players during the season to discuss what's happening on the field? I can tell you, NONE!

 

 

 

However, I do believe it was all Rex Ryan who wanted to replace Greg Roman as his OC was letting him down by not producing a run game that works in the first two games and it was getting his defense killed. Rex Ryan did hire Roman to make the Bills offense a "run first offense". So it begs the question, how does the #1 rushing team from last year suddenly become 24th in the league this year?

I don't believe for one second that the Pegula's told Doug Whaley to pound sand and hire who they wanted. They all had a vote in the process. Was the pool of HC candidates really that thick? Or, did they hire the guy that had the most background/familiarity in the AFC East? We have to beat those teams to win the division, and make the playoffs. That scenario makes a whole lot of sense to me.

Edited September 21, 2016 by DirtDart

[LabattBlue]

 

 

2. Replace Whaley with a proven GM ... and knock off all this Football Czar talk, just hire a GM that eats and sleeps football.

 

3. Let the new GM evaluate the team, let the new GM fire Rex, let the new GM pick the coach, let the new GM run the draft, let the new GM run free agency, let the new GM handle all that is football.

 

So in other words hire a GM that is the czar that you said we don't need? LOL

[jethro_tull]

No. They are just reacting to a crisis. They are being human. Unfortunately it looks like they are losing confidence in Rex and Whaley. Doubly unfortunate they gave Whaley a big extension last January.

[CommonCents]

No. They are just reacting to a crisis. They are being human. Unfortunately it looks like they are losing confidence in Rex and Whaley. Doubly unfortunate they gave Whaley a big extension last January.

Are GM contracts guaranteed the same way a coaches is?

[PromoTheRobot]

I remember when Russ was named the CEO of the Bills right after Chan Gailey was fired. Russ ranted and raved about how the Bills brand was tarnished and he would leave "no stone unturned" in finding the new head coach, only to settle on his third interview [Marrone]. Yeah, that's leaving "no stone unturned," only interviewing three guys? Marrone, the only good things he did was hire two good DC's, Pettine and Schwartz.

Actually the Marrone hiring came about, allegedly, because the Dougie was supposed to be the next hot prospect behind Chip Kelly.

 

In fact the Bills were the first to fill their coaching vacancy, which was a break from the usual hiring pattern of seeing who was left that would take the job. That's how we ended up with Chan Gailey. There were coaches that refused to even interview for the job. Remember that? Fun times, eh?