Hazed and Amuzed Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Wasn't Donahoe one of the highest sought after, priced GM's when Ralph signed him? If so what's to say he won't spring for a coach of similar stature. I'm just curious that if Ralph is so cheap what was the Donahoe anomaly? Why can't it happen again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albany,n.y. Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Anything is possible-as long as Ralph is motivated. What has motivated Ralph in the past has been losses & empty seats. The only time Ralph has ever gone for a big name coach (not counting Saban II) was Chuck Knox. That was 30 years ago & Knox had had enough of working for Ralph by the end of 5 years. In Knox's 2nd season we lost the #1 pick in the draft to the CFL. That really strained their relationship. During the USFL days we lost Joe Cribbs who jumped to Birmingham & Jim Kelly who signed with Houston. Then Ralph turned around & brought Cribbs back in 1985 and signed Jim Kelly to the biggest contract ever in 1986. In conclusion: At times Ralph has been a cheapskate to the point of making the Bills the laughingstock of the NFL. However, when motivated, Ralph has spent tons of money. What Ralph, at 90, will do is anybody's guess. But his track record, for the most part, is going cheap on head coaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Anything is possible-as long as Ralph is motivated. What has motivated Ralph in the past has been losses & empty seats. The only time Ralph has ever gone for a big name coach (not counting Saban II) was Chuck Knox. That was 30 years ago & Knox had had enough of working for Ralph by the end of 5 years. In Knox's 2nd season we lost the #1 pick in the draft to the CFL. That really strained their relationship. During the USFL days we lost Joe Cribbs who jumped to Birmingham & Jim Kelly who signed with Houston. Then Ralph turned around & brought Cribbs back in 1985 and signed Jim Kelly to the biggest contract ever in 1986. In conclusion: At times Ralph has been a cheapskate to the point of making the Bills the laughingstock of the NFL. However, when motivated, Ralph has spent tons of money. What Ralph, at 90, will do is anybody's guess. But his track record, for the most part, is going cheap on head coaches. Okay, well that makes sense. I'm only 30 so I don't remember a lot of the things that you stated. I do hope that Ralphie boy gets motivated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiz Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Wasn't Donahoe one of the highest sought after, priced GM's when Ralph signed him? If so what's to say he won't spring for a coach of similar stature. I'm just curious that if Ralph is so cheap what was the Donahoe anomaly? Why can't it happen again? I believe Ralph signed Donahoe at a discount because of Buffalo's close proximity to his home of Pittsburgh. Plus, he could justify paying Donahoe by his taking over the day-to-day operations of the franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Note also that the TD dynamic was a unique one. Yes, Ralph made him one of the highest paid GMs in the NFL with unprecedented authority, but the implication was that Ralph was unwilling to pay a top-flight coach. Meanwhile, after having just lost a power stuggle with Cowher in Pittsburgh, TD didn't want a high profile head coach, so we'll never know how much of that can be attributed to Ralph being cheap - or TD being hypersensitive. In Ralph's defense, I know numbers weren't astronomical like they are today even 10 years ago. But after taking the team to 4 straight Super Bowls, I would have to guess that Marv was probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league by the end of his tenure, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 Note also that the TD dynamic was a unique one. Yes, Ralph made him one of the highest paid GMs in the NFL with unprecedented authority, but the implication was that Ralph was unwilling to pay a top-flight coach. Meanwhile, after having just lost a power stuggle with Cowher in Pittsburgh, TD didn't want a high profile head coach, so we'll never know how much of that can be attributed to Ralph being cheap - or TD being hypersensitive. In Ralph's defense, I know numbers weren't astronomical like they are today even 10 years ago. But after taking the team to 4 straight Super Bowls, I would have to guess that Marv was probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league by the end of his tenure, no? Good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Maybe he ain't cheap. Maybe he just wants to have final say, even more than Jerry Jones does, and nobody worth a damn will come here and subject themselves to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ1 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Note also that the TD dynamic was a unique one. Yes, Ralph made him one of the highest paid GMs in the NFL with unprecedented authority, but the implication was that Ralph was unwilling to pay a top-flight coach. Meanwhile, after having just lost a power stuggle with Cowher in Pittsburgh, TD didn't want a high profile head coach, so we'll never know how much of that can be attributed to Ralph being cheap - or TD being hypersensitive. In Ralph's defense, I know numbers weren't astronomical like they are today even 10 years ago. But after taking the team to 4 straight Super Bowls, I would have to guess that Marv was probably one of the highest paid coaches in the league by the end of his tenure, no? No, I doubt it. You where he grabbed Marv from, right? Ole Marv was color commentating on the Bills radio broadcast. Came in less than cheap. Still think Ralph's ideal candidate for HC is an out-of-work bum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 No, I doubt it. You where he grabbed Marv from, right? Ole Marv was color commentating on the Bills radio broadcast. Came in less than cheap. Still think Ralph's ideal candidate for HC is an out-of-work bum. Donahoe wasn't out of work exactly. He was manning a keyboard at one of ESPN's computers. Donahoe was actually President and GM, so he was probably making discount presidential money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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