Bills front office has some problems brewing

[jimbohh3]

A nice article from Buffalo Wings is enlightening of the Bills front office during the past 20 years.

 

 

Marrone and Whaley need to keep fighting the old guard

 

Written by Joe on 24 February 2014.

 

Well. Can't say we are shocked, can we? The latest news out of One Bills Drive shows exactly what I feared when Russ Brandon came out 13 months ago and had all those valor quotes about how pissed off he was about the team's direction and how things were going to change. While the Bills got younger in their front office and coaching staff, the old regime that has been here since the beginning of time have still been lurking in the shadows.

 

I've said this before, but the only way I would truly feel better about the Bills moving in a better direction is if they fired everyone who has been in that building since before the turn of the century. However, the problem goes beyond One Bills Drive and resonates in Detroit. I can only assume Ralph Wilson's bean counters are sitting around with probably remote cameras zeroed in on the happenings of One Bills Drive and just thinking they know more than the younglings.

 

I've read enough New York Yankees books to know that this smells like the discord between the people in Tampa Bay and the people in the Bronx. It is George's confidants vs. Insert GM's name confidants.

 

I'm sure most of you guys read Tim Graham's piece about all of this and it doesn't look good. I wanted to believe the old regime were going to sit around in the back room and collect coupons and watch Golden Girls, instead, they still have their hand in football matters. Why can't these guys just ****en retire already?

 

Here is really the highlight from Graham's piece that I think just makes me want to pull a gun out and start shooting into the sky:

 

Team sources tell me executives such as Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold still hold too much sway and haven't afforded Whaley or Marrone as much control as either feels he needs to correct a losing culture. These sources tell me Marrone and Whaley would like more control over personnel decisions, especially free agents. These sources tell me Marrone and Whaley would like more control over personnel decisions, especially free agents.

 

Greaaaaat. First off, why the hell is Berchtold even involved in this? He's the damn PR guy. What? In fairness, if the beef with him consists of Marrone/Whaley not liking the way he guides them through the press, then really..I'm not going to have a conniption fit over it. He's the PR Head and I don't give a shit about PR mishaps.

 

Now, if he's someone who is in meetings about personnel decisions, that's a giant red flag for me. As for Littmann/Overdorf, this crap has been going on forever. Hell, one of the many rumors as to why Bill Polian was fired was over contract squabbles with Littmann in regards to players.

 

In the end, none of what we are hearing is breaking news. This shit has been going on forever. There's been a LARGE paper trail of this. We could go back to when Buddy Nix reportedly wanted to hire Marty Schottenheimer, only to to get vetoed by Ralph. We could go to Flutie/Johnson and the playoff game against Tennessee. We could go to FAs leaving. Hell, you think Marrone/Whaley want to play a damn game in Toronto? Hell, no. There are so many more examples.

 

But you know how things can be different for a change? For Whaley/Marrone to keep fighting. To keep leaking stories. To keep pressure on the old guard to get the hell out of the way. This has been something the Bills old-schoolers have never really experienced since Polian left... Guys who will push back and aren't just happy to collect a pay check.

 

They have had so many guys take jobs who had no business being in the NFL anymore (Jauron/Gailey/Nix/Modrak). They probably felt they owed the Bills for having a 10th chance (We go beyond retreads here in Buffalo) to do something with their football careers and would never rock the boat. Hey, when you feel you luck your way into a job, you ain't going to yell at your employers. You are going to be a shill. You are going to do as you are told because the alternative is sitting on your ass and not working. Seriously..are any of our former coaches/GMs working right now?

 

With Marrone/Whaley, those guys can probably get jobs elsewhere just because they don't have the stench of retread on them and are pretty young. So, why be a bunch of "Yes men" like the rest of them? Be bold and take the power back ("Rage Against the Machine" voice). Make fricken noise. Call Tim Graham daily and tell him how things are ****ed up there. Call the Bills out on their bullshit. Embarrass them. Hell, that's why you can be an anonymous source so you can protect yourself.

 

It shouldn't come as a shock with the disconnect, especially when you listen to Doug Marrone talk. He always talks about how he can't even pet the dog after a loss or that he makes the pain of losing stay with him as a reminder about how much he hates it. You you can read it on his face after losses.

 

You think a guy like him is going to stick with status quo and listen to the losers -who haven't wont anything in 14 years- tell him how to run his team? **** no. You think Doug Whaley is going to listen when he's coming from an organization like the Steelers? He shouldn't even have to ask the bean counters a ****en thing except how Byrd wants his signing bonus paid out (20s or 100s).

 

Status quo shouldn't exist for a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in almost 20 years. Sorry to sound callous, but I don't care if Bud Carpenter has the healing powers of Mr. Miyagi and Wolverine, he's a part of a losing culture and if the new regime wants him out, get the hell out of here.

 

As for Russ, well, I've always thought he was a shady character and now we get to see if I am right. He has to decide which side he's on. Is he on the side of the people who skyrocketed him to the top of the organization or is he on the side of the people he hired? He's the CEO and when you come out and pretty much say the buck stops here with him then the responsibility of this mess should lay at his feet.

 

Sadly, just by judging Bradon's ass-kissing history when it comes to Ralph, I think he has to ask him and the bean counters if he can even stand in his own shoes. The decision should be simple for Russ..he needs to be on the winning side and while I'm not sure if Marrone/Whaley are that side, I know the old guard isn't close the guard isn't close to that.

[Victor7]

Here's a link to the Tim Graham piece

 

http://bills.buffalonews.com/2014/02/23/sources-disconnect-youngsters-lifers-bills-organization/

 

Nothing to shock anybody really. The same old goons that have been making Ralph richer at the expense of the team's success at their best. The same 3 that care about absolutely nothing but the bottom line. As long as Ralph lives those 3 idiots will have a say at OBD and this team will be irrelevant.

[L2duis]

LOL...Just "some"?

[swegled]

I emailed the link to Chris Brown, Russ Brandon and the Bills. Signed one naive Bills fan. I'm really getting fed up.

[cook2630]

Hey I could have sworn I made the same statement about this such action, but of course, it fell hard on deaf ears. OK I'm back on my meds and off the "I said/told u so stacks of phone book/ slippery soap box". Management has always been the issue with the OBD, Well before Polian. But hey who's keeping track. "I'm not a lawyer but i play one on TV, Radio and here on the BR".

Note To Russ: eliminate Littmann, Overdorf and if you must Berchtold, and hire your own peers/ the experts (Polian, Chan Offense, Jauron defence), if you have the powers that be, IAW Ralph's memo.

Slow decimal points might bring back your die-heart spenders fans.

Edited February 25, 2014 by cook2630
double post within post/ posters error

[jimbohh3]

swrgled, thanks

[longfan]

A nice article from Buffalo Wings is enlightening of the Bills front office during the past 20 years.

 

 

Marrone and Whaley need to keep fighting the old guard

 

Written by Joe on 24 February 2014.

 

Well. Can't say we are shocked, can we? The latest news out of One Bills Drive shows exactly what I feared when Russ Brandon came out 13 months ago and had all those valor quotes about how pissed off he was about the team's direction and how things were going to change. While the Bills got younger in their front office and coaching staff, the old regime that has been here since the beginning of time have still been lurking in the shadows.

 

I've said this before, but the only way I would truly feel better about the Bills moving in a better direction is if they fired everyone who has been in that building since before the turn of the century. However, the problem goes beyond One Bills Drive and resonates in Detroit. I can only assume Ralph Wilson's bean counters are sitting around with probably remote cameras zeroed in on the happenings of One Bills Drive and just thinking they know more than the younglings.

 

I've read enough New York Yankees books to know that this smells like the discord between the people in Tampa Bay and the people in the Bronx. It is George's confidants vs. Insert GM's name confidants.

 

I'm sure most of you guys read Tim Graham's piece about all of this and it doesn't look good. I wanted to believe the old regime were going to sit around in the back room and collect coupons and watch Golden Girls, instead, they still have their hand in football matters. Why can't these guys just ****en retire already?

 

Here is really the highlight from Graham's piece that I think just makes me want to pull a gun out and start shooting into the sky:

 

Team sources tell me executives such as Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold still hold too much sway and haven't afforded Whaley or Marrone as much control as either feels he needs to correct a losing culture. These sources tell me Marrone and Whaley would like more control over personnel decisions, especially free agents. These sources tell me Marrone and Whaley would like more control over personnel decisions, especially free agents.

 

Greaaaaat. First off, why the hell is Berchtold even involved in this? He's the damn PR guy. What? In fairness, if the beef with him consists of Marrone/Whaley not liking the way he guides them through the press, then really..I'm not going to have a conniption fit over it. He's the PR Head and I don't give a shit about PR mishaps.

 

Now, if he's someone who is in meetings about personnel decisions, that's a giant red flag for me. As for Littmann/Overdorf, this crap has been going on forever. Hell, one of the many rumors as to why Bill Polian was fired was over contract squabbles with Littmann in regards to players.

 

In the end, none of what we are hearing is breaking news. This shit has been going on forever. There's been a LARGE paper trail of this. We could go back to when Buddy Nix reportedly wanted to hire Marty Schottenheimer, only to to get vetoed by Ralph. We could go to Flutie/Johnson and the playoff game against Tennessee. We could go to FAs leaving. Hell, you think Marrone/Whaley want to play a damn game in Toronto? Hell, no. There are so many more examples.

 

But you know how things can be different for a change? For Whaley/Marrone to keep fighting. To keep leaking stories. To keep pressure on the old guard to get the hell out of the way. This has been something the Bills old-schoolers have never really experienced since Polian left... Guys who will push back and aren't just happy to collect a pay check.

 

They have had so many guys take jobs who had no business being in the NFL anymore (Jauron/Gailey/Nix/Modrak). They probably felt they owed the Bills for having a 10th chance (We go beyond retreads here in Buffalo) to do something with their football careers and would never rock the boat. Hey, when you feel you luck your way into a job, you ain't going to yell at your employers. You are going to be a shill. You are going to do as you are told because the alternative is sitting on your ass and not working. Seriously..are any of our former coaches/GMs working right now?

 

With Marrone/Whaley, those guys can probably get jobs elsewhere just because they don't have the stench of retread on them and are pretty young. So, why be a bunch of "Yes men" like the rest of them? Be bold and take the power back ("Rage Against the Machine" voice). Make fricken noise. Call Tim Graham daily and tell him how things are ****ed up there. Call the Bills out on their bullshit. Embarrass them. Hell, that's why you can be an anonymous source so you can protect yourself.

 

It shouldn't come as a shock with the disconnect, especially when you listen to Doug Marrone talk. He always talks about how he can't even pet the dog after a loss or that he makes the pain of losing stay with him as a reminder about how much he hates it. You you can read it on his face after losses.

 

You think a guy like him is going to stick with status quo and listen to the losers -who haven't wont anything in 14 years- tell him how to run his team? **** no. You think Doug Whaley is going to listen when he's coming from an organization like the Steelers? He shouldn't even have to ask the bean counters a ****en thing except how Byrd wants his signing bonus paid out (20s or 100s).

 

Status quo shouldn't exist for a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in almost 20 years. Sorry to sound callous, but I don't care if Bud Carpenter has the healing powers of Mr. Miyagi and Wolverine, he's a part of a losing culture and if the new regime wants him out, get the hell out of here.

 

As for Russ, well, I've always thought he was a shady character and now we get to see if I am right. He has to decide which side he's on. Is he on the side of the people who skyrocketed him to the top of the organization or is he on the side of the people he hired? He's the CEO and when you come out and pretty much say the buck stops here with him then the responsibility of this mess should lay at his feet.

 

Sadly, just by judging Bradon's ass-kissing history when it comes to Ralph, I think he has to ask him and the bean counters if he can even stand in his own shoes. The decision should be simple for Russ..he needs to be on the winning side and while I'm not sure if Marrone/Whaley are that side, I know the old guard isn't close the guard isn't close to that.

 

Great post. The old line "We've always done it this way" is for losers. The Bills franchise has a 32% winning percentage since its founding. Not very good. Other than the late 80's and early 90's they have sucked. Change the culture now or its they same old thing. Marrone will get fired and they start over again.

[Biscuit]

Russ is apart of the Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold crowd. If he wasn't he wouldn't have been promoted after every failed coaching regime and he would have been canned a long time ago. If Russ picks the other side (Marrone and Whaley) he will be gone like Donahoe as someone who Ralph once trusted but has become insubordinate. I think Russ won't, Littmann would have sniffed out this "flaw" much earlier on and Russ wouldn't be where he is today.

 

It appears that they (Brandon, Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold) are losing control of Marrone and Whaley. I respect Marrone and Whaley more as they see what is the one constant and obviously wrong with the organization and are finally speaking up (much like Polian did which cost him his job).

[Victor7]

Russ is apart of the Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold crowd. If he wasn't he wouldn't have been promoted after every failed coaching regime and he would have been canned a long time ago. If Russ picks the other side (Marrone and Whaley) he will be gone like Donahoe as someone who Ralph once trusted but has become insubordinate. I think Russ won't, Littmann would have sniffed out this "flaw" much earlier on and Russ wouldn't be where he is today.

 

It appears that they (Brandon, Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold) are losing control of Marrone and Whaley. I respect Marrone and Whaley more as they see what is the one constant and obviously wrong with the organization and are finally speaking up (much like Polian did which cost him his job).

 

Amen

 

Some people wanna believe that because Brandon is younger than the 3 stooges he's not part of that clan. But he is. He's Ralph's No. 1 guy. The guy responsible for Toronto, the guy responsible for Dick Jauron, Buddy Nix, the TO marketing ploy and Chan Gailey. Russ Brandon is most definitely part of the problem.

[Flan]

So lets support Ralph not spending 3 million of the teams CAP money this year and giving each of Littmann, Overdorf and Berchtold a retirement gift.

[Buffalo13]

Young people always get frustrated with older people. I doubt, however, that those three guys are what's been holding this team out of the playoffs. We haven't made the playoffs because we've had absolute ass-crap playing the QB position for the last 20 years. Same for the Browns. It's why the Jags suck. The Raiders. The Cardinals sucked since sucking was invented. They signed Kurt Warner. Super Bowl.

 

There are teams in the league who have more cap space and spend less than us and yet make the playoffs. These three guys ain't the main issue.

 

Young people always get frustrated with older people. I doubt, however, that those three guys are what's been holding this team out of the playoffs. We haven't made the playoffs because we've had absolute ass-crap playing the QB position for the last 20 years. Same for the Browns. It's why the Jags suck. The Raiders. The Cardinals sucked since sucking was invented. They signed Kurt Warner. Super Bowl.

 

There are teams in the league who have more cap space and spend less than us and yet make the playoffs. These three guys ain't the main issue.

[SabreBill30]

My question is since I doubt Ralph has any input on the team at this point, who's calling the shots for him? Who will be able to fire the admin at OBD? That's what I want to know.