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GM Doug Whaley's end of season press conference


Rico

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Local TV sports guy reported from there just now. Nice quote from him "40 minutes of emptyness".

It was a complete waste of time. It could have been more but some of the local guys just could not get off the way Rex was fired.

 

Then, what do you know, Terry confirms that's how he was fired.

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I agree with all of that. He also said it never crossed his mind whether or not Rex should be fired, and implied that he never really talked to Terry about Rex. He left out every game that he sits with Terry and talks about Rex, and the weekly meetings. That's what I was talking about.

How could you or anyone that was not present know that Whaley and Pegula talked about Rex's job security? Whaley stated more than once that they discuss that after the season. Was he lying? I try to make it a policy to not call someone a liar unless I sure they are. They may have discussed poor execution, poor discipline, poor clock management and on and on, without specially discussing firing Rex.

Edited by chris heff
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The team is a mess, and a new coach (even a good one) likely will not be able to fix it since it is the overall organization that is the problem. The Bills need a leader (a team president) with football knowledge and expertise, as well as experience dealing with the press, players and, most importantly, owners. I get it that the team did not perform well this year, but why all of the self-inflicted wounds since Rex was fired, starting with trotting out an unprepared Lynn to an incoherent performance from our GM today? There is nothing here that inspires any kind of confidence that anyone in the organization knows what they are doing, including how to deal with fans, the media and public relations.

 

Just sad and depressing.

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All I can say is I see it differently. I think they are fairly clear on what roles different people have, and fairly consistent about what they say.

I think the press goes nuts promoting "insider" leaks that may or may not be true and then puffing things up and yelling about how the Bills are lying and saying one thing but doing another, when really the piece that doesn't fit is sometimes the leak that's been puffed.

 

I like the move to put Whaley in charge of the HC interview process with the notion that he gets the say and if he's wrong, they'll clean house. There's the accountability.

 

You're saying you're proud the team is letting the GM be in charge of the HC hire. That's how far we've gone. Just doing things the normal way gets us excited. It's a joke.

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How could you or anyone else that was not present know that Whaley and Pegula talked about Rex's job security? Whaley stated more than once that they discuss that after the season. Was he lying? I try to make it a policy to not call someone a liar unless I sure they are. They may have discussed poor execution, poor discipline, poor clock management and on and on, without specially discussing firing Rex.

You don't need to say the words to say the words. I was a Rex fan at the time of the hire. After last year I was very skeptical of him but willing to give him another chance this year. I screamed at him and the TV to the guys I watch the games with. At some point this season, I said to them "This can't go on. The offense is not the problem. The defense sucks." We had never discussed Rex's job security. But it was clear I thought he should be fired.

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They are handing nothing over to the GM. Doug Made it clear that Terry is deciding the head coach and because of "more responsibilities" Russ will supposedly not be involved in the search or decision.

question - Have you ever been the hiring manager on a job opening?

 

You're saying you're proud the team is letting the GM be in charge of the HC hire. That's how far we've gone. Just doing things the normal way gets us excited. It's a joke.

The last time they had to hire a coach, it was an unexpected thing and they had owned the team for all of 3 months. They were still getting to know the GM and evaluating him. I don't think it's odd that they didn't put Whaley in charge if the hire at that time (though he was involved). They have decided this time around, due to a number of factors and likely some advice they've received from their owner peers, that the best practice is to put him in charge as they are ready to move forward with him as GM. Seems logical. Edited by YoloinOhio
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Epic fail by the Buffalo media. Proved themselves not only "not ready for prime time," they seem not to know the key questions to ask which might, just might, give their readers/listeners/viewers a coherent picture of where the Bills are now, where they're heading and how they intend to get there. Instead it was mainly about their own bugaboos, grudges and bias confirmation. It was a chance to maybe really learn something. Instead they used it for personal grudges and a chance to "punish" Whaley for apparently neither listening to their brilliant advice nor giving them insider access.

For these guys to be considered second rate reporters would require a major promotion. The Bills embarrass themselves on the field and the local media embarrasses us before the nation. Bunch of rubes and hicks representing the B-Lo.

So their all wrong?
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question - Have you ever been the hiring manager on a job opening?

The last time they had to hire a coach, it was an unexpected thing and they had owned the team for all of 3 months. They were still getting to know the GM and evaluating him. I don't think it's odd that they didn't put Whaley in charge if the hire at that time (though he was involved). They have decided this time around, due to a number of factors and likely some advice they've received from their owner peers, that the best practice is to put him in charge as they are ready to move forward with him as GM. Seems logical.

 

Sure, it does seem logical. Just like it seems logical for the owners to fire the coach without talking to the GM about it first. Very, normal, logical behavior.

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I just read the transcript of the press conference. What a bunch of a-holes. If I were Whaley I might have just walked out the door on that one. And I don't like Whaley.

 

I got a headache reading that. And I got nothing out of it except that the media is obsessed with who does what. Who cares? They aren't winning games. He's gonna get a new coach. Get out of the way and let the man do his job.

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Sure, it does seem logical. Just like it seems logical for the owners to fire the coach without talking to the GM about it first. Very, normal, logical behavior.

 

He had been gathering information all season long and even discussing the shortcomings with Rex on weekly calls. He had seen enough and decided that was it after Rex wanted to know where he stood. With Rex as a direct report there was no need to talk to the GM.

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You don't need to say the words to say the words. I was a Rex fan at the time of the hire. After last year I was very skeptical of him but willing to give him another chance this year. I screamed at him and the TV to the guys I watch the games with. At some point this season, I said to them "This can't go on. The offense is not the problem. The defense sucks." We had never discussed Rex's job security. But it was clear I thought he should be fired.

Funny I did exactly the same thing. My point is we don't work at OBD, they could very well have a policy that they don't discuss firing the HC during the season. The only ones that could break that policy are Kim and Terry.

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You don't need to say the words to say the words. I was a Rex fan at the time of the hire. After last year I was very skeptical of him but willing to give him another chance this year. I screamed at him and the TV to the guys I watch the games with. At some point this season, I said to them "This can't go on. The offense is not the problem. The defense sucks." We had never discussed Rex's job security. But it was clear I thought he should be fired.

you sound like me
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You're saying you're proud the team is letting the GM be in charge of the HC hire. That's how far we've gone. Just doing things the normal way gets us excited. It's a joke.

 

I use words very carefully. When I use the word "proud" I mean "proud", when I use the word "like" I mean "like".

So no, I'm not saying I'm proud the team is letting the GM be "in charge" of the HC hire. I'm not even sure that's exactly what's happening - he is leading the search, he says. What I care about is that it's not a "search committee" because if a decision belongs to everyone, no one is accountable for it. If it belongs to Whaley, he's leading it, then he's accountable.

 

Be that as it may, if you do a little research into NFL FO structures, there are a number of different models. I'm not sure there is a clear "normal way" to do things.

Edited by Hapless Bills Fan
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