Open Thread: Potential Bills General Managers

by Brian Galliford on Jan 3, 2008 5:55 PM EST in Buffalo Bills Opinion

You guys want something, I'll do my best to give it to you. The GM search is the hot topic around Buffalo right now, so rather than continue to repeat my opinions on the matter, I thought I'd throw all the names into one list so that we can just flat-out discuss the candidates and add/subtract names of our own. Who knows? Maybe we'll actually stumble across the man who actually takes the position. Wouldn't that be something?

First, here's some information on the names that have been mentioned in connection with the opening (see this post):

John Guy: Director of Pro Personnel, Buffalo Bills
Guy has a leg up on two other current Bills staff that we'll only mention in passing here; those men are Russ Brandon and Jim Overdorf. Brandon is essentially the club's marketing guru, while Overdorf is a salary cap genius, though his genius seems to fall a bit short when it's come to negotiating recent contracts (see C. Kelsay, A. Schobel, etc.). Guy gets the nod over those two because he's got actual football experience; in addition to being in his current position for six seasons, he was a scout for the Browns and coached for 26 seasons, including a stint as the special teams coordinator in Pittsburgh. His football background clearly puts him ahead of Brandon and Overdorf in the "promote from within" category.

Floyd Reese: former GM, Tennessee Titans
Pushing 60, Reese is the elder candidate at this point. The former UCLA star and NFL coach spent 13 seasons (1994-2006) as the GM of the Tennessee Titans - a tenure that saw the hiring of one of the NFL's most successful coaches in Jeff Fisher, a Super Bowl berth, and the development of several of the NFL's biggest names, including Steve McNair, Eddie George and Jevon Kearse. There's a lot of pedigree here; how serious he is about returning as a GM, however, remains to be seen. Bio

Charley Casserly: former GM, Washington/Houston
Most recently the GM of the Houston Texans, Casserly is currently the GM of CBS Sports' Sunday football coverage. He's done well there; it may be prudent for him to stay there. Casserly was responsible for the controversial decision that saw the Texans draft DE Mario Williams over RB Reggie Bush; the lack of success that Casserly had in both Washington and Houston speaks volumes about his eye for talent. He's got the experience, but the success just isn't there. Bio

Bill Kuharich: VP of Pro Personnel, Kansas City Chiefs
Kuharich has a wealth of experience, and according to his bio is one of the most respected talent evaluators in the league. He's got six years of Pro Personnel experience as the Director, and he's got scouting experience as well (both as an actual scout and running scouting departments). He is, for all intents and purposes, the right-hand-man of one of the league's most respected General Managers, Carl Peterson. He's not a "hot name", per se, but he'd be a very solid hire from an organization that Marv Levy (who still has a say in the hiring process) is very familiar with. Bio

Tom Dimitroff: Director of College Scouting, New England Patriots
Originally, I couldn't find much on Dimitroff, other than the obvious facts: he's the man responsible for the plethora of strong drafts that have caused the Patriots to turn into the NFL's juggernaut franchise. Scouts, Inc. profiled Dimitroff a bit more in-depth, however, in this ESPN Insider article:

Obviously, Dimitroff comes from the best organization in the league, and while he often is overshadowed by Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli, he has been instrumental in New England's success. In his 18th season in player personnel and sixth with the Patriots, Dimitroff is intelligent and a tireless worker who could take lessons learned in New England and bring success to another organization. He has a very strong college background and is quickly learning the everyday aspects of running an organization, including salary cap management. He knows what it takes to win.

And now, on to the names that didn't get immediate linkage to the Bills, but have surfaced over the past couple of days:

Greg Gabriel: Director of College Scouting, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Tribune speculated today that Chicago's top draft mind - and a Buffalo native - would get consideration; that's not a stretch, considering that Gabriel was a candidate back when Levy was hired in January of 2006. Gabriel's call to fame was a draft pick that was considered a reach; does anyone consider Devin Hester a reach now? This man is just about as solid an investment as you can find out there. Bio

Chris Polian: VP of Football Operations, Indianapolis Colts
Polian - the son of former Bills GM (and great friend of Levy) Bill Polian - is currently a candidate for the GM vacancy in Atlanta. There is a certain degree of poetry to a Chris Polian hiring in Buffalo; what a great story it would be if the last Super Bowl GM in Buffalo had a son who returned the Bills to similar glory. Scouts, Inc., as part of the same ESPN Insider article linked above, goes further:

Overshadowed by his dad, president Bill Polian, and coach Tony Dungy, Chris Polian is another under-the-radar candidate. In his third season as VP of football operations, Polian has a good eye for talent and does an excellent job of bringing in players who best fit Dungy's system, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. The Colts lose talent every season, and Polian is a major reason why they quickly replenish. He has been around the business his entire life and has worked every job, from scouting to pro personnel coordinator. He has a great understanding of the league and how a front office operates.

There you go. Some great candidates. Feel free to critique, pick a favorite, or add your own candidate.

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Comments

At this point it would be nice to

aquire someone already familiar with the Bills system thats why I like Guy so much. However, if youre the bills can you really pass up a guy like Chris Polian and/or Tom Dimitroff? I think not.

You take a guy from a playoff/super bowl caliber team and make him GM and you get results, point blank, imo. Of course it could backfire but proven GMs dont get proven wrong, imo.

Do you BILLieve?

by NYTXFAN on Jan 3, 2008 6:52 PM EST reply actions

system familiarity

Polian obviously doesn't know the Bills per say, but the Colts run the cover 2 also. Being that the new GM will have to assimilate to the new staff and get to know the Bills personnel, this could be significant. I'm willing to bet he already has a list of college players who fit well in the cover 2.

Asking a new GM to come in blind, get to know the staff and personnel, and scout college, could be a lot to ask. If he knows a little about how the team runs it's a plus.

who would have thought I'd miss Pete Metzelaars?

by sireric on Jan 3, 2008 9:42 PM EST up reply actions

Good Polian point

He is very familiar with scouting for Cover-2 players... good point. He also, like Dimitroff, comes from a program that has been successful for a number of years - plus, he's young enough where he might not be as expensive as a guy like Reese would be. I'm actually pulling for Polian here - though part of me still likes the idea of promoting Guy.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 4, 2008 6:22 AM EST up reply actions

I'll be happy with one of the 3 guys

listed, Polian, Guy, Dimitroff

Do you BILLieve?

by NYTXFAN on Jan 4, 2008 8:52 AM EST up reply actions

Candidates I don't like...

Charley Casserly, just this season, described the day that Ralph Wilson passes as a "wonderful opportunity for the NFL to get a franchise in the Los Angeles market" on the CBS pregame show. His name is mud to me and his resume is blotted with nothing but failure since the early 90's...John Guy's hiring would be make sense only as a way of not disrupting the status quo, but I don't understand exactly what they're worried about disrupting. Let's just imagine John Guy was the pro personnel man for another team that's missed the playoffs every season this decade; would he be a candidate?...Dimitroff is no better than 3rd in command for that team out east, so I don't know if he'd be able to transfer their success to Buffalo (especially without the help of steroids and spy cameras)...As far as Polian goes, I'm not sure I care at all about the Cover-2 in making this decision. The GM hired is going to have to pick players for any defense our staff is running, and there's no way Dick Jauron's secured such a lofty spot with this franchise that the defense he's currently running factors into this decision; it's not like its been overly-successful thus far. If anything, Jauron and his staff have a say in whether or not they think a player fits in their system, but frankly it's probably best to get the best players available and make it the coaches' responsibility to utilze them.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 4, 2008 8:18 AM EST reply actions

Re: Jauron

Dick Jauron already has final say over personnel decisions, a strong endorsement from Levy, and high praise from Wilson. I don't get why fans insist that his job is in danger, or that his presence won't influence who is brought in at GM. Jauron is the direction of this franchise right now, for better or for worse. If a GM is found that meshes with him - regardless of popular opinion - he'll be hired on the spot. Polian may just be that guy, given his experience working with similar schemes in Indy.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 4, 2008 9:04 AM EST up reply actions

If that's the case...

Why not make Dick Jauron the GM? He's done such a fantastic job with this team and it's defense so far, and if he already has final say over all personnel matters (hadn't read that before- scary), then Wilson could save a little cash by just giving Jauron the figurehead title of GM...Brian, I'm not saying that you're incorrect in surmising that the Bills will probably look for a safe pick, in other words someone who "meshes" with Jauron, I'm simply asserting that such a move would be a terrible mistake. The new GM should transcend any current coach or defensive system we have in place. Levy and Jauron have stacked this roster with their players for two seasons and Jauron's going to get a year or two to produce with them. If we're 7-9 following the 2009 season, we're going to need a new coaching strategy. Wilson needs to hire the most talented GM available, regardless of Jauron. If Polian's that guy, great, but any talented GM should have no trouble working with Jauron, who by all accounts, is a swell guy. A background with the Cover 2 should not factor into a decision that should last long after we're running this particular defense.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 4, 2008 9:58 AM EST up reply actions

I understand your point

And it's hard to argue with most of it. I do like Jauron, his defensive scheme, and the fact that's he's willing to make significant change in his offensive philosophies. He's a great leader. I don't think he should be GM, nor do I believe he should be a coach/GM hybrid. He's fine where he is, and deserves to have say in personnel. "Final" say may be taken away, but he absolutely needs to be a big part of the process.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 4, 2008 10:05 AM EST up reply actions

RE: Jauron

"He's done such a fantastic job with this team and it's defense so far, and if he already has final say over all personnel matters"

That's a little over the top, isn't it? Our D is awful, right near the bottom the past 2 seasons and still needs a major talent infusion. I think Jauron and Co. have done a terrible job putting this D together. Signing aging, mediocre pass rushers to big deals without even considering getting a pass rush specialist, putting guys like Keith Ellison and Jason Webster in starting roles, spending a top 10 pick on an undersized Safety and really not finding any playmakers the past 2 seasons isn't exactly a job well done. Throw in having Greer as the 4th CB when the season started, McCargo only on the field roughly half the time and playing Jim Leonhard over Wilson and I think Jauron has done an awful job acquiring talent and putting the right talent on the field. Part of that is the front office, part is Fewell, but I put much of the blame on Jauron as he is the one deciding schemes and players that fit the schemes.

He has done a good job motivating these guys, getting them to play hard and maybe overachieving a bit, but the product we have on the field is mostly due to his poor decisions. Just my 2 cents...

Of course, I just reread your post and am thinking you may or may not be in Jauron's corner. You seem perturbed by Jauron's final say over personnel, which is something I agree with. Why should he have all this say when he hasn't exactly done that great of a job acquiring talent, IMO?? I agree with you that we need to get the best GM candidate possible, even if that's an outside guy. The GM should have authority over the coach or else what's the point of the role? I'm sick of this franchise cutting corners to save a buck while continuing to put a mediocre product on the field. This just smells like a situation that most Bills fans are going to hate once it plays out...

by Kurupt on Jan 4, 2008 1:39 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, it was sarcasm

You and Nick are on the same anti-Jauron bandwagon, K. :)

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 4, 2008 1:42 PM EST up reply actions

Reread

Yeah, your second reading of that post is the correct interpretation of my feelings on Dick Jauron. I hope Jauron proves me wrong this season, but after watching him under the microscope for two full seasons, he has done nothing to discredit the conservative, unimaginative, submissive impression I had of him from afar as he coached Chicago for five seasons. I think the old dog needs to learn some new tricks or 2008 will be marked by more mediocrity. In any case, I agree 100% with your take on the relationship between the coach and the GM.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 4, 2008 1:57 PM EST up reply actions

Good

glad I have some company.

Well, I guess my post helps confirm my reasoning for why Jauron is not the guy I feel is right for the job. And that was just defensively.

His conservative, boring game plans don't work at this level against better teams. Sure, we can beat the sisters of the poor (Jets, Fins, Ravens, Bengals) like that, but against very good teams, we've looked terrible. You have to at least TRY to score to win the NFL, especially with such a poor D.

The fact that we start so poorly and end so poorly is another reason I don't like Jauron.

Unfortunately, we're going to be stuck with him for this year, most likely. And if he gets even more say in personnel, it could be longer. Ugh...

by Kurupt on Jan 4, 2008 2:51 PM EST up reply actions

Pro Football Weekly

This is how they hear it...

by fletcherjd on Jan 4, 2008 7:40 PM EST reply actions

Rick Mueller

I put this in the diary section as well, just in case y'all aren't scrolling down to these parts today, but a new candidate for GM has emerged: the Saints' VP of Player Personnel, Rick Mueller.

One name to keep in mind as a possible candidate for the Buffalo general manager position is Rick Mueller. Currently the New Orleans vice president of player personnel, and a guy who has been instrumental in upgrading the talent level on the Saints' roster the last several years, Mueller previously worked with Bills coach Dick Jauron in Jacksonville, and that might serve him well. There is a feeling in some quarters that, with the retirement of Marv Levy from the general manager's chair this week, Jauron will be granted more control over all football matters, most notably personnel. If that's the case, Jauron likely will want a strong talent evaluator and proven commodity, and Mueller, who has been with the Saints for eight years, more than qualifies on both fronts. Mueller, who basically runs the New Orleans draft room every year, was a candidate for the general manager opening with the Houston Texans in 2006, when the job went to Rick Smith. It might be time some of the franchises currently seeking general managers take a look at his body of work. If the Bills decide to define the GM role as more of a business model, then current Bills vice president of administration Jim Overdorf, who does the bulk of the contract negotiation for the club and oversees the salary cap, could have a shot at the job. It is believed that assistant general manager Tom Modrak is not interesting in moving up the chain of command.

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by Brian Galliford on Jan 5, 2008 11:20 AM EST reply actions