Bills Promote Brandon as Levy's Replacement; Restructuring Continues

by Brian Galliford on Jan 12, 2008 3:08 PM EST in News Comment 25 comments

Update [2008-1-12 17:40:38 by Brian Galliford]: With the news that Russ Brandon has been promoted to COO comes further news of new titles for John Guy and Tom Modrak. Guy (formerly Director of Pro Personnel) is now the Vice President of Pro Personnel, while Modrak (formerly Director of College Scouting and Assistant GM) is now the Vice President of College Scouting. Essentially, Buffalo has set up a 1-1-2 front office structure, in descending order, of Wilson, Brandon, and then Guy/Modrak. No word yet on whether or not head coach Dick Jauron will be getting additional powers. End Update

Update [2008-1-12 17:29:34 by Brian Galliford]: Official announcement has come down from One Bills Drive - Russ Brandon gets the promotion under the title of Chief Operating Officer. Check out the article for the full update; the quick summary: Brandon gets promoted, Wilson wanted to promote from within and likes Brandon's leadership skills, and he'll have further announcements in regards to the restructuring of the front office. New titles make everyone happy! End Update

Figures. Literally moments after I chalk the weekend up to news outside of the Bills' organization, ESPN.com is now reporting that the Bills are set to re-structure their front office early this coming week. The one man set to get more power in said restructuring? VP of Business Operations Russ Brandon:

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson will stay in-house to fill its top front-office vacancy, ESPN.com has learned through multiple league and team sources, and Bills executive vice president of business operations Russ Brandon has emerged as the frontrunner...

If Brandon does land the job, as anticipated, it will probably result in a reconfiguration of the Bills' front-office structure. Because his background is more in the business and marketing side of the organization, and he does not have direct experience in personnel matters, it is unlikely Brandon will receive the title of general manager.

He would report directly to Wilson, however, and would be ranked below only the Buffalo owner in the front-office structure.

Under a revamped chain of command, and without a traditional general manager in place, assistant general manager Tom Modrak and director of pro personnel John Guy probably will oversee personnel and scouting matters. It's also possible that coach Dick Jauron, with such a revamping, will have more input into personnel matters.

This is hardly surprising, folks. The massive amounts of inactivity over the past week - i.e., the Bills avoiding interviews from outside of the organization - pretty much alluded to an in-house restructure all along. What may be surprising is that Brandon gets the nod over John Guy, whose coaching, playing and talent evaluating experience made him the logical in-house candidate. The reasoning behind Brandon, ESPN reports, may be this:

With Wilson having petitioned the NFL to allow him to play one home game annually in nearby Toronto, Brandon's marketing strengths may be increasingly critical to the future of the franchise.

If it happens - and let's face it, there's a very strong likelihood it happens - I'm all for it. I'm all for the front office playing to its strengths, and maintaining continuity in the scouting departments and personnel evaluation processes. My only concern is that additional powers granted to Jauron effect his real job, much like GM duties did with Mike Holmgren when he first coached in Seattle. These are, however, the cards we've been dealt. Continuity is great in the front office; we'll soon learn if Dick Jauron feels similarly about his coaching staff.

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I knew Wilson would avoid

a true General manager. After getting burned by Donahoe, he didn't want to walk down that street again. Spreading out the decisions makes it easier for people to focus on one major thing instead of one person trying to do it all.

Ralph is trying to think outside the box to revive this sucker. Might as well.

by RabidBuffalo on Jan 12, 2008 3:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Cheap?

I don't think I have a problem with this maneuvering. It does seem to be the cheap way out (I bet none of those guys got raises), but it also is in the best interest of continuity.

I'll be convinced that it's not the cheap way out, if Guy and Modrak are allowed to hire a strong person(s) to work under them. I'll also believe it's not cheap if Jauron is allowed to hire a decent offensive coordinator, and/or an assistant head coach.

by krytime on Jan 12, 2008 7:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not cheap

You know, Ralph goes around with this stigma that he's cheap, but I just don't see it. Why else would we shell out millions upon millions of dollars to the likes of Dockery, Schobel and Kelsay? You can't be cheap in the NFL. I don't see this as a way for Wilson to cut costs, I see it as him making the only move he was comfortable making - after the Donahoe Debacle, he wasn't going outside the organization again. You're right - as far as the front office goes, continuity is a good thing in this situation; the same doesn't hold true for our offensive coaching staff.

Jauron will be solely responsible for hiring an offensive coordinator; if he hires a guy we're unfamiliar with, that's what's done, and it's nothing to do with Ralph. We've also already got an assistant head coach - Bobby April holds that title.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 12, 2008 7:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think Ralph is cheap

With the fat check he gets from the NFL for revenue sharing, maybe he could at least approach the salary cap instead of spending the money he is required to and holding the rest. He sure doesn't spend money for quality coaches or upgrades in the front office....

by Kurupt on Jan 12, 2008 8:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Clearly

Ralph feels that he just did upgrade his front office. We'll probably never know if the three guys who got promoted got raises, but it doesn't matter - whether we agree with it or not, he did what he thought was best for the franchise.

I'm sure we'll never agree on whether Jauron is a quality coach, but I don't think his salary is near the league average. He's underpaid. That, in itself, is good reasoning for Dick to bring in a good O-Coordinator, right?

(Dude, K, it seems like we rarely agree on stuff. Can we consider ourselves the Internet case study of civility and respect for people whose opinions are constantly at loggerheads?) :)

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 12, 2008 8:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I just hope nobody analyzes our heads...

cuz we'd be in trouble. Imagine what they'd say for why we follow the Bills so intensely.

You are the ultimately optimist, I am more pessimistic I guess.

Maybe Ralphie upgraded, but from the surface it looks like he did it to save some money/time/energy. Plus, I doubt he'd ever bring in a high paid coach/coordinator to turn things around.

I'm not a fan of these promotions. I feel we needed an outside person to fuel personnel improvement. Instead, I get the feeling we'll see the same philosophies where we continue to stay mediocre.

by Kurupt on Jan 12, 2008 9:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It doesn't matter?

Brian, I really enjoy your blog and enjoy your work. For a lifelong Bills fan living in Eagles country, it truly is a must stop every day on the internet (especially at work). However, I'm sort of perplexed by your reasoning that evaluating this move "doesn't matter...he (Ralph) did what he thought was best for the franchise." You often use "It doesn't matter, Jauron likes him" or some variation of that as a rebuttal for criticizing Jauron's decisions as well. I guess I understand your point in the context of it not mattering what we fans think about these decisions because we're outsiders and will never have the power to make them, but honestly, what's the point of discussing our team's moves all year long if we're going under the literal meaning of "it doesn't matter". I think fans should critique our team's moves because we invest so much time, energy, and money into them and in this case, the re-structuring of the franchise certainly matters quite a bit. I think it's insane that a marketing guru is now the top person running our beloved team and if giving a career loser like Jauron more power is the counter, than this team will never recover from the horrible down cycle that has been this decade (I agree that Jauron's a swell guy and all, but 7+ seasons as a head coach is certainly enough of sample to trust the bottom line statistics). This move matters and criticism is warrented. I honestly believe that Wilson has lost it and he's become so afraid of how poorly Donahoe faired in Buffalo that he's running this team scared, much like our head coach calls a game. Again, I hope I'm wrong because the fortunes of the Bills are a huge part of my leisure life, but I see mistake after mistake being made and so many Bills fans like you seem so accustomed to losing that they just accept it as part of life and chalk up all the poor decisions that lead to our constant failing as "it doesn't matter; they're doing what they feel is best for the franchise." Maybe the naysayers are right; Wilson's doing what's best for Wilson. This move was either scared or cheap (much like promoting Schonert would be) and there's no other way to analyze it intelligently.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 12, 2008 10:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm sorry, I disagree

I don't think it was the cheap move because I don't think Mr. Wilson wants to see the team go in another direction. A GM from outside may want to make major changes and I don't think we need to make them. We are headed in the right direction and when you dig deep into the franchise you see that the guys that have gotten the team to this point are still in charge. Levy didn't make any decisions without Guy, Modrak, or Jauron and that will continue.

We could debate if the direction is correct all day, I personally believe it is. We have some very good young players and we need just a little bit more to be a very good team.

Guy and Modrak will continue to build the team while Brandon will try and grow the franchise outside of Buffalo. Whether or not he will have the purse strings, who knows. I would guess that any decisions will be a group effort. I guess we could argue the merits of one person making all of those decisions, but I still feel Ralph is having TD hangover and just did not want to go that direction again.

by RabidBuffalo on Jan 12, 2008 10:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

RE:

Appreciate the candid response, and really appreciate the fact that you enjoy the site. (Wait til 2-3 months from now! I'll keep teasing you guys about the site upgrades like this so much that you'll be as juiced about the upgrades as I am.)

Totally agree with your sentiment that us fans have every right to analyze/rant, and by my saying "it doesn't matter", I'm not saying your opinion doesn't matter. In this instance, my only point in saying "he did what's best for the team" was that maybe what Ralph sees as the best move was, in this case, synonymous with saving money. A win-win, if you will.

Don't mistake Brandon's new role for something it's not. He's not calling shots football-wise; he's there because, as Wilson said, he's a leader. He'll hold Guy, Modrak and Jauron accountable - that's about it. In reality, very little has changed with this promotion.

You and I disagree here - I fully support Jauron, I support promotion from within (as far as the front office goes - I'd like to see some outside influence on this offense, however), and I see this as progress for the franchise. If I'm wrong about this, I'll be just as pissed as you'll be if you're right. That's why we're Bills fans, bro. I'm not used to losing - I don't think anyone can ever be used to losing - I just am a bit more optimistic that we're on the right track, that's all. :)

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 12, 2008 10:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

couldn't agree more Nick

This team is never going to truely be good again with an owner that doesn't make winning his top priority.

The Bills have become content with mediocrity and it's painful to watch this happen to a team I greatly loved.

Marv may not have had a lot of power as GM, what what he did have was a plan and a direction for this team. Now a marketing director is going to be at the top of the pecking order with Mordrak running the drafts and Guy heading up the pro-player scouting.

Just one problem? Who calls the shots now? Who makes the decision on whether to sign free agent X, or to draft rookie Y. Who decides whether the team should target a TE in FA or the draft? What if Modrak wants to draft a TE and Guy wants to get one in free agency? does that mean Brandon - the guy who has no football player evaluation experience gets to make the decision. Or worst yet - wilson decides?

This is a disaster waiting to happen.

John I.

by jri111 on Jan 13, 2008 3:04 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Decision Making

The decision-making process is, now, what it was during Levy's tenure - consensus-based. Everyone makes the decision, just as everyone made the decisions last year.

Seriously, there isn't a whole lot to be worked up over with this hiring. Nothing has changed, other than a bit more power for Brandon.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 13, 2008 9:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Im actually a little suprised, however,

as long as they are allowed to run this team and not Mr. Wilson we should be okay. It doesn't take a proven GM to run a football team. Sure, they are great, but these three could prove to be very effective. Modrak has obviously learned through his mistakes and Guy will continue to do what he does best. I really don't know much about Brandon but seeing how Ralph is gonna kick the bucket soon, it was a smart move on his part. A smart move for the team. Jauron should have the authority to chose whoever he wants for the O.C. He should be able to put his two cents into decisions based on players, but he shouldn't have full control and should never BILLieve he does. I like Dick(the coach LOL) and think he is a great fit in Buffalo.

As long as Wilson doesn't get to decide the majority of moves and development I think we will be A O.K.

Do you BILLieve?

by NYTXFAN on Jan 12, 2008 9:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

agree with Krupt and Nick...

This smells exactly like going the "cheap" route or the "safe" route. Brian- I understand what you're saying about how this team is "close" and we don't want to screw that up - but in reality Wilson could have hired any GM he wanted to... that means he could have hired an outside GM who was okay with maintaining the "continuity." To me, this is all about money.

I see that same thing happening with the OC position. There are true blue chip coordinators still out there (Cameron) and I guarantee Wilson/Jauron won't even give them a sniff. This team, and i'm afriad to say, the fan base, has become so content with mediorcity.

This team has $30 million dollars in cap space. 49 players under contract. No significant free agents leaving. 10 draft pick (4 in the first 75 and the 11th overall). Ralph has everything he needs to build a Super Bowl contender THIS YEAR!

What does ralph do? Promotes his VP of marketing to top dog. Not what I call an aggressive move to get better.

I'm usually an optimist with the Bills, but it's becoming clear to me that Ralph has no interest in doing anything it takes to win. Hate the George Steinbrenners and Dan Snyders of the world (I do - and I am a HUGE Yankee fan) but AT LEAST they care about winning more then anything else.

I cannot say the same thing about Ralph Wilson.

John I.

by jri111 on Jan 13, 2008 2:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

decision

no problem with the decision. all the FO people have worked together for years and know each other well. brandon has been with the bills for a long time and i have no problem with a business-oriented person running the organization (not to mention he played college football for all the people looking for a "football guy"; what does that even mean?).

it works in baseball and will become more prevalent in the nfl. i trust guy and modrak's personnel decisions for the most part, and if the bills are going to stay viable in buffalo the organization needs to be run like a business (although all that really matters is where the highest bidder wants to take the team/if the nfl will do anything to keep a team in a fledgling market).

from everything i have heard about ralph he wants to win the right way ie. run a good business and win. this is his toy and he will do what he wants, but i really don't think this is a financially motivated decision. i do have an issue with the salary cap situation, but we got uncomfortably close to the cap during the donohoe years and obviously had to purge the roster, cant really blame ralph for not wanting to do that again.

he may be cheap when hiring coaches, but i think it is more a matter of not wanting to give too much power to high-priced coaches, especially ones he doesn't know well.

i would conclude that this isnt a bad thing at all. all the great signings and picks we have seen in the last few years have been made by these people. you are out of your mind if you think marv was the driving force behind the last few years, more of a figurehead with a direction than anything else.

by jmorris0823 on Jan 13, 2008 5:23 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

This is

100% correct. I'll understand if Bills fans freak out when Jauron promotes Schonert to offensive coordinator (that would be an unwise decision), but this move isn't a bad one. It wasn't driven on money - it was driven on the desire to keep intact a franchise that has made strides over the past two seasons. Any outside GM, whether they'd given Ralph their word that they'd go by the status quo or not, would have wanted to blow it up. This was absolutely the right move; let's see if Jauron has the stones to make the right move as well (Greg Olson for OC!)

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 13, 2008 9:11 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

RE: Offensive Coordinator

Brian,

This is a little off-topic, but since you mentioned the offensive coordinator, I will chime in! I want the Bills to have an aggressive, diverse offense that features physical, power running and explosive, vertical passing. The team needs to go out and acquire the players to execute this scheme. Some of the pieces are already in place. With the right players, I believe this system will not only score touchdowns, but will also give the offense a versatile identity (the ability to have success playing any style, versus any opponent, or in any game situation). I don't understand why anyone's offensive objective would be any less.

I will be happy with anyone that matches the above description, to be the new offensive coordinator. Namely, Mike Tice or Cam Cameron (I believe both are available for interviews). Does Greg Olson fit the bill? As you alluded to, does Dick Jauron have the guts?

by Fort Worth on Jan 13, 2008 12:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

RE: Tice

I do like the name Tice - in fact, I think the Jags' offense is exactly what we need to do with our own versions of Garrard, Taylor and Jones-Drew (Edwards, Lynch and Jackson) - but Tice is a candidate in Miami. Plus, I don't know if he'd be a guy on Jauron's list.

I think, at this point, it's either going to be Schonert or Olson. I really, really, really hope that Olson wins the battle royale between those two.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 13, 2008 12:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Why limit the search?

I can't see why Jauron would limit the search to Schonert or Olsen. I understand that Jauron likes to surround himself with people he's already worked with at one time, but I'd like to see them interview 5 or 6 candidates to get the best guy available. Jauron needs to branch outside of his roped-off Jauron-world and find the most talented person out there. It doesn't have to be a "name" hire either. While I like the offenses that Tice and Cameron represent, we can look at what Cleveland did last season in hiring Rob Chudzinski. Like Jauron, crennel was entering his 3rd season as head coach and had had two seasons of losing football highlighted by an unimaginative, ineffective offense. He hired San Diego's TE's coach, Chudzinski, as his offensive coordinator and Cleveland's offense was a diverse, effective unit last season and Chuszinski is already getting a look as a head coach with Baltimore. Jauron needs to branch out of his comfortable little 7-9 box he's created and find the most talented candidate out there for this team to succeed next season.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 13, 2008 2:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nick

Workin' on a post about this subject as we speak. :)

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 13, 2008 2:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I am completely in your corner on this one

Mr. Wilson just was not going to go outside of the organinazation. He feels (and rightly so) that we have made great strides. Now if we had a bad year with J.P. and Willis was still here and we had spent a lot to keep our over rated free agents last year, then yes, I believe Ralph would have brought in outside help to blow it up. But at this point THAT would be a disaster. The track we are on right now leads to the playoffs not another rebuild project.

by RabidBuffalo on Jan 13, 2008 12:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Brownie knows best

Chris Brown may be even more of a homer/optimist than I am (or at least he's paid to be), but he's hit the nail on the head regarding these moves:

Promoting from within is kind of what we all expected after there were no interviews with outside candidates at all. Truthfully it's the best way to go. The team is not that far off from returning to the playoffs and the men currently in the front office have really handled most of what has gone on the past two years. Marv Levy was GM, but was operating as more of a facilitator where he spent his time building consensus within the hierarchy of the organization rather than dealing with the nuts and bolts of a traditional GM.

Guy and Modrak have handled all the personnel evaluations in addition to the coaching staff the past two seasons. That's not to say that Levy didn't do his own evaluations and provide his own input. He absolutely did. But Guy and Modrak didn't just watch film, they also did a lot of the grunt work with their respective staffs to build this roster into what it is today.

Guy and his assistants pulled people like Michael Gaines and Bryan Scott off the street in the middle of the season when the talent cupboard is usually bare. Modrak has put together a pair of solid draft classes that hasn't even come close to maximizing their respective potential yet, and they've still been impressive in their contributions to date.

Jim Overdorf manages the cap and gets players signed and on the field. The only change is that Russ Brandon will factor in more on the football side of the ledger now.

Yes, the offense needs to be tweaked, and more skill position talent is needed on offense to make it all work effectively, but a new GM with new ideas and new plans likely would have blown up all the work that Marv and this current front office has put together the past two years. It would have only set the team back. Staying the course with a few tweaks to the offensive scheme another infusion of free agent and draft talent and this team should end its playoff drought next fall.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 13, 2008 9:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

continuity

that's the other important thing. it seems that the majority of the people here (and bills fans in general) like the direction of the team and the young talent. most people i know were thrilled with the last draft (i still haven't been convinced poz is going to be anything other than an average LB with a short shelf-life).

well, the same people that were given more responsibilities made these decisions. i don't see how you can reconcile approving of the past couple years with being disappointed that these individuals are going to be able to continue building in buffalo.

a new gm would've had a new vision that may not have meshed well with all of the individuals currently in the FO that have established a solid core of young players. i may be biased b/c i thought promoting from within made sense from the start, but i guess i just don't see why this is considered a bad or cheap decision, especially considering the pieces that have been added in the last few years with the current management/evaluators.

i also think the OC will work itself out. as i have said previously, if there is an in-house candidate (schonert, i presume) that can convince jauron, management, and wilson that he has the abilities and wherewithal to succeed as an NFL OC (feel free to throw down some fairchild jokes, although i think that was mostly jauron, hopefully some of the decision making will be more spread out after his first OC failure), then i would fully accept the hiring. if not, i'm pretty sure we will see a new outside-OC that fits the bill.

by jmorris0823 on Jan 13, 2008 9:50 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chris Brown

I read Chris Brown too because he puts up a lot of material, but his cheerleading becomes difficult to take, especially when we continue to lose and he never finds the reason to be the fault of the organization. I'm hardly surprised he finds this move to be the right move and had Buffalo done the complete opposite, it would have been the right move to Brown as well. He doesn't have any credibility due to his job with the team, but I guess that's the way NFL coverage is headed with their own league-run network doing games and the major networks and the league in bed together over ratings, etc.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 13, 2008 5:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

brown

Brown doesn't have much credibility, but expecting anything else is ridiculous. It is a team-run website, and he is an employee of the team. What do you expect?

As for the NFL Network and other networks, unless you really believe in a league-wide conspiracy theory, I don't understand what you can complain about concerning a business operation increasing revenue by adding profitable elements. I guess you can argue that the league wants major market teams in the playoffs, but the integrity of the product on the field will always be paramount to any other league objective.

by jmorris0823 on Jan 13, 2008 10:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

business

i forgot to mention earlier, i also like the general business direction of the bills in recent years. i'm not in buffalo anymore, but i made it back to a couple games over the past two years, and the new jumbotron and electronic banners around the stadium add a lot. the expansion to a regional mindset, including playing a game in toronto, is also going to add to the fan base for the future.

brandon has been with the bills through the jersey change, the return of the vintage uniforms, the added luxury boxes and other stadium improvements, the organizational regionalization, numerous charitable programs that have emerged, and countless other improvements. while i may not love the current uniforms, a lot of these changes have been vast improvements and i think the business operations department deserves some credit. the bills may still lack the earning power of larger market teams with new stadiums filled with undivided revenues from luxury boxes and huge corporate sponsors, but the organization has seemingly been doing pretty well (if ralph's endorsement of brandon is any indication).

successful people generally adapt well to new challenges and succeed in those endeavors. considering brandon is 40 and has excelled in his role in business operations, i would say he has a solid chance to transfer that success (regardless of his level of involvement) to his football operations duties.

by jmorris0823 on Jan 13, 2008 10:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs