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Clashing in Cleveland: How Hue Jackson, Jimmy Haslam and Baker Mayfield collided (and how they almost hired Sean McDermott)


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Posted
41 minutes ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...Dorsey is the steadying influence....Haslam cannot afford to lose him....needs to stay out of the way.....

 

Dorsey, I think, is a football guy who genuinely 'knows something'. 

The question is whether Haslam can actually change his stripes and stay out of Haslam's way, even if he consciously wants to.

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Posted (edited)

Such an excellent and interesting read. Great job by Wickersham here.

With regard to the importance of having a good owner, I always think of Marv Levy's autobiography. The part of Marv's book that stood out the most to me -- and which made me very depressed at the time -- was his saying that in order for a team to have consistent success, it needs to start at the top: Good ownership. That quote got me down in the dumps because, while I loved Ralph Wilson and appreciate all he did for the city of Buffalo, he was in the last years of his life and was, at the time I read it, an absentee owner most known for not wanting to pay his coaches or players. I saw the dysfunction trickling down from him, to the carousel of bad GMs, to the second rate coaches, and concluded the Bills were a hopeless cause. But then a funny thing happened: The Pegulas purchased the team, committed to keeping it in Buffalo, made it clear that they would spare no expense in upgrading facilities, hiring coaches, paying players, etc, and restored hope where it was lacking.

I feel confident in the present and future of the Buffalo Bills, from the top down. I also feel bad for fan bases who don't get to feel that way. Devoted fans who have to put up with the Dan Snyders, Jimmy Haslams, and Mike Browns of the world. I am so thankful that we are not in that situation. I am so thankful for the Pegulas. 

On a side note: I'd LOVE to read a similar piece about the  Brandon, Whaley, Marrone, Rex years of the Bills. It's probably for the best that that's all in the past and not in the public eye, though.

Edited by Logic
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Posted
6 hours ago, FeelingOnYouboty said:

Good news for Browns fans is they're going to be a major player in the AFC for the next decade. I thought they were a playoff team last year if Hue wasn't the coach and Baker was starting. I expect them to win their division next year.

After reading this article I don't know it kind of feels like they accidentally tripped into a good position and gives me zero confidence they won't find a way to stumble back out of it.

Posted

When an organization is this much of a tire fire for a sustained period of time, look no further than ownership.  That's the source of the problem.

 

 

Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

After reading this article I don't know it kind of feels like they accidentally tripped into a good position and gives me zero confidence they won't find a way to stumble back out of it.

They are definitely drafting better. But there is a reason Andy Reid got rid of Dorsey. He’s a mess with the cap and very disorganized. He will need to be reeled in - they have a lot of strong personalities in one room there and they all want a voice. Highsmith, Wolfe, depodesta. At least kitchens reports to him and not Haslam. Part of the reason they didn’t want to interview Arians, McCarthy, or mcdaniels is because they would want more control and more voice than guys like Kitchens and Sefanski. Also why G-Dub is gone. 

Edited by YoloinOhio
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Posted

The more I think about the Hue/Baker rift, the more I think back to the scene on Hard Knocks where Jackson acted like giving Mayfield the backup job was some kind of crowning achievement. A guy like Mayfield certainly doesn't forget a thing like that. Congratulations number 1 pick in the draft, you've beaten out Drew Stanton! Now don't let this go to your head young fella.

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Posted
6 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Thought the article said he'd sold off to Berkshire Hathaway?

I missed it.  

Posted
5 hours ago, Just Joshin' said:

It will be interesting to see how this plays out:  wildcard Mayfield with a dysfunctional organization.  It could blow up huge.

 

That's what I'm hoping for: a Wagerian ragnarok of epic proportions where everyone involved goes out in a blaze of dysfunctional glory.

 

It'd be too good.

 

Posted

That was a crazy read. No wonder the Browns struggle so much. Wow. 

 

 

Also, this

 

Quote

Mayfield's Browns are not the old Browns. An aide ushers him into a small room inside M&T Bank Stadium where many of the game's legends have autographed a white wall. Ozzie Newsome. Peyton Manning. John Harbaugh. John Elway. Baker scribbles his name and leaves his mark, penning his jersey No. 6 -- the seventh-highest seller in the NFL in 2018 -- below "Mayfield."

 

I wonder if they asked him to write his name, or if he just took it upon himself (my guess is the latter. Seems more mayfield-like to me...lol)

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Posted
6 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said:

 

 

A. This is HILARIOUS

 

B. In their defense, there's no other meanings attached to billsmafia and if you searched it, it may resemble a porno...

#bm?  Might be kinda dirty.

Posted
6 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

In years past I would have easily agreed with the Bills being on this list (and I’d have argued that they should be much higher). But I don’t really see anything that is disfunctional about the Bills these days. Everyone in the building seems in lock step, and all the embarrassing leaks to the press have been plugged. 

 

I guess the Bills still have to prove themselves though. 2 years don’t make up for decades of disfunction.... lol. 

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Posted
1 minute ago, BillsFan4 said:

In years past I would have easily agreed with the Bills being on this list (and I’d have argued that they should be much higher). But I don’t really see anything that is disfunctional about the Bills these days. Everyone in the building seems in lock step, and all the embarrassing leaks to the press have been plugged. 

 

I guess the Bills still have to prove themselves though. 2 years don’t make up for decades of disfunction.... lol. 

Agree and agree 

Posted

Interesting to see Pittsburgh at #5; this wouldn't have been so just a couple of years ago.  Pretty big knock on Tomlin, who seems to be in over his head as of late.  He's going to have to do pretty bad next season for his seat to get warm, though.

Posted
Just now, Happy Gilmore said:

Interesting to see Pittsburgh at #5; this wouldn't have been so just a couple of years ago.  Pretty big knock on Tomlin, who seems to be in over his head as of late.  He's going to have to do pretty bad next season for his seat to get warm, though.

They are #1 in my book. Their locker room was a circus this year. 

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