BILLS GM: Promoting from Within

[buffalobillsfootball]

WKBW: promote from within

 

Although not surprising - that's too bad.

 

I really wanted this guy:

 

HECKERT

 

When will this team grow some balls and think BIG?

[Bills4154]

Well that's bad news, if true.

[Chgrant]

WKBW: promote from within

 

Although not surprising - that's too bad.  I really wanted this guy:

 

HECKERT

 

When will this team grow some balls and think BIG?

550047[/snapback]

 

Professor--

The last GM, before he was hired, was one of the BIGGEST names out there. I remember being thrilled when Donahoe was hired, because he was the candidate who had a fancy track record. And how did that turn out?

[buffalobillsfootball]

Professor--

The last GM, before he was hired, was one of the BIGGEST names out there. I remember being thrilled when Donahoe was hired, because he was the candidate who had a fancy track record. And how did that turn out?

550065[/snapback]

 

HECKERT has had a damn good run at drafts the past few years.

 

Hmm, let's see - Tom Donohoe - worked at ESPN - he was "well regarded" and promoted in the media by ESPN.

 

Shocker.

[seq004]

To me that means Modrak as the new GM and Marv as a consultant but who knows he could be speaking about 20 or so jobs within the organization that are not related to GM or coach.

[KOKBILLS]

WKBW: promote from within

 

Although not surprising - that's too bad. 

 

I really wanted this guy:

 

HECKERT

 

When will this team grow some balls and think BIG?

550047[/snapback]

 

Well...I guess you can say that's what RW did with TD in a way (thinking big that is)...

 

It may just be My opinion, but if RW thinks he is going to change much promoting from within and keeping MM...well...good God I hope he's ready for the fallout if that Plan fails...

 

I'm VERY worried about one thing...There are hints here that MM will actually gain a little more power if he stays around...The comment from Ralph about asking MM what he needs could be interpreted that way...Oh Boy!...If Mularkey ends up coming out of this with more say, the Bills will then have a HC who was not even ready to be a HC making bigger decisions...

 

God help us...

[Sound_n_Fury]

WKBW: promote from within

When will this team grow some balls and think BIG?

550047[/snapback]

 

Isn't that what they did when they hired TD. He was the star GM candidate available when he was hired:

 

 

 

Jerry Sullivan - January 11, 2001:

 

Ralph Wilson wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to relinquish most of his customary NFL duties and spend the rest of his career kicking back in the owner's box. All you need to do is examine the title he bestowed on his new hire, Tom Donahoe: president and general manager.

 

For the first 40 years of the Bills' existence, Wilson was the only president. None of the general managers who ran his football operation over the years had the dual title of team president. Not Bill Polian. Not Pat McGroder or John Butler.

 

Wilson is conceding that he lacks the energy to remain as involved in the NFL as he used to be. You can't blame the man. He's 82 years old, and it was time for him to loosen his control of the team and to give an unprecedented level of power to a football man he could trust.

 

He could not have found a better available man than Donahoe, who is respected throughout the NFL and was widely perceived as the best personnel man on the NFL market when Wilson abruptly fired Butler three weeks ago.

 

Wilson took his time doing it. He left Donahoe hanging for more than a week while deciding what to do with Wade Phillips. As recently as Tuesday, Donahoe talked with new Lions President Matt Millen about hooking on with Detroit's staff. It looked as if the best man might slip away from Buffalo.

 

But Wilson got him in the end, and for that he should be commended. You might call it luck, but he has a way of digging up quality GMs. He hired and fired two of the best in Polian and Butler, and he was fortunate that a man of Donahoe's reputation was available when he went looking again.

 

Donahoe is universally admired around the league as a football man. Like Polian and Butler, he is a scout at heart, most comfortable walking the sidelines at some college all-star game, looking for some overlooked prospect. He has never worked anywhere other than Pittsburgh, his hometown. He probably would have remained with the Steelers for life if it weren't for the power struggle with head coach Bill Cowher that led to Donahoe's departure last January.

 

Donahoe has always insisted that money wasn't an important consideration for him. People who know him say it's genuine. He could have gone to Seattle for big money after the Steelers reached the Super Bowl, but he turned it down. He had numerous feelers (New Orleans, Miami and New England) shortly after leaving the Steelers. Detroit and the Jets were interested before Wilson signed him. The expansion Houston franchise talked with him.

 

But he held out for the right job. Donahoe is said to be a devoted family man, and Buffalo was reasonably close to Pittsburgh. It's a Rust Belt city with a blue-collar ethos and abiding affection for its football team.

 

Donahoe was once described as having a great reverence for the Pittsburgh community. People close to him have told him Buffalo would be a perfect fit.

 

"You can't go wrong with the guy," said one league source.

 

 

Larry Felser - January 7, 2001:

 

Wilson has never enjoyed himself more as an owner than the last 14 seasons during the Bills' golden era. It would be sad to see him soil his own football nest in his golden years.

 

He can still avoid this fate. He should hire the best GM candidate available, which is Donahoe. Maybe Donahoe would cost more than Ralph wants to pay a GM. But there is a new appreciation for that job as the most valuable on any franchise.

[buffalobillsfootball]

Well...I guess you can say that's what RW did with TD in a way (thinking big that is)...

 

It may just be My opinion, but if RW thinks he is going to change much promoting from within and keeping MM...well...good God I hope he's ready for the fallout if that Plan fails...

 

I'm VERY worried about one thing...There are hints here that MM will actually gain a little more power if he stays around...The comment from Ralph about asking MM what he needs could be interpreted that way...Oh Boy!...If Mularkey ends up coming out of this with more say, the Bills will then have a HC who was not even ready to be a HC making bigger decisions...

 

God help us...

550114[/snapback]

 

good, albeit scary, point!

 

yikes.

[jahnyc]

You don't promote within (at least with regard to those that are responsible for the football side of things) after five years of terrible play. These are the people that you purge.

[buffalobillsfootball]

Isn't that what they did when they hired TD.  He was the star GM candidate available when he was hired:

Jerry  Sullivan - January 11, 2001:

 

Ralph Wilson wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to relinquish most of his customary NFL duties and spend the rest of his career kicking back in the owner's box. All you need to do is examine the title he bestowed on his new hire, Tom Donahoe: president and general manager.

 

For the first 40 years of the Bills' existence, Wilson was the only president. None of the general managers who ran his football operation over the years had the dual title of team president. Not Bill Polian. Not Pat McGroder or John Butler.

 

Wilson is conceding that he lacks the energy to remain as involved in the NFL as he used to be. You can't blame the man. He's 82 years old, and it was time for him to loosen his control of the team and to give an unprecedented level of power to a football man he could trust.

 

He could not have found a better available man than Donahoe, who is respected throughout the NFL and was widely perceived as the best personnel man on the NFL market when Wilson abruptly fired Butler three weeks ago.

 

Wilson took his time doing it. He left Donahoe hanging for more than a week while deciding what to do with Wade Phillips. As recently as Tuesday, Donahoe talked with new Lions President Matt Millen about hooking on with Detroit's staff. It looked as if the best man might slip away from Buffalo.

 

But Wilson got him in the end, and for that he should be commended. You might call it luck, but he has a way of digging up quality GMs. He hired and fired two of the best in Polian and Butler, and he was fortunate that a man of Donahoe's reputation was available when he went looking again.

 

Donahoe is universally admired around the league as a football man. Like Polian and Butler, he is a scout at heart, most comfortable walking the sidelines at some college all-star game, looking for some overlooked prospect. He has never worked anywhere other than Pittsburgh, his hometown. He probably would have remained with the Steelers for life if it weren't for the power struggle with head coach Bill Cowher that led to Donahoe's departure last January.

 

Donahoe has always insisted that money wasn't an important consideration for him. People who know him say it's genuine. He could have gone to Seattle for big money after the Steelers reached the Super Bowl, but he turned it down. He had numerous feelers (New Orleans, Miami and New England) shortly after leaving the Steelers. Detroit and the Jets were interested before Wilson signed him. The expansion Houston franchise talked with him.

 

But he held out for the right job. Donahoe is said to be a devoted family man, and Buffalo was reasonably close to Pittsburgh. It's a Rust Belt city with a blue-collar ethos and abiding affection for its football team.

 

Donahoe was once described as having a great reverence for the Pittsburgh community. People close to him have told him Buffalo would be a perfect fit.

 

"You can't go wrong with the guy," said one league source.  

Larry Felser - January 7, 2001:

 

Wilson has never enjoyed himself more as an owner than the last 14 seasons during the Bills' golden era. It would be sad to see him soil his own football nest in his golden years.

 

He can still avoid this fate. He should hire the best GM candidate available, which is Donahoe. Maybe Donahoe would cost more than Ralph wants to pay a GM. But there is a new appreciation for that job as the most valuable on any franchise.

550129[/snapback]

 

yawn.... connect the dots.... espn... buffalo media... who the heck cares what these people think?

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Isn't that what they did when they hired TD.  He was the star GM candidate available when he was hired:

Jerry  Sullivan - January 11, 2001:

 

Ralph Wilson wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to relinquish most of his customary NFL duties and spend the rest of his career kicking back in the owner's box. All you need to do is examine the title he bestowed on his new hire, Tom Donahoe: president and general manager.

 

For the first 40 years of the Bills' existence, Wilson was the only president. None of the general managers who ran his football operation over the years had the dual title of team president. Not Bill Polian. Not Pat McGroder or John Butler.

 

Wilson is conceding that he lacks the energy to remain as involved in the NFL as he used to be. You can't blame the man. He's 82 years old, and it was time for him to loosen his control of the team and to give an unprecedented level of power to a football man he could trust.

 

He could not have found a better available man than Donahoe, who is respected throughout the NFL and was widely perceived as the best personnel man on the NFL market when Wilson abruptly fired Butler three weeks ago.

 

Wilson took his time doing it. He left Donahoe hanging for more than a week while deciding what to do with Wade Phillips. As recently as Tuesday, Donahoe talked with new Lions President Matt Millen about hooking on with Detroit's staff. It looked as if the best man might slip away from Buffalo.

 

But Wilson got him in the end, and for that he should be commended. You might call it luck, but he has a way of digging up quality GMs. He hired and fired two of the best in Polian and Butler, and he was fortunate that a man of Donahoe's reputation was available when he went looking again.

 

Donahoe is universally admired around the league as a football man. Like Polian and Butler, he is a scout at heart, most comfortable walking the sidelines at some college all-star game, looking for some overlooked prospect. He has never worked anywhere other than Pittsburgh, his hometown. He probably would have remained with the Steelers for life if it weren't for the power struggle with head coach Bill Cowher that led to Donahoe's departure last January.

 

Donahoe has always insisted that money wasn't an important consideration for him. People who know him say it's genuine. He could have gone to Seattle for big money after the Steelers reached the Super Bowl, but he turned it down. He had numerous feelers (New Orleans, Miami and New England) shortly after leaving the Steelers. Detroit and the Jets were interested before Wilson signed him. The expansion Houston franchise talked with him.

 

But he held out for the right job. Donahoe is said to be a devoted family man, and Buffalo was reasonably close to Pittsburgh. It's a Rust Belt city with a blue-collar ethos and abiding affection for its football team.

 

Donahoe was once described as having a great reverence for the Pittsburgh community. People close to him have told him Buffalo would be a perfect fit.

 

"You can't go wrong with the guy," said one league source.  

Larry Felser - January 7, 2001:

 

Wilson has never enjoyed himself more as an owner than the last 14 seasons during the Bills' golden era. It would be sad to see him soil his own football nest in his golden years.

 

He can still avoid this fate. He should hire the best GM candidate available, which is Donahoe. Maybe Donahoe would cost more than Ralph wants to pay a GM. But there is a new appreciation for that job as the most valuable on any franchise.

550129[/snapback]

 

 

Yeah, big deal. I admit I thought Whitey'd be good for the franchise when he was hired. His past record seemed to indicate it. HOWEVER, his "results" in Buffalo (and mainly those caused by his single biggest error [coaching hires]) now lead me to believe that jettisoning him as soon as possible is the best thing to do.

[Sound_n_Fury]

Yeah, big deal. I admit I thought Whitey'd be good for the franchise when he was hired. His past record seemed to indicate it. HOWEVER, his "results" in Buffalo (and mainly those caused by his single biggest error [coaching hires]) now lead me to believe that jettisoning him as soon as possible is the best thing to do.

550262[/snapback]

 

I agree. TD has shot his wad here.

 

But it wouldn't surprise me for a minute if he succeeds bigtime at whatever job he takes next (Scotty Bowman comes to mind). And I believe he honestly tried to build a winner here. If anything, he was too aggressive, always swinging for the fences rather than trying to beat out doubles.

 

We applauded many (most?) of his moves at the time (remember how WGR ran that promo of the WM pick over and over and over...), yet today most of us would cross the steet if we saw him coming. Another sad moment in Bills history, unfortunately.

[KOKBILLS]

Yeah, big deal. I admit I thought Whitey'd be good for the franchise when he was hired. His past record seemed to indicate it. HOWEVER, his "results" in Buffalo (and mainly those caused by his single biggest error [coaching hires]) now lead me to believe that jettisoning him as soon as possible is the best thing to do.

550262[/snapback]

 

True...I think the thing no one saw coming was the effect the Cowher hire in Pittsburgh, and the Power struggle that followed, had on TD...I figured he saw something in GW that no one else saw, but when he hired MM I think it became glaringly obvious TD was willing to gamble that all his moves would produce a winning Team, rather than bring someone in at HC who would challange him as the ultimate authority again...I do think that TD asks for, and gets imput from everyone in the Organization, but anyone knows that when you surround yourself with yes Men, you're not going to get a lot of argument...And sometimes argument is a good thing...

 

Also, I don't think it helps one bit when you pass on the number of qualified candidates that TD passed on...1st time around it was Lewis and Fox...Both are in the Playoffs this year...2nd time around it was Weis and Crennel...Those names are KILLING TD now, as is that Saban guy who never even made any of TD's interview lists...

 

Ultimately... it's hard to argue against those who would say that TD was a tainted Hire from the fallout in Pittsburgh...Losing your dream Job does strange things to people... And no matter what anyone says, the ability to lose the bitterness that comes with the firing is VERY difficult to obtain...He hired Cowher, and it was a heck of a good hire...But does anyone see any personality traits in GW or MM that would remind you of Cowher? I mean...I can understand exactly what TD saw in Cowher, and I can also see how TD went the exact opposite way in the personality department with his 2 HC hires...