Pride
10-13-2003, 09:26 AM
DONAHOE HAVING IT BOTH WAYS
It's a great situation for a G.M.-type, if he can finagle it. Three seasons into his gig with the Bills, Tom Donahoe has pulled it off.
Donahoe gets all the credit when things go well, and none of the blame when the team goes turdy.
“We have to figure out the problems and get it corrected," Donahoe said in the wake of Sunday's 30-3 loss to the Jets, "because right now, the way we’re playing football is embarrassing."
It wasn't embarrassing a few weeks ago, when the Bills were 2-0 and folks from Len Pastabelli to Chris Bore-man were heaping praise on Donahoe for astutely assembling a collection of talent that was seemingly ready to compete for a spot in the Super Bowl.
Now, with the Bills going 1-3 over the last month, the problem isn't that Donahoe's moves weren't as good as everyone thought, but that coach Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride aren't using the talent Donahoe has assembled effectively.
Case in point -- Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle blames only the coaching staff for the 27-point thumping at the hands of the lowly Jets.
Apart from the fact that Donahoe deemed Williams and Gilbride fit to hold down their positions with the team when Donahoe hired them (and, as to Gilbride, extended his contract), personnel departments basking in the glow of a winning record and pushing off the blame of a losing streak to the coaches is a troubling trend in the NFL.
It's human nature, we suppose, for folks to run and hide when the wheels begin to shimmy away from the lugs. And it's easy, we suppose, for the front office types to play Pontius Pilate in such circumstances, since they didn't draw up the game plans or make the play calls.
But it doesn't make it right, in our view, for people who are supposed to be on the same page to play "CYA" at the risk of their colleagues' job security. Sure, in cities like Chicago, it's all part of a calculated ploy by G.M. Jerry Angelo to get coach Dick Jauron poop-canned, since Angelo didn't hire Jauron (and never really wanted him).
In cities like Buffalo, however, where the G.M. brought in coaches who are responsible for securing more "W's" than "L's," the G.M. should catch some of the blame if the coaches aren't getting it done. At a minimum, the G.M. shouldn't try to blame anyone for the team's failures.
Still, it doesn't happen -- and it won't happen in Buffalo. By not extending Williams' contract prior to the season, Donahoe can avoid the specter of firing the guy he hired merely by announcing at the end of the season that Williams' contract won't be renewed.
And then Donahoe the genius can hire the next guy whom Donahoe can depict as an idiot if the team doesn't win.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
It's a great situation for a G.M.-type, if he can finagle it. Three seasons into his gig with the Bills, Tom Donahoe has pulled it off.
Donahoe gets all the credit when things go well, and none of the blame when the team goes turdy.
“We have to figure out the problems and get it corrected," Donahoe said in the wake of Sunday's 30-3 loss to the Jets, "because right now, the way we’re playing football is embarrassing."
It wasn't embarrassing a few weeks ago, when the Bills were 2-0 and folks from Len Pastabelli to Chris Bore-man were heaping praise on Donahoe for astutely assembling a collection of talent that was seemingly ready to compete for a spot in the Super Bowl.
Now, with the Bills going 1-3 over the last month, the problem isn't that Donahoe's moves weren't as good as everyone thought, but that coach Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride aren't using the talent Donahoe has assembled effectively.
Case in point -- Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle blames only the coaching staff for the 27-point thumping at the hands of the lowly Jets.
Apart from the fact that Donahoe deemed Williams and Gilbride fit to hold down their positions with the team when Donahoe hired them (and, as to Gilbride, extended his contract), personnel departments basking in the glow of a winning record and pushing off the blame of a losing streak to the coaches is a troubling trend in the NFL.
It's human nature, we suppose, for folks to run and hide when the wheels begin to shimmy away from the lugs. And it's easy, we suppose, for the front office types to play Pontius Pilate in such circumstances, since they didn't draw up the game plans or make the play calls.
But it doesn't make it right, in our view, for people who are supposed to be on the same page to play "CYA" at the risk of their colleagues' job security. Sure, in cities like Chicago, it's all part of a calculated ploy by G.M. Jerry Angelo to get coach Dick Jauron poop-canned, since Angelo didn't hire Jauron (and never really wanted him).
In cities like Buffalo, however, where the G.M. brought in coaches who are responsible for securing more "W's" than "L's," the G.M. should catch some of the blame if the coaches aren't getting it done. At a minimum, the G.M. shouldn't try to blame anyone for the team's failures.
Still, it doesn't happen -- and it won't happen in Buffalo. By not extending Williams' contract prior to the season, Donahoe can avoid the specter of firing the guy he hired merely by announcing at the end of the season that Williams' contract won't be renewed.
And then Donahoe the genius can hire the next guy whom Donahoe can depict as an idiot if the team doesn't win.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm