The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 While I do think Ralph is kinda cheap that's not the big problem- the big problem is Ralph wants the type of Coach and GM that will take a lot of input from Ralph- also it's important for Ralph that everybody gets along- too bad that most of the best coaches and GMs have big egos and don't want an owner meddling and want to be able to fire the people who they consider inadequate. I don't know what to say about that, when I see guys like Jimmy Johnson and Parcells coach for Jerry Jones. And, to take it further, Parcells isn't even a GM or HC in Miami and he's calling the shots. Does that mean he can't get a good GM or HC to work for the team, as you KNOW Parcells will have input. I think I know what you are saying...and tend to agree...but, there has to be more to it than that, IMO. Ralph is not Al Davis, in terms of meddling. But, he is the owner, has been in the AFL/NFL for 38 years and knows a little bit about football. He isn't a micro-manager (so I've been told), but he will have his say and approve most final decisions. Isn't that true of most owners?
The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 The Bills are in a similar situation as they were in the 70's. After SUCKING for years Ralph finally hired Chuck Knox who brought the Bills back to respectability & he did it fairly quickly too. My HOPE is Ralph repeats history & hires a GOOD coach NOW. Good call. I would like to see a repeat of sort of thing, too. A dose of Ground Chuck would do wonders for this team, right now.
bdelma Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 Maybe he needs to the lucky horseshoe around!
BuffaloRebound Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 I don't know what to say about that, when I see guys like Jimmy Johnson and Parcells coach for Jerry Jones. And, to take it further, Parcells isn't even a GM or HC in Miami and he's calling the shots. Does that mean he can't get a good GM or HC to work for the team, as you KNOW Parcells will have input. I think I know what you are saying...and tend to agree...but, there has to be more to it than that, IMO. Ralph is not Al Davis, in terms of meddling. But, he is the owner, has been in the AFL/NFL for 38 years and knows a little bit about football. He isn't a micro-manager (so I've been told), but he will have his say and approve most final decisions. Isn't that true of most owners? Most owners care about winning first and foremost. Ralph has repeatedly shown the bottom-line to be more important than winning. Selling a home game and canning Polian, his most successful GM, are just 2 examples. No in-demand GM or Head Coach is coming here with Ralph as owner. My dream scenario would be Ralph selling the team to the Kelly/Golisano? ownership group and Polian coming back as GM/President.
The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 Most owners care about winning first and foremost. Ralph has repeatedly shown the bottom-line to be more important than winning. Selling a home game and canning Polian, his most successful GM, are just 2 examples. No in-demand GM or Head Coach is coming here with Ralph as owner. My dream scenario would be Ralph selling the team to the Kelly/Golisano? ownership group and Polian coming back as GM/President. In case you didn't know, canning Polian wasn't about money. If what Polian said to a team employee (and Ralph's daughter) is true, then he had to be fired. BTW, Polian has a job, so try to stay in the realm of the possible.
billybob Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 I don't know what to say about that, when I see guys like Jimmy Johnson and Parcells coach for Jerry Jones. And, to take it further, Parcells isn't even a GM or HC in Miami and he's calling the shots. Does that mean he can't get a good GM or HC to work for the team, as you KNOW Parcells will have input. I think I know what you are saying...and tend to agree...but, there has to be more to it than that, IMO. Ralph is not Al Davis, in terms of meddling. But, he is the owner, has been in the AFL/NFL for 38 years and knows a little bit about football. He isn't a micro-manager (so I've been told), but he will have his say and approve most final decisions. Isn't that true of most owners? Supposedly feeling his input wasn't being taken seriously was one of the sources of tension between him and Polian- He did give Tommy D free reign and that was a disaster so maybe he's just snake bit.
BuffaloRebound Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 In case you didn't know, canning Polian wasn't about money. If what Polian said to a team employee (and Ralph's daughter) is true, then he had to be fired. BTW, Polian has a job, so try to stay in the realm of the possible. Polian has already won a Super Bowl in Indy and I believe he still has strong ties to the area. I am not familiar with what Polian said to Ralph's daughter. I thought Polian didn't get along with Ralph's accountant and that was the reason for the split.
spartacus Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 In case you didn't know, canning Polian wasn't about money. If what Polian said to a team employee (and Ralph's daughter) is true, then he had to be fired. BTW, Polian has a job, so try to stay in the realm of the possible. canning Polian was not about winning either. Ralph was getting retribution for brusied egos, but it sure wasn't about winning Super Bowls. If it was, he would have moved his daughter to some less conspicuous position, and kept the guy most responsibile for putting the Bills in the big game. But Ralph always undervalued the real difference makers and felt he could save money and replace Polian from within with similar results.
TheChimp Posted December 29, 2008 Author Posted December 29, 2008 Rumor had it, Polian called Ralph's daughter, an employee of the BILLS at the time, the "C" word, and when he heard this, Ralph fired him immediately. This rumor went unsupported and then became forgotten. The rumor also included, however, Ralph's EXTREME displeasure with not being able to meddle in personnel decisions and draft day activity, and I believe the evidence speaks for itself, seeing how many times Ralph has been allowed to meddle since Polian left.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 In case you didn't know, canning Polian wasn't about money. If what Polian said to a team employee (and Ralph's daughter) is true, then he had to be fired. BTW, Polian has a job, so try to stay in the realm of the possible. He should have fired his daughter for being a gross incompetent rather than the guy who pointed it out.
The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 He should have fired his daughter for being a gross incompetent rather than the guy who pointed it out. Maybe he should have fired both of them. My point is, it wasn't about money...except for perhaps the amount the Bills could have lost in a lawsuit. I tell you what, I don't care how talented someone is....if they call another employee a "c*nt" they are fired. Period.
TheChimp Posted December 29, 2008 Author Posted December 29, 2008 Maybe he should have fired both of them. My point is, it wasn't about money...except for perhaps the amount the Bills could have lost in a lawsuit. I tell you what, I don't care how talented someone is....if they call another employee a "c*nt" they are fired. Period. I knew you were really Marv. Because from what I heard, she IS a c*nt.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 Maybe he should have fired both of them. My point is, it wasn't about money...except for perhaps the amount the Bills could have lost in a lawsuit. I tell you what, I don't care how talented someone is....if they call another employee a "c*nt" they are fired. Period. Sensitivity has no place in a competitive organization. Open and honest feedback does.
TheChimp Posted December 29, 2008 Author Posted December 29, 2008 The Discordians would laugh at you for even thinking that, Dean.
Chalkie Gerzowski Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 No, he called her a tranny...an obese tranny...who dreams of greatness on the clay courts.
The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 Sensitivity has no place in a competitive organization. Open and honest feedback does. Calling someone a "c*nt" is totally unacceptable in ANY professional organization and doesn't qualify as open or honest. It is abusive and sexist. A person who can't control his reactions, and treat people with respect shouldn't be in the organization. I think he would be fired by almost any owner, if that occurred. Of course, there were rumors that there were other issues with Polian at the time, too.
TheChimp Posted December 29, 2008 Author Posted December 29, 2008 Calling someone a "c*nt" is totally unacceptable in ANY professional organization and doesn't qualify as open or honest. It is abusive and sexist. A person who can't control his reactions, and treat people with respect shouldn't be in the organization. I think he would be fired by almost any owner, if that occurred. Of course, there were rumors that there were other issues with Polian at the time, too. Turn in your Pope Card, seriously.
BuffaloRebound Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 Maybe he should have fired both of them. My point is, it wasn't about money...except for perhaps the amount the Bills could have lost in a lawsuit. I tell you what, I don't care how talented someone is....if they call another employee a "c*nt" they are fired. Period. So what you're saying is a GM not only has to deal with a cheap, meddling owner, he has to deal with his daughter too?
apuszczalowski Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 I am actually very aware of the marketing angle involved and that this deal was to make the team more regional. Of course, that had nothing at all to do with my point, which was what is Ralph using the millions in "chicken feed" from the deal itself for exactly? As far as I've heard it is not going towards getting better players or coaches. The cash-to-cap is a constraint of the Bills own choosing. The cries of "poverty" are trumped up -- the Bills are in the upper half of profitable NFL teams and have little to no debt. (Edit: The value of the franchise -- read sales price -- has eroded over the past few years according to Forbes and the marketing to a larger fan base, Toronto is 4X larger than Buffalo, is an obvious attempt to stem that slide.) Putting the $78 million in cash in his pocket, under his mattress, or in a trust fund for the grandchildren isn't going to reduce the debt that a new owner will take on to purchase the Bills. Which is all another way of saying their marketing strategy is ass backwards. This is true with Ralph as an owner since he has owned them since they started, but would the team stay at that same level with a new owner? Unless that owner has $800 million + in cash sitting around to buy the team and keep them debt free, he is going to have to go into debt for the team. How many people in Buffalo have $800 million to spend on the Bills, and are not worried about turning a profit to maketheir money back? Take a look at the Sabres. Golisano bought them for about 1/4 of what the Bills will cost and his biggest concern is breaking even/turning a profit. They have a self imposed cap too. The Bills may have chosen to use the "Cash to Cap" approach, but that doesn't mean that they do it because they just want to turn a bigger profit, it may truly be a necessity to keep the team running and the ticketys affordable to Buffalonians. Also, Maybe Ralph has some potential owners already lined up for the team? Jim Kelly said he has some buyers, although I also wouldn't be surprised if the financial backing for that deal was someone likethe guy that bought the Statler building, and wanted to build the Skyscrapperin downtown buffalo
The Dean Posted December 29, 2008 Posted December 29, 2008 So what you're saying is a GM not only has to deal with a cheap, meddling owner, he has to deal with his daughter too? If she is an employee, of course. I know she isn't the only offspring of an NFL owner employed by an NFL team.
Recommended Posts