Article on the HC/GMPower structure with Atlanta Falcons

[YoloinOhio]

I found this article on the success of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff's division of power interesting and insightful considering what we have seen go down with the Bills not just this year, but going back to Marrone's departure. I knew that Dan Quinn had been given control of the 53 as a young 1st time HC in Atlanta (as had Bill O Brien in Houston and Adam Gase Miami, and now Kyle Shanahan in SF) but I didn't know to the extent that Quinn ran the show with a powerless yet collaborative GM. It is very similar to what is happening with McD.

 

It's hard not to notice that the three mentioned first were playoff teams early on in their tenure. SF is TBD but based on their FA and draft they appear to have turned thing around quickly, at least perception wise. Great article if you have time. I'm hopeful that with pegs and McD hiring a GM who shares the same team building vision that we will also (finally) turn it around.

http://www.myajc.com/sports/football/the-forced-marriage-quinn-and-dimitroff-blissful-union/cVvUForahqNls1QeuOXa9K/

Edited May 2, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[Cripple Creek]

Good read. Glass is approaching half full.

[Buddo]

Thanks for that Yolo - it is a good read.

 

It seems as though the Pegulas want to go down this route.

 

Thing is, if given the opportunity, I think Whaley was more than capable of performing the 'Dimitroff' role, as I believe he's pretty much had to do that his entire tenure.

 

McDermott may have had something in his dealings with the Pegulas that said he wanted Whaley out, but I still wonder if that may have been a mistake. (Carucci has something about that apparently).

 

Could it be that he actually found working with Whaley to be ok? Yet due to wanting his 'own' people in, and a prior agreement with the Pegulas, felt obliged to have them pull the plug on Whaley?

 

Now it may be that he didn't want to continue to work with Whaley, in which case, fair enough, but I can't get away from a gut feeling, that although McDermott looks like the right guy as HC, shipping out all the scouts/pro-personnel people at his behest, is another mistake being made by the Pegulas.

[stuvian]

that article doesn't tell us much other than that they aren't backstabbing each other

[Jasovon]

For me the 2017 season is literally addition by subtraction. By getting rid of Rex and Whaley our football operations and coaching are stronger, by losing Gilmore we might have a corner happy to tackle and take risks for the team which will improve our pass defense. Other teams are trying this new style of leadership and i'm thrilled that the Bills are also.

[BuffaloBud420]

Just make sure the GM can nod, when McDermott is talking. That's the only qualification we need.

[Saxum]

I think it is easier for some people to just start from scratch dumping the baby with bath water than exercising strong leadership. If our new head coach "McCut" was reason why Whiley was let go that is a bad sign.

[YoloinOhio]

It may be that Dimitroff, coming from the Pats organization, saw this type of FO structure work with Belichik and Nick Caserio and felt winning was more important than being a GM who called all the shots.

Thanks for that Yolo - it is a good read.

 

It seems as though the Pegulas want to go down this route.

 

Thing is, if given the opportunity, I think Whaley was more than capable of performing the 'Dimitroff' role, as I believe he's pretty much had to do that his entire tenure.

 

McDermott may have had something in his dealings with the Pegulas that said he wanted Whaley out, but I still wonder if that may have been a mistake. (Carucci has something about that apparently).

 

Could it be that he actually found working with Whaley to be ok? Yet due to wanting his 'own' people in, and a prior agreement with the Pegulas, felt obliged to have them pull the plug on Whaley?

 

Now it may be that he didn't want to continue to work with Whaley, in which case, fair enough, but I can't get away from a gut feeling, that although McDermott looks like the right guy as HC, shipping out all the scouts/pro-personnel people at his behest, is another mistake being made by the Pegulas.

my opinion only: Whaley is capable of the Dimitroff role and ok with not having power. However, he and McD don't share the same vision of building a team. McD found that out between January and April. Edited May 2, 2017 by YoloinOhio

[8-8 Forever?]

the Falcons approach likely is the only approach that will work in WNY, as McD is already here. So hopefully they get a Dimitroff - type who gets a "GM" title but really isn't. Then it comes down to Pegs being like Blank//// that's where the problem may lie. Pegs has never run anything. He just got lucky with a ton of land in Pennsylvania. Blank made Home Depot what it became. I am skeptical. Bills should have gone Czar with Polian and gotten the Pegs out of it. But that is history. Good luck getting the right GM, Bills. Screw this up and its Whaley/Ryan V2.0

[dbflaBill]

Control of the 53 man roster means that Quinn has final say on cuts and who is active on game day. Dimitroff brings in the players, drafts them, and signs FA while working with the HC. But has control of the roster up until the 53 man cut down.

[jeffismagic]

I think this is a terrible idea. Pegulas don't think through hiring choices. They just fall in love with people like Rex Ryan, Pat Lafontaine, and Sean McDermott. In every previous case, the Pegulas' short term calls had many massive far reaching consequences.

 

The hiring of Rex Ryan forced additional roster churn when the scheme was changed. Instead of finding a franchise QB or improving roster depth Bills needed to draft new starters.

 

The Lafontaine hiring happened after Terry ran into Lafontaine. Soon a coach was hired and then a new GM was picked based on his scouting abilities (Lafontaine was supposed to be the face of the team). Lafontaine realizes he is ceremonial and leaves. Pegulas never do anything else to assist Murray in running things.

 

The Sean McDermott hiring forced Sean's total control package on the Bills and now Buffalo ran a draft without a GM and have to rebuild an entire scouting department from scratch. Who will take that job? Someone who likes money but not power. So Bills will not get the best of the best to hire and run the personnel department.

 

Players will be drafted based on how they can keep Sean employed short term. The long term future of the Bills will have no one to speak for it.

[YoloinOhio]

Control of the 53 man roster means that Quinn has final say on cuts and who is active on game day. Dimitroff brings in the players, drafts them, and signs FA while working with the HC. But has control of the roster up until the 53 man cut down.

not sure what you mean by "control of the roster" but he's bringing in guys DQ tells him to bring in

The emphasis now is on finding DQ Guys, which not every gifted player is. Theres no talk of finding a TD Guy, which seems fine with TD himself. A rising tide lifts all boats and, not incidentally, keeps people employed. Dimitroff knows what Quinn wants fast and furious which isnt necessarily the same as what Belichick wanted. Assistant coaches regularly meet with scouts, the better to understand one another. Everyone has worked at making this work. Happy campers are they all.

 

Theres no question that Quinns vision holds sway, and the Super Bowl run indicates that his plan does and will work. This tells us much about him but more about Dimitroff. We always knew he was smart, but we now know hes a Team Player. That the Falcons front office is functioning at the highest level is mostly his doing. Quinn is doing what he was hired to do. Dimitroff is doing something a bit different from what he was hired to do. To his credit, hes doing it well.

So this

On Jan. 7, 2015, the Falcons issued a release that seemed to indicate that assistant GM Scott Pioli would assume control of scouting and the the draft. And Dimitroff? He would retain management responsibility for salary cap, player affairs, equipment, sports medicine and performance and video activities.

Makes me think that based on some rumors we've seen, we could see asst GM Scott M (don't know how to spell his name from Washington) and GM Brandon Beane. If they went a similar route. Just a thought. Scott M behind the scenes doing what he does best and Beane representing the FO with McD. Edited May 2, 2017 by YoloinOhio