Russ Brandon - keep him or fire him?

[Dr.Sack]

I voted to fire him. For two reasons, reason #1 Brandon is reaching 50 an age where most executives peak. surely there is someone younger whose been taking notes that has better ideas or a fresh set of eyes that can be promoted from within. Reason #2, fair or not Brandon is one of the last strings associated with the playoff drought. Ultimately Brandon should be judged on W's not $'s, and I'd say Brandon has done a horrible job of bringing in W's.

[oldmanfan]

I voted to fire him. For two reasons, reason #1 Brandon is reaching 50 an age where most executives peak. surely there is someone younger whose been taking notes that has better ideas or a fresh set of eyes that can be promoted from within. Reason #2, fair or not Brandon is one of the last strings associated with the playoff drought. Ultimately Brandon should be judged on W's not $'s, and I'd say Brandon has done a horrible job of bringing in W's.

When he had football operations duties I would have agreed. His expertise is in business though and that's where he is now.

[3rdand12]

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"?

I like your style Jimmy10

I see where you have been going.

Fine work

.......And wasn't that was helpful and informative.

LOL'D

sounded just like Church Lady from SNL to me.

Just cracked me up

 

Satan ?

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?

as an Owner i keep him as far away from the any decision making that affects gameday. He was an awful GM but likely overloaded helping Ralphs interests.

I do not see him going anywhere as he is too embedded in the business via Pegulas. just stick to business Mr Brandon

Edited May 7, 2017 by 3rdand12

[Rochesterfan]

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.

 

Exactly - Pegs has stated and confirmed by Sal on WGR - that Russ due to years of service is actually fairly connected to others both inside and outside the league (former GMs and team presidents). They are not relying on Russ to do a search - just reach out for background information and roles from people in the know.

 

The people that just hate him from long ago - will state he still has input, but in reality it appears he is just a research/Info gatherer.

 

Either way - I have nothing against Russ - he is just a guy in the front office and if he stays or goes it is no impact to me.

[Adam727]

Where does this false information that he has nothing to do with football operations anymore keep coming from? He was part of the decision to hire Rex Ryan "don't let him leave the building", there was just an article a week or so ago about how he was one of the driving forces behind trading up for Sammy Watkins so that the bills could "be bold", and there was another article out recently about how he will be part of the decision on who the next GM will be.. (even though I think we all know who the next GM will be already)

 

I get that his main job is to make money / sell tickets, but even in that role he has been at least partially responsible for many of the Bills biggest mistakes over the last few years. I also understand that from his point of view both the Rex Ryan hire and Sammy Watkins pick were both huge successes (they both got people to buy more tickets) but he's done as much or possibly more to hurt this football team than anyone else over the last 10 years.

 

At this point, I don't even care if the final decision is someone else's... I don't want Brandon's voice anywhere in the room when football decisions are being made. There's no question that Russ is fantastic at his job, but I would rather have a good football team and a lousy marketing department than one of the best marketing departments in the business but a football team that hasn't gone to the playoffs in 17 years.

Edited May 7, 2017 by Adam727

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

Where does this false information that he has nothing to do with football operations anymore keep coming from? He was part of the decision to hire Rex Ryan "don't let him leave the building", there was just an article a week or so ago about how he was one of the driving forces behind trading up for Sammy Watkins so that the bills could "be bold", and there was another article out recently about how he will be part of the decision on who the next GM will be.. (even though I think we all know who the next GM will be already)

 

I get that his main job is to make money / sell tickets, but even in that role he has been at least partially responsible for many of the Bills biggest mistakes over the last few years. I also understand that from his point of view both the Rex Ryan hire and Sammy Watkins pick were both huge successes (they both got people to buy more tickets) but he's done as much or possibly more to hurt this football team than anyone else over the last 10 years.

 

At this point, I don't even care if the final decision is someone else's... I don't want Brandon's voice anywhere in the room when football decisions are being made. There's no question that Russ is fantastic at his job, but I would rather have a good football team and a lousy marketing department than one of the best marketing departments in the business but a football team that hasn't gone to the playoffs in 17 years.

...and he's been kicked upstairs, regardless of the past, and if Pegula did not think that was a smart move, he does not make it and hires somebody else...has enough in his checkbook to "hire the best and brightest" right?..............

[Elite Poster]

They fired the freaking chaplain and nutritionist. This guy needs to freaking go too.

[machine gun kelly]

Guys - you may hate the days of his influence in football operations, but marketing the teams for both sports has delivered results. I live in Tampa where there is 3 million people in the greater area. Buffalo has more season tickets than the Bucs. Keep him away from hiring football people and just stay on the business side of both operations. He's going nowhere.

[NewMexBills]

Give him more time, could be a sleeper

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

I don't know Leroi I mean Russ personally, but the popularity of the Bills, outside of the immediate market appears to have been grown during his tenure. The period when he was acting as GM was a disaster, and many have still not gotten over that. It would appear when he is working in his area of expertise he can do a quality job. It is also extremely obvious that he sticks his nose into things he is not very good at, like the Rex hiring decision. So at the end of the day, as a marketing guy he's good and respected. As a sports expert looking to build a winning franchise, he is a walking disaster. I'm going to vote no because he can't/won't stay clear of things he is crappy at.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

They fired the freaking chaplain and nutritionist. This guy needs to freaking go too.

 

....his alleged connections for "divine intervention" have NOT worked..17 years says so.....he had to go.................

[Augie]

Guys - you may hate the days of his influence in football operations, but marketing the teams for both sports has delivered results. I live in Tampa where there is 3 million people in the greater area. Buffalo has more season tickets than the Bucs. Keep him away from hiring football people and just stay on the business side of both operations. He's going nowhere.

Exactly! And if there is some information that he may have that would be helpful in the owners making a decision, he can be a resource to tap, like any other. But NOT the decision maker.

[Adam727]

...and he's been kicked upstairs, regardless of the past, and if Pegula did not think that was a smart move, he does not make it and hires somebody else...has enough in his checkbook to "hire the best and brightest" right?..............

 

But supposedly he was kicked upstairs years ago. Even after he was no longer supposed to have anything to do with football operations he still had one of the loudest voices in hiring Rex & trading up so much for Watkins. Even if the final decision is now someone else's, I don't want the person making the decision to be influenced in any way by someone who has so consistently gotten it wrong... I realize this is unfair to Brandon since his job for most of his time here has been to make money, not to build a winning team. But whether it's the Maybin pick, the Toronto series (giving up a home game & competitive advantage every year), Rex Ryan, Sammy Watkins, etc his fingerprints are all over many of the biggest setbacks this organization has had in recent years.

 

I think history has shown at this point that regardless of his job title, he will still continue to have some say in football decisions. (Even if it's just giving his opinion to the people who's job it is to make the final call) If I believed that he could keep his current job without having ANY say over football decisions I'd be the first to say he should have a life-time contract, because as marketer he's a genius. But that's what we were already told was happening and we have since found out on multiple occasions that's not how things are actually working. I'm not saying by any means that all the blame for the last 17 belongs to Brandon. But he owns enough of it that I would prefer to see him gone from OBD. I don't follow hockey so let him stay in charge of the Sabres.

[Malazan]

So I know this is Bills forum, but he is reportedly in charge of Sabres new GM hire.

 

this is just something someone said...it doesn't rise to the level of "reported"

[oldmanfan]

 

But supposedly he was kicked upstairs years ago. Even after he was no longer supposed to have anything to do with football operations he still had one of the loudest voices in hiring Rex & trading up so much for Watkins. Even if the final decision is now someone else's, I don't want the person making the decision to be influenced in any way by someone who has so consistently gotten it wrong... I realize this is unfair to Brandon since his job for most of his time here has been to make money, not to build a winning team. But whether it's the Maybin pick, the Toronto series (giving up a home game & competitive advantage every year), Rex Ryan, Sammy Watkins, etc his fingerprints are all over many of the biggest setbacks this organization has had in recent years.

 

I think history has shown at this point that regardless of his job title, he will still continue to have some say in football decisions. (Even if it's just giving his opinion to the people who's job it is to make the final call) If I believed that he could keep his current job without having ANY say over football decisions I'd be the first to say he should have a life-time contract, because as marketer he's a genius. But that's what we were already told was happening and we have since found out on multiple occasions that's not how things are actually working. I'm not saying by any means that all the blame for the last 17 belongs to Brandon. But he owns enough of it that I would prefer to see him gone from OBD. I don't follow hockey so let him stay in charge of the Sabres.

People need to actually know what the man's job is. My understanding is he is President of PSE and Managing Partner for the four teams they run. He is not in charge of the Sabres per se. His job is to run the business enterprise. When you see things like the Frozen Four coming to Buffalo, that has a lot to do with him doing his job.

 

Everyone here agrees he should not be making decisions on actual football or hockey things. Those should be solely within the purview of each team's GM/HC, and from everything being said now and recently that is what happens. Much is made of him being asked for advice or how he said not to let Rex leave and he shouldn't be in the draft room and so on. Well, being asked for advice does not equate to decision making, with Rex my understanding was Terry decided he was the guy and Russ then told him that if that's the case to not let him leave, and if you watch any draft war room the President if the organization is there.

 

Saying he should now be let go when his job responsibilities are not what people conjure up is simply a way for people to blow off steam because of the frustration with each team's performance. Russ should never have had actual GM or football operations duties, he did it because Ralph asked him, and the Pegulas corrected that and put him in a job where he more appropriately can use his talents. And if he does not perform there, then the Pegulas should move him out.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

People need to actually know what the man's job is. My understanding is he is President of PSE and Managing Partner for the four teams they run. He is not in charge of the Sabres per se. His job is to run the business enterprise. When you see things like the Frozen Four coming to Buffalo, that has a lot to do with him doing his job.

 

Everyone here agrees he should not be making decisions on actual football or hockey things. Those should be solely within the purview of each team's GM/HC, and from everything being said now and recently that is what happens. Much is made of him being asked for advice or how he said not to let Rex leave and he shouldn't be in the draft room and so on. Well, being asked for advice does not equate to decision making, with Rex my understanding was Terry decided he was the guy and Russ then told him that if that's the case to not let him leave, and if you watch any draft war room the President if the organization is there.

 

Saying he should now be let go when his job responsibilities are not what people conjure up is simply a way for people to blow off steam because of the frustration with each team's performance. Russ should never have had actual GM or football operations duties, he did it because Ralph asked him, and the Pegulas corrected that and put him in a job where he more appropriately can use his talents. And if he does not perform there, then the Pegulas should move him out.

....1001% spot on....good show bro......now let the masses harpoon your factual assessment....Kevlar vest time....... ...

[oldmanfan]

People also are fond of saying Brandon's job is only selling tickets/marketing. Well, it's pretty easy to find out that Brent Rossi is Exec VP for Marketing for the Bills and Sabres.

[WhoTom]

People also are fond of saying Brandon's job is only selling tickets/marketing. Well, it's pretty easy to find out that Brent Rossi is Exec VP for Marketing for the Bills and Sabres.

 

Brandon is the company president, so he oversees all of the business side, including tickets/marketing. The Exec VP of Marketing reports to him. But there's more to running a business than marketing, even without the football side of things.

[Adam727]

People need to actually know what the man's job is. My understanding is he is President of PSE and Managing Partner for the four teams they run. He is not in charge of the Sabres per se. His job is to run the business enterprise. When you see things like the Frozen Four coming to Buffalo, that has a lot to do with him doing his job.

 

Everyone here agrees he should not be making decisions on actual football or hockey things. Those should be solely within the purview of each team's GM/HC, and from everything being said now and recently that is what happens. Much is made of him being asked for advice or how he said not to let Rex leave and he shouldn't be in the draft room and so on. Well, being asked for advice does not equate to decision making, with Rex my understanding was Terry decided he was the guy and Russ then told him that if that's the case to not let him leave, and if you watch any draft war room the President if the organization is there.

 

Saying he should now be let go when his job responsibilities are not what people conjure up is simply a way for people to blow off steam because of the frustration with each team's performance. Russ should never have had actual GM or football operations duties, he did it because Ralph asked him, and the Pegulas corrected that and put him in a job where he more appropriately can use his talents. And if he does not perform there, then the Pegulas should move him out.

I understand what his official job title is. But look around OBD right now.... Brandon has more experience as a GM than anyone else in the building right now. I don't think it's realistic to think he won't have any say in football decisions going forward. Here's a portion from an article written by John Kryk just last week:

 

Whaley’s worst personnel decision, by far, came during his first draft as GM in 2014.

With the enthusiastic backing, if not the forceful urging, of recently appointed team president Brandon -- only one month after the death of founding Bills owner Ralph Wilson -- Whaley traded away Buffalo’s first- and fourth-round 2015 draft picks, merely to move up from No. 9 overall to No. 4.

This, to select a player Whaley and his scouts believed to be a rare NFL talent: wide receiver Sammy Watkins. This, even though for months every draftnik and his brother had been touting the 2014 wide-receiver class as the deepest and perhaps most talented yet.

“We thought it was a calculated risk, and a risk we were willing to take,” Whaley said of the Watkins trade-up at the time. “The high cost of not making the playoffs is something we weighed in, and we thought this guy was going to get us to the playoffs.”

It wasn’t Whaley’s unwise gamble alone. In his defence, it must be pointed out that Brandon -- in his second year as final decision-maker on all matters involving the Bills franchise -- had been hard-selling a new club mindset that the Bills, under his vision and leadership, had to become a “forward-thinking, progressive and attacking organization.”

Said an ecstatic Brandon moments after the Watkins trade-up: “We went into this draft saying we were going to be bold, and we made a bold move.”

Yet however much Brandon might have urged that trade-up -- and print and video reports from that day clearly suggest he was deeply involved -- it’s Whaley’s now to wear.

 

I understand the decision was ultimately Whaley's and not Brandon's. But if Brandon had no part in the decision making process AT ALL can you really say there's no chance we wouldn't have wound up with OBJ (or any of the other very talented players still on the board at #9) and an extra 1st instead of a WR we spent 2 1sts and a 4th on that may not even be a Bill this time next year? Can you say for sure without Brandon's advice that Rex Ryan would have still been our head coach the last two years? And more importantly who over at OBD now has enough knowledge/experience that they won't need to lean on Brandon's opinion going forward? The rookie head coach? The new owner? Their senior capologist? It only makes sense they'll lean on Brandon's experience the next time a big decision needs to be made. I realize NONE of this is fair to Brandon who I'm sure is a really nice guy and is very talented at the job he's actually being paid to do. But I would feel better about the Bills' chances going forward if he were no longer a part of the organization. I don't believe it's possible to keep Brandon at OBD and keep him fully separated from all football decisions. They've been saying for years now he has no say in football operations anymore when he clearly does and likely will going forward. Not having the final say is different than not having any say at all.

[CDogg20]

Tar and feather him.

Seconded