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Now that the dust has settled for the most part and the front office and coaching staff are probably filled (save for possibly a couple of more hires) here are my initial thoughts on the new guys/shake-ups...
-CEO-Russ Brandon-RB deserved the promotion based on his marketing skills alone, and did a serviceable job with his 'interim' position running both sides of the show. Now that he doesn't have to juggle the actual football aspects also and can concentrate on the business side only I expect to see more advances on the financial end of the organization (naming rights?).
-GM-Buddy Nix-Finally. Somebody who actually knows how to evaluate talent. If he can recreate the same kind of success here that he was a part of in San Diego he'll end up being a hero. I don't care if he was here for last season, this promotion rates as 'change'.
-Assistant GM-Doug Whaley-Excellent hire. Another top personnel guy, and he truly brings a fresh and 'outside' perspective to the team. Well thought of and respected around the league. With Nix at the college level and Whaley most likely overseeing the pro's we can't help but snag better talent than we've gotten in the past, even if those two are sleeping on the job. Bonus that we snagged him to groom to take over for Nix eventually.
-Head Coach-Chan Gailey-I'm willing to give Chan a shot, but am not sold with the hire completely. Has been moderately successful in the past as a HC, appears to be able to get a lot from his players, but already some of his hires seem to be questionable at this early point in time. Not thrilled at all with him basically doubling as OC.
-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs-Curtis Modkins-Meh. I was really hoping the coordinators would be proven commodities at the NFL level, not a glorified position coach with a fancier title in name only. I'm sure he'll do fine with the RB's but his ability to gameplan and implement strategy is anybodies guess right now, and who knows how much input he'll actually have?
-Defensive Coordinator-George Edwards-See above. An NFL vet would've been my preference. Decent rep for college ball, but this isn't Appalachian State. I guess Florida wanting him also is a plus, but his experience in Washington is a big minus.
-Special Teams Coordinator-Bruce Dehaven-We could've done a lot worse with a newbie, and he was good to excellent with his first stint in Buffalo. "Stay in your lanes, guys" should be the last thing his players hear before taking the field.
-Offensive Line-Joe D'Alessandris-Uggh. Yes, he may have some minor success at GTech but can anyone name an offensive linemen currently in the NFL from his stay there? Hell, for that matter, can anybody name a KC Chief offensive lineman from his tenure there? Maybe he's a better 'teacher' than I give him credit for but this unit is too important to not have somebody with big-boy wings manning the joystick.
-Tight Ends-Bob Bicknell-Another KC Castoff. Hopefully he can't screw up too much just working with the TE's
-Quarterbacks-George Cortez-Nice hire. Developed Boller and Rodgers at Cal, experience and success as an OC in the CFL. Yes, he has a lack of NFL experience like some others that I've graded differently, but this guy has some solid feathers in his cap. IMO may eventually bump Modkins from the OC position when he realizes we don't have to punt on third and 7.
-Wide Receivers-Stan Hixon-I actually like this hire, but it has to do with his 30 years of experience more than anything specific. At least he has NFL experience, and didn't come from KC. We'll know pretty early just how good of a coach he is or can be, based on Hardy and Johnson's development, especially if Reed and TO bolt to greener pastures.
-Offensive Quality Control-still unnamed-I nominate hydrosmak.
-Defensive Assistant (D-line?)-Bob Sanders-Excellent retention. Has done a pretty good job with the Bill's d-line (considering what he's had to work with). Switch to 3-4 will be interesting.
-Defensive Assistant (OLBers?)-Griff Smith-Not impressed. Why the hell did we hire a d-line coach to teach LBers? Zero pro experience. Again...can anybody name a d-lineman Smith 'taught' that is in the NFL?
-Defensive Assistant (ILBers?)-are we getting one?
-Secondary-George Catavolos-The play of the Bill's secondary last season was pretty solid, but who really had to throw against them? We have some solid players in the secondary, but shouldn't Whitner, Corner, Youboty be better? How much of the Bills success is due to teaching, and how much comes from sheer talent of the players that have had some success?
-Defensive Quality Control-Adrian White-Hey...somebody needs to fetch coffee and donuts for hydro while he's breaking down film, might as well be White.
-CEO-Russ Brandon-RB deserved the promotion based on his marketing skills alone, and did a serviceable job with his 'interim' position running both sides of the show. Now that he doesn't have to juggle the actual football aspects also and can concentrate on the business side only I expect to see more advances on the financial end of the organization (naming rights?). -GM-Buddy Nix-Finally. Somebody who actually knows how to evaluate talent. If he can recreate the same kind of success here that he was a part of in San Diego he'll end up being a hero. I don't care if he was here for last season, this promotion rates as 'change'. -Assistant GM-Doug Whaley-Excellent hire. Another top personnel guy, and he truly brings a fresh and 'outside' perspective to the team. Well thought of and respected around the league. With Nix at the college level and Whaley most likely overseeing the pro's we can't help but snag better talent than we've gotten in the past, even if those two are sleeping on the job. Bonus that we snagged him to groom to take over for Nix eventually. -Head Coach-Chan Gailey-I'm willing to give Chan a shot, but am not sold with the hire completely. Has been moderately successful in the past as a HC, appears to be able to get a lot from his players, but already some of his hires seem to be questionable at this early point in time. Not thrilled at all with him basically doubling as OC. -Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs-Curtis Modkins-Meh. I was really hoping the coordinators would be proven commodities at the NFL level, not a glorified position coach with a fancier title in name only. I'm sure he'll do fine with the RB's but his ability to gameplan and implement strategy is anybodies guess right now, and who knows how much input he'll actually have? -Defensive Coordinator-George Edwards-See above. An NFL vet would've been my preference. Decent rep for college ball, but this isn't Appalachian State. I guess Florida wanting him also is a plus, but his experience in Washington is a big minus. -Special Teams Coordinator-Bruce Dehaven-We could've done a lot worse with a newbie, and he was good to excellent with his first stint in Buffalo. "Stay in your lanes, guys" should be the last thing his players hear before taking the field. -Offensive Line-Joe D'Alessandris-Uggh. Yes, he may have some minor success at GTech but can anyone name an offensive linemen currently in the NFL from his stay there? Hell, for that matter, can anybody name a KC Chief offensive lineman from his tenure there? Maybe he's a better 'teacher' than I give him credit for but this unit is too important to not have somebody with big-boy wings manning the joystick. -Tight Ends-Bob Bicknell-Another KC Castoff. Hopefully he can't screw up too much just working with the TE's -Quarterbacks-George Cortez-Nice hire. Developed Boller and Rodgers at Cal, experience and success as an OC in the CFL. Yes, he has a lack of NFL experience like some others that I've graded differently, but this guy has some solid feathers in his cap. IMO may eventually bump Modkins from the OC position when he realizes we don't have to punt on third and 7. -Wide Receivers-Stan Hixon-I actually like this hire, but it has to do with his 30 years of experience more than anything specific. At least he has NFL experience, and didn't come from KC. We'll know pretty early just how good of a coach he is or can be, based on Hardy and Johnson's development, especially if Reed and TO bolt to greener pastures. -Offensive Quality Control-still unnamed-I nominate hydrosmak. -Defensive Assistant (D-line?)-Bob Sanders-Excellent retention. Has done a pretty good job with the Bill's d-line (considering what he's had to work with). Switch to 3-4 will be interesting. -Defensive Assistant (OLBers?)-Griff Smith-Not impressed. Why the hell did we hire a d-line coach to teach LBers? Zero pro experience. Again...can anybody name a d-lineman Smith 'taught' that is in the NFL? -Defensive Assistant (ILBers?)-are we getting one? -Secondary-George Catavolos-The play of the Bill's secondary last season was pretty solid, but who really had to throw against them? We have some solid players in the secondary, but shouldn't Whitner, Corner, Youboty be better? How much of the Bills success is due to teaching, and how much comes from sheer talent of the players that have had some success? -Defensive Quality Control-Adrian White-Hey...somebody needs to fetch coffee and donuts for hydro while he's breaking down film, might as well be White.
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