December 19, 2000: John Butler Ousted As Bills General Manager

by MattRichWarren on Dec 19, 2010 9:00 AM EST in Buffalo Bills History

If they hadn't already been set ablaze, the glory years of the Buffalo Bills officially ended on this date in 2000. Long-time personnel man John Butler was relieved of his duties as General Manager on this date ten years ago. The Bills hired Tom Donahoe as GM a few weeks later.

Butler joined the Bills in 1987 as the team was turning the corner. He was initially hired as personnel director after spending a couple of seasons with the San Diego Chargers as a scout. He assumed the position of general manager when Bill Polian was fired in 1993.

Butler was fond of small-school players while in Buffalo's front office. Chadron State's Don Beebe, North Dakota's Phil Hansen, and Columbia's Marcellus Wiley were three high picks during Butler's tenure. Other top selections Butler made as GM were WR Eric Moulds, OG Ruben Brown, DB Antoine Winfield, LB Sam Cowart, WR Peerless Price and TE Jay Riemersma.

According to the Buffalo News, with Butler's contract expiring, Ralph Wilson made several contract extension offers but received no response.

"I could never get anything definitive from him as to what his intentions were," the Bills' owner said.

Wanting to move on with his offseason, Wilson cut bait on Butler and went looking for another general manager.

Following his stint in Buffalo, Butler became the general manager of the San Diego Chargers, building them into a perennial power. He drafted LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees and transformed the organization from a 1-15 squad to 8-8 in two brief years. The foundation he laid sustained the Chargers through several playoff runs.

Butler died following a long struggle with cancer on April 11, 2003. He was 56.

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Only picture I could have put up would be AJ Smith who left Buffalo with Butler and succeeded him as Chargers GM. Figured I wouldn’t.

You can't have CHANGE without CHAN.
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by MattRichWarren on Dec 19, 2010 9:12 AM EST reply actions

Painful, but relevant.

Official ledge-talker-offer of the Buffalo Bills.

by WhyBillsWhy on Dec 19, 2010 10:05 PM EST up reply actions

Nice read.

Sounds eerily similar to Nix.

by MtJulietTNBillsFan on Dec 19, 2010 9:28 AM EST reply actions

Wilson and Butler both pointed fingers at each other in placing blame for the divorce. I’m not certain who’s to blame (although I have my guess based on track record). What is certain is that this is the moment in time where the train came off the tracks for good. It’s sad to think that this happened a decade ago; never in my wildest dreams did I see the last 10 years coming.

"There's only one C.J. Spiller." -Buddy Nix

by Port Royal on Dec 19, 2010 9:56 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

totally agree

What is certain is that this is the moment in time where the train came off the tracks for good

It’s all been downhill since….well said.

What we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.

by fansince60 on Dec 19, 2010 10:00 AM EST up reply actions

FS60

I assume you’re on the way to the game as a show of your unwavering support of Chix as our best hope since Butler. :)

It was Cookie's turn to lead the "easiest exercise" during the Monday practice after a game-- he said-- "we're going to do deep breathing--everybody inhale--dehale "---As told by Jack Kemp at my high school sports banquet circa 1966.

by radan on Dec 19, 2010 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

Rec'd

I remember being very pissed off at Ralph.

"Adversity is an opportunity for heroism." Marv Levy.

by SERGEANT MAJOR THOR on Dec 19, 2010 10:57 AM EST up reply actions

You’re allowed your opinion but Butler had the Bills in salary cap jail by then. The salary cap is when the train came off the tracks in my opinion. With aging stars requiring big time compensation in a capped environment it would have been tough for Butler to keep his job going through a complete overhaul like that.

You can't have CHANGE without CHAN.
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by MattRichWarren on Dec 19, 2010 11:46 AM EST up reply actions

2001

You are correct that 2001 was going to be salary cap jail regardless. We knew that going into 2000. The franchise went into decline permanently because Buffalo let excellent personnel men go with Butler’s ouster and replaced them with a series of incompetent hacks. Early on, the 2010 draft looks very depressing and while no verdict is available yet, it’s not being pessimistic to say that initial returns point to more of the same, if not worse.

"There's only one C.J. Spiller." -Buddy Nix

by Port Royal on Dec 19, 2010 4:53 PM EST up reply actions