26CornerBlitz Posted May 24, 2017 Author Posted May 24, 2017 Whaley definitely wanted Hue. I know that for a fact... I know someone who was in Jackson's "camp" if that is the right word and Doug had pretty much told that Hue was the guy to the extent that Hue and Schwartz had spoken and believed they could come to an agreement to keep JS on. Michael Silver reported that Jackson went to bed that Friday night believing he was going to be the Bills next Head Coach and then Jackson himself corroborated much of that later that year. I'm less sure Brandon wanted Rex. I don't believe that has ever been reported by any creditable source. What has been reported is that Russ told Terry "don't let him out of the room" but people use that quote out of its context so often. The advice Russ actually gave is "when you have your guy don't let him out of the room." Terry and Kim thought they'd found their guy before Russ uttered those immortal words. Can I believe Russ gave Rex advice on how to charm the Pegulas? Sure. But I don't believe Russ Brandon was in that room banging the table for Rex Ryan... not when his good buddy Doug wanted Jackson. Ultimately it will be the moment of regret Whaley lives with if he never gets another shot as a GM. He played the company line he thought he could work with Rex and he should have put his foot down and just said "NO". Marketing and Ticket Sales would have been his motivation. It worked since the Bills set a season ticket sales record before the 2015 season.
Buffalo86 Posted May 25, 2017 Posted May 25, 2017 Whaley definitely wanted Hue. I know that for a fact... I know someone who was in Jackson's "camp" if that is the right word and Doug had pretty much told that Hue was the guy to the extent that Hue and Schwartz had spoken and believed they could come to an agreement to keep JS on. Michael Silver reported that Jackson went to bed that Friday night believing he was going to be the Bills next Head Coach and then Jackson himself corroborated much of that later that year. I'm less sure Brandon wanted Rex. I don't believe that has ever been reported by any creditable source. What has been reported is that Russ told Terry "don't let him out of the room" but people use that quote out of its context so often. The advice Russ actually gave is "when you have your guy don't let him out of the room." Terry and Kim thought they'd found their guy before Russ uttered those immortal words. Can I believe Russ gave Rex advice on how to charm the Pegulas? Sure. But I don't believe Russ Brandon was in that room banging the table for Rex Ryan... not when his good buddy Doug wanted Jackson. Ultimately it will be the moment of regret Whaley lives with if he never gets another shot as a GM. He played the company line he thought he could work with Rex and he should have put his foot down and just said "NO". I don't doubt that Whaley initially wanted Hue, but the story went that Rex (who wasn't anyone's first choice) blew away everyone in the room. Whaley was in that room, and I have no reason to believe he didn't buy in like the rest of them. Here's the story directly from buffalobills.com; Whaley's words on Rex went a bit beyond just keeping the company line: http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/How-the-Bills-decided-on-Rex-Ryan-as-head-coach/19b740de-0ca3-4dd6-8fdc-58c0cf013fa2 Marketing and Ticket Sales would have been his motivation. It worked since the Bills set a season ticket sales record before the 2015 season. If that "National brand" nonsense Whaley was talking didn't come directly from Brandon, I'd be shocked. It sure didn't sound like anything a GM should be concerned about.
Buffalo86 Posted May 25, 2017 Posted May 25, 2017 I said it at the time. Why the !@#$ should fans care if they are a "national brand"? Just win football games. Me too. I'm not gonna lie; I hated nearly all of Whaley's moves in real-time. Even for the decent ones, I'd manage to find whatever's the opposite of a silver lining. Shady McCoy? Big deal, he answered the phone. Brown & Alexander? If he thought they were anything more than bench fodder, why'd he sign them to 1 year deals & declare his rookies to be off the bus starters? Man, it was exhausting.
GunnerBill Posted May 25, 2017 Posted May 25, 2017 I don't doubt that Whaley initially wanted Hue, but the story went that Rex (who wasn't anyone's first choice) blew away everyone in the room. Whaley was in that room, and I have no reason to believe he didn't buy in like the rest of them. Here's the story directly from buffalobills.com; Whaley's words on Rex went a bit beyond just keeping the company line: http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/How-the-Bills-decided-on-Rex-Ryan-as-head-coach/19b740de-0ca3-4dd6-8fdc-58c0cf013fa2 Whaley was asked to rank the candidates after the first round of interviews and Hue Jackson was still very much his number 1. I don't know where he ranked Rex - it is certainly possible that he ranked him number 2 and that is why he got on board with the hire. Regardless people shouldn't forget where Whaley had the Bills at the end of 2014 - top 4 defense, a winning record and still a very healthy dose of cap space to improve his offense. Obviously he had no Quarterback and that hurt, but his mistake was not fighting the corner for his 1st choice an offensive Head Coach who had had success working with Quarterbacks and who wanted to keep the top 4 defense in place and untouched.
Dr. Who Posted May 25, 2017 Posted May 25, 2017 Whaley was asked to rank the candidates after the first round of interviews and Hue Jackson was still very much his number 1. I don't know where he ranked Rex - it is certainly possible that he ranked him number 2 and that is why he got on board with the hire. Regardless people shouldn't forget where Whaley had the Bills at the end of 2014 - top 4 defense, a winning record and still a very healthy dose of cap space to improve his offense. Obviously he had no Quarterback and that hurt, but his mistake was not fighting the corner for his 1st choice an offensive Head Coach who had had success working with Quarterbacks and who wanted to keep the top 4 defense in place and untouched. Whaley obviously is not good at public speaking and it appears he was not good at political intrigue, but he was pretty good at identifying talent and left with class. The hypothetical you propose could not have been worse than bloviating Rex and I surmise it could have been an effective coaching regime. We'll never know, but the folks who gratuitously bring DW up at every opportunity to continue to bash him certainly do not exhibit a shred of class.
Buffalo86 Posted May 25, 2017 Posted May 25, 2017 Whaley was asked to rank the candidates after the first round of interviews and Hue Jackson was still very much his number 1... Interesting. How did you come upon this inside scoop?
26CornerBlitz Posted May 26, 2017 Author Posted May 26, 2017 @BuffRumblings .@ChrisTrapasso’s thoughts on Doug Whaley’s first interview after being fired by #Bills https://t.co/WHCbYS8imY
GunnerBill Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 Interesting. How did you come upon this inside scoop? I've PM'd you. But I am also not the only person on this board to have heard that Whaley ranked the candidates and ranked Hue #1.
CanadianFan Posted May 27, 2017 Posted May 27, 2017 Whaley obviously is not good at public speaking and it appears he was not good at political intrigue, but he was pretty good at identifying talent and left with class. The hypothetical you propose could not have been worse than bloviating Rex and I surmise it could have been an effective coaching regime. We'll never know, but the folks who gratuitously bring DW up at every opportunity to continue to bash him certainly do not exhibit a shred of class. +1 I've made the same observation about Whaley. He's gotta learn to maneuver himself better internally and externally.
BuffAlone Posted May 28, 2017 Posted May 28, 2017 Was EJ Whaley's guy or Nix?More importantly, was Peterman Whaley's or McD's pick??
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