Augie Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 he actually said that he may go to him with questions as needed during the process. Russ knows a lot of people in both leagues - he likely has more insight on some of them than the Pegulas. That sounds rational, and lacks the hoped for amount of blind hatred.
jimmy10 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Pegula has said he's taking Russ' input as to who he should hire as GM Yeah, but wasn't the quote more like "Russ is part of the organization, I'll be getting input from people all over the organization"?
Augie Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Go !@#$ yourself. .......And wasn't that was helpful and informative.
bigK14094 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 He is doing his job very well, despite our dismal playoff record. Keep him. Yep
Augie Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Yeah, but wasn't the quote more like "Russ is part of the organization, I'll be getting input from people all over the organization"? See, you didn't try hard enough to make it sound as bad as possible. Elevate your game!
bills7834 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 If his job is to fill the seats then he may have the easiest job on the planet. The Bills sell tickets after a 17 year drought and that doesn't have anything to do with his brilliance. It's like selling Viagra to Hugh Hefner.
Guest K-GunJimKelly12 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) .......And wasn't that was helpful and informative. It's been layed out and explained several times. I have explained it several times before myself. I am not going to spend my time finding and linking all the articles that prove that since Tom Donahoe was fired, Russ has had control of the Buffalo Bills. He was running the show between Donahoe and the Pegula's, it's not even up for debate. Go read the article posted in here the other day by John Kryk. You are on your own after that. Edited May 7, 2017 by K-GunJimKelly12
CookieG Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 How so? Drop the fake cursing and tell us, with actual fact and not assumptions/innuendo, how this is true. For nearly the past decade, or more than half of this playoff drought, he has been in a position at least as high as GM. In that time, the team is now on its 4th GM and 5th coach (not including interim coaches). He was intimately involved in the selection of at least 2 of the GM's and at least 2 of the coaching hires. He has involved himself in player decisions, such as the much criticized Watkins draft/trade. ("We wanted to make a splash"). 4 years ago, he insisted taht he would "leave no stone unturned" in making this team a quality football program, implying that he was going to be an active CEO. That's what's public knowledge and doesn't include any behind the scenes moves he has made, using either direct or indirect powers. That track record alone is enough to dismiss a person in that high of a position, provided that putting a quality product together is a priority. Now...time to reverse the question. In his position as GM or CEO, and therefore in a supervisory position of each scout, coach and GM, what has he done to bring this team closer to the playoffs? THAT'S the real question for someone in a position such as President or CEO (in a non-owner capacity). Which stones has he unturned?
Captain Murica Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Whaley and the Ryans are gone, and some of you are still not happy.
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) Boneheads ... Russ is business operations, and he does a good job. Your woes as a Bills fan have zero to do with the business end. Sure, in the past he had a failed stint at football ops. But that is past, by several years. ...doesn't get any more accurate than that.......the Donohoe debacle resulted in RW's "Inner Circle of Trust" being damaged......so he called on two highly trusted confidants, Brandon & Marv.....Brandon was put into positions not qualified for and Marv was past his prime...Littmann as a 1% owner was the main power broker "behind the scenes"....."Patchwork Era" started with Polian's firing.....Brandon is back in his "comfort zone" as Business Administration/Marketing functions.... Edited May 7, 2017 by OldTimeAFLGuy
blacklabel Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) Whats the slogan? Or was that just sarcasm in the OP? Brandon is here for however long he wants to be or until he does something that truly upsets Terry or Kim, and I don't see that happening any time soon. If there's a leash on this guy at all, it's extremely long. I've said this in other threads/comment sections - RB is Terry's go-to guy. He was instrumental in transferring ownership from the Wilson trust to the Pegulas. He stood in for Ralph at owners meetings for the last few years of Ralph's ownership. He's been the guide for Terry and Kim as they've navigated their way through the league as new owners. And in the process of all this, he was promoted to oversee business operations on the Sabres end. I think we all agree that the man shouldn't have any business in personnel decisions (for either franchise) but it's not that difficult to see that he still has a voice in those discussions. His opinion may not carry as much weight as before but Terry and Kim value the man's input and opinions and they will discuss whatever they please with him, personnel included. Tim Graham recently wrote this: http://buffalonews.com/2017/04/24/tim-grahams-power-take-thank-russ-brandon/ which highlights some of the positive things Brandon has done. I'm sure he understands fan frustration as much as any of us and wants to help produce a winner but given his tenure and the fact that he's remained a constant through numerous coaching/front office changes and an ownership change would indicate, to me anyway, that the dude is firmly planted on the "safe" side of the Pegula sh*t-list. Edited May 7, 2017 by blacklabel
DefenseWins Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 I'm not sure why there is so much anti-Brandon feelings by some. Even when he was promoted to totally run the team in 2013 by Mr Wilson, the most/worst thing he did was to hire Doug Marrone and give him that contract that let him walk with 4Million... Whaley supposedly p*ssed off Marrone with the Watkins trade shenanigans... Brandon didn't draft anybody to my knowledge... That would have been ON Whaley and Buddy Nix since Marv left after his GM stint... Other than getting credit/blame for the "Toronto Series" (which benefited the team quite a bit financially) what else is he "guilty" of doing?
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) I'm not sure why there is so much anti-Brandon feelings by some. Even when he was promoted to totally run the team in 2013 by Mr Wilson, the most/worst thing he did was to hire Doug Marrone and give him that contract that let him walk with 4Million... Whaley supposedly p*ssed off Marrone with the Watkins trade shenanigans... Brandon didn't draft anybody to my knowledge... That would have been ON Whaley and Buddy Nix since Marv left after his GM stint... Other than getting credit/blame for the "Toronto Series" (which benefited the team quite a bit financially) what else is he "guilty" of doing? ...overall premise of the "Toronto Series" was to attract potential regional investors for when RW would eventually pass, hopefully to ensure club remaining in Buffalo first, or at least the region worst case....he is a marketing guy.....the St John Fisher camp in Rochester was solely to market the club to the region versus old Cazenovia site...... Edited May 7, 2017 by OldTimeAFLGuy
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 As I suspected. You have nothing. ...mothers DO need to be MORE responsible as to their children's whereabouts at all times.....
JM57 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Does that include OBD itself? What about the name "Buffalo Bills"? New stadium? New city? Where do you draw the line? Anyone who had any position within the leadership of football operations at any point since 1999.
thebandit27 Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 I'm not sure why there is so much anti-Brandon feelings by some. Even when he was promoted to totally run the team in 2013 by Mr Wilson, the most/worst thing he did was to hire Doug Marrone and give him that contract that let him walk with 4Million... Whaley supposedly p*ssed off Marrone with the Watkins trade shenanigans... Brandon didn't draft anybody to my knowledge... That would have been ON Whaley and Buddy Nix since Marv left after his GM stint... Other than getting credit/blame for the "Toronto Series" (which benefited the team quite a bit financially) what else is he "guilty" of doing? It all stems from some deeply rooted desire to blame 17 years of futility on one person, which--I believe--in turn stems from the complete disbelief that many different faces could perform so poorly over that time span. In truth, the reason to blame Russ is if you thought that Whaley was a bad choice for GM, since he's the guy that steered that ship. And if that's your beef with the guy, then you should be happy that he's not hiring the new GM.
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 It all stems from some deeply rooted desire to blame 17 years of futility on one person, which--I believe--in turn stems from the complete disbelief that many different faces could perform so poorly over that time span. In truth, the reason to blame Russ is if you thought that Whaley was a bad choice for GM, since he's the guy that steered that ship. And if that's your beef with the guy, then you should be happy that he's not hiring the new GM. ....sad thing is if you know him personally, you'd understand how gut wrenching the seventeen year run has been and how a highly visible guy like him is publicly embarrassed......his loyalty to RW was a major issue...NEVER called him "Ralph" (ALWAYS Mr. Wilson) and never turned down a position RW wanted him to take, knowing he wasn't qualified....so the naysayers will yap about "promotion=more money" which is why he did not say "no". again,if you know him personally, you would know that 'mo money was never the case......he was the "front guy" who actually marched to Littmann's drum, "behind the scenes" as a 1% owner (gratis from Ralph) holding the purse strings.....Pegula could afford anyone on the planet, so why is Brandon still here?............
Recommended Posts