brihs2005 Posted March 10, 2005 Posted March 10, 2005 I posted the rest of the AFC East simply for comparison purposes. The rest of the teams i expected to all sound similar to the Bills. "They are smart, do a good job, etc." Surprisingly i found very little of that, while not being overly negative towards any team, they were clear to knock a team if it didn't think their structure was up to par. Anyway, happy reading. AFC EAST Buffalo Bills Tom Donahoe: President/general manager Tom Modrak: Assistant general manager Mike Mularkey: Head coach • Although Tom Donahoe runs this organization and is one of the best in the business, the Bills are blessed to have two very strong guys at the top. Tom Modrak has GM experience and has been with Donahoe for a long time, dating back to their successful days at Pittsburgh. They know each other, and they complement each other's strengths and do it without big egos. Both watch film and are front office executives who are heavy on the evaluation side of the business, rather than just relying on others' opinions. • They have a very experienced group of scouts and do a great job of being thorough and knowing their areas. College personnel director Doug Majeski does a solid job organizing the draft and has a significant voice, while pro personnel director John Guy is a veteran who is well-respected on the pro side. Jim Overdorf handles the cap, but he is more of a business guy than an evaluator. • Mike Mularkey doesn't have huge input on personnel decisions, but Donahoe and Modrak will certainly listen to his needs and wishes. The Bills do have some assistant coaches who have some juice in free agency and the draft. • Both line coaches, Jim McNally (OL) and Tim Krumrie (DL), have a lot of input regarding their position, as does defensive coordinator Jerry Gray. • This is a front office with a lot of age as well as experience, and you might expect it to be conservative and structured in its approach to personnel. However, the Bills are just the opposite. They are not afraid of risks and make tough decisions when necessary. Miami Dolphins Nick Saban: Head coach Scott O'Brien: Coordinator of football operations Rick Spielman: General manager Bryan Wiedmeier: Executive vice president and COO • If you want a clear picture of what the Miami front office is going to look like under Nick Saban, look no further than the New England Patriots. Saban is a Bill Belichick disciple who will run every facet of the front office and will be the final decision maker when it comes to player acquisitions. He prides himself as a shrewd talent evaluator and will make tough personnel decisions regardless of what other people think. • Saban's right-hand guy will be Scott O'Brien, former special teams coach at Carolina, and the two go back to their days together in Cleveland. O'Brien will oversee the front office, keep everything organized and develop a lot more power than it might initially appear. • The man in limbo is GM Rick Spielman, who has been on a roller-coaster ride in the last year with all the changes in Miami. He is pretty well regarded around the league, but right now his power is limited, and it is Saban's style to clean house and put his own people in place. Spielman could easily take the bullet for all the things that have gone wrong in Miami over the last couple of years. • Bryan Wiedmeier is a competent cap guy without much of a football background, but the tough cap situation Saban inherits probably won't help Wiedmeier's future. • George Paton runs the pro personnel department and is considered an up-and-comer in NFL circles. He is a guy Saban might grow to trust and keep around. Ron Labadie is the college scouting director and has been an information gatherer along with his scouts, bringing the data to Spielman, but that information now goes directly to Saban and O'Brien. • In all likelihood, Saban will strip this roster and make a lot of changes over the next few months as he rebuilds the team with his own philosophy and is likely to do the same with his front office. New England Patriots Scott Pioli: Vice president player personnel Bill Belichick: Head coach • As great as the Patriots are on the field, a significant part of the world champions' success is what they do off the field. They have a unique front office dynamic, and many NFL organizations are trying to simulate their structure and philosophy. At the end of the day, this is a two-man decision-making process, and the two voices are Belichick and Pioli. • Belichick has the reputation as the most hands-on coach in the NFL in terms of player evaluation and player acquisitions, and while he probably delegates a little more now than in the past, he still runs free agency and the draft with Pioli. The recent departure of senior VP and COO Andy Wasynczuk opens the door for Pioli to manage the salary cap and run this department as a true GM. However, one of Pioli's strengths is knowing exactly what Belichick wants, then carrying out the plan. • The only other voice that has any juice might be that of Tony Dimitroff -- only because Pioli has confidence and a history with him. The rest of the scouts are information gatherers with little input on final decisions. • This can be an interesting organization and is not a warm and fuzzy group. But you can't argue with the Pats' success. In fact, the scouts are not even in the primary draft room on draft day. They sit in outer offices and are available for opinions but not decisions. • Pioli and Belichick know how to work their salary cap; they massage the draft; and they make tough and sometimes imperfect personnel decisions that always seem to work. The coaches have input on personnel decisions, but even they have defined roles in decisions regarding player acquisitions. This is a two-man show! New York Jets Terry Bradway: General manager Herman Edwards: Head coach Jesse Kay: College director Mike Tannenbaum: Senior vice president of FB operations/assistant GM • The Jets have one of the largest personnel departments in the NFL, with a lot of voices and opinions, but the one that really counts is Bradway's. • They have eight college scouts, two pro scouts and various directors on both the college and pro level, and obviously the Jets are able to provide thorough coverage to free agency and draft prospects. • Jesse Kay is Bradway's college scouting director and seems to have his ear; assistant college director John Griffin is also a hardworking guy. • Assistant GM Mike Tannenbaum is a well-respected cap guy and has had chances to leave the Jets. Unlike a lot of his peers, he watches some film and evaluates players, especially on the pro side. • Jo Jo Wooden and Brian Gaines are the pro scouts, but they don't have a lot of power and final say in free agency. From the outside, this front office looks top-heavy on the college side and only average on the pro side. • Herm Edwards defers to Bradway, and they seem to have a good working relationship, but Herm might be a little better and more involved in personnel than a lot of people realize, especially in free agency. He is a system coach and knows what he wants in a player, but he doesn't go overly deep when it comes to the draft. His coaching staff has moderate input but not a lot of sway. • You would think that, with so many voices and varied personalities, this would be a disjointed front office, but Bradway pulls it all together and everybody appears to be on the same page. It is also an organization that isn't afraid to take chances if the situation warrants it.
Rubes Posted March 10, 2005 Posted March 10, 2005 They know each other, and they complement each other's strengths and do it without big egos. 269102[/snapback] But that can't be...I mean, everybody here knows TD has an ego the size of Texas...
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