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Mike Lombardi has a great op ed out today that both explains the context for the Whaley firing and provides some optimism regarding our organizational direction. Here's an excerpt, but you probably want to read the full piece.
. . . In football, a successful partnership between the head coach and GM starts with a philosophical connection. I was a more effective personnel man working for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick; we share the same vision for what it takes to win in the NFL. When I wasn’t with Bill, I was horrible working with … I’ll leave out the name, as it pains me to even remember. The cohesiveness between coach and GM is vital to an organization. Pete Carroll found it with John Schneider in Seattle, Ted Thompson found it with Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, and the Steelers have always had it with whoever is their GM — in this case, Kevin Colbert — and their head coach, Mike Tomlin.
The finest organizations in the NFL — Pittsburgh, Green Bay, New England, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, and the New York Giants; or as I call them, “the Magnificent Eight” — are always aligned. Internal fighting does not exist between management and coaching staffs. Therefore, when complicated issues arise, and they always do on a football team, the team has a way to correct them, not blame another department. When the “blame game” starts, it’s over — coaches blame scouts, scouts blame coaches, owners blame everyone. And sooner or later, there are no survivors.
Buffalo hasn’t had the alignment needed to compete at the highest level for 15 miserable years, in part because former owner Ralph Wilson loved the traditional approach: coaches coach, scouts scout. The front office drafted the players and controlled the roster, and the coaches coached the team. It’s a baseball-ish management structure. And it might work in baseball. But not in football, as Bills fans have painfully come to realize. The Pegulas have, too.
All that changed with the hiring of McDermott, who was brought up in the Andy Reid school of assistants. He understands the importance of having one vision and the need to have an entire organization operating under one set of rules. Just read what he said after the draft: “We’re going with that one-voice approach, and streamlined and aligned on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it.”
Good for the Bills. They may finally have a chance to catch the Pats. Not because Whaley was bad at his job, but rather because he was picking players, not building a team. Being a GM in the NFL is not like being a fantasy football owner. There has to be an understanding of the essentials needed for a team to succeed. And when the head coach and GM don’t agree on those essentials, there is chaos, followed by losing.
. . . In football, a successful partnership between the head coach and GM starts with a philosophical connection. I was a more effective personnel man working for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick; we share the same vision for what it takes to win in the NFL. When I wasn’t with Bill, I was horrible working with … I’ll leave out the name, as it pains me to even remember. The cohesiveness between coach and GM is vital to an organization. Pete Carroll found it with John Schneider in Seattle, Ted Thompson found it with Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, and the Steelers have always had it with whoever is their GM — in this case, Kevin Colbert — and their head coach, Mike Tomlin.
The finest organizations in the NFL — Pittsburgh, Green Bay, New England, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, and the New York Giants; or as I call them, “the Magnificent Eight” — are always aligned. Internal fighting does not exist between management and coaching staffs. Therefore, when complicated issues arise, and they always do on a football team, the team has a way to correct them, not blame another department. When the “blame game” starts, it’s over — coaches blame scouts, scouts blame coaches, owners blame everyone. And sooner or later, there are no survivors.
Buffalo hasn’t had the alignment needed to compete at the highest level for 15 miserable years, in part because former owner Ralph Wilson loved the traditional approach: coaches coach, scouts scout. The front office drafted the players and controlled the roster, and the coaches coached the team. It’s a baseball-ish management structure. And it might work in baseball. But not in football, as Bills fans have painfully come to realize. The Pegulas have, too.
All that changed with the hiring of McDermott, who was brought up in the Andy Reid school of assistants. He understands the importance of having one vision and the need to have an entire organization operating under one set of rules. Just read what he said after the draft: “We’re going with that one-voice approach, and streamlined and aligned on what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it.”
Good for the Bills. They may finally have a chance to catch the Pats. Not because Whaley was bad at his job, but rather because he was picking players, not building a team. Being a GM in the NFL is not like being a fantasy football owner. There has to be an understanding of the essentials needed for a team to succeed. And when the head coach and GM don’t agree on those essentials, there is chaos, followed by losing.
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