Let’s talk about Power and the Buffalo Bills

by Billsology

Given the recent shakeups at One Bills Drive, Buffalo Bills fans have to wonder if it wasn't the chokehold that Tom Donahoe had on the organization that caused this mess in the first place. It will be interesting to see just what Tom Modrak can do without him. Just as I was willing to give Mike Mularkey another year, I would extend the same courtesy to Modrak, to see if Donahoe was the real problem all along.

While we’re on the subject...let's talk about power.

It's vastly overrated.

Most successful teams posess either a strong coach, a strong owner, a strong gm, a strong scouting department, or some combination of the same.

The best teams, the Super Bowl teams, generally have a bit of each, with the lines of communications always open, and all four departments coming to a consensus on draft picks, on free agents, etc...

It's rumored that Mike Mularkey didn't like the structure that would be in place under Levy. Then perhaps it's better he departed, as that type of structure, with open communication between owner-gm-coach-scouting was what lead to the most successful decade in Bills History. Mr. Wilson has hired Marv back in an attempt to capture that lightning in a bottle once again.

Conversely, the team’s recent struggles, are a result of one man’s dictatorial stranglehold over an entire organization. Make no mistake, this was done by design. Mr. Wilson, in his advancing age, was hoping to have one man run the entire show for him, so he could bow out of some of the more tedious day-to-day activities. Hence, he created the position of Team President, and coronated Tom Donahoe in January of 2001. Under Donahoe’s reign, the Bills ignored their lines, squandered high draft choices, and hired two rookie head coaches, both of whom would capitulate to his demands. That’s not how a successful organization runs. My guess is that Mr. Wilson’s regretting that move now.

In his press conference last week, Mr. Wilson promised to be more involved with the team. He needs to be. It’s his team, and simply by virtue of the fact that he splits residency between Michigan and Florida, he needed to appoint someone he could trust to run it. Someone who would always tell him the truth, and would build a consensus for making important decisions.

Enter Marv Levy.

The Hall of fame Coach will have his work cut out for him, no doubt about that. He’s been out of the game for nine years, he’s never been an NFL GM, and he’s never had to deal with a salary cap, but Mr. Wilson is betting that due to his coaching and management style, he can right the ship in the shortest amount of time. Levy is a consensus builder. He’s a team player, and an icon in the Western New York area. If nothing else, he will restore much of the good will that was lost between the team and it’s fans under Tom Donahoe.

His first decision will be the single most important one he makes, and will affect every other decision going forward, and that is whom he hires as Head Coach. Marv, famous for his baseball metaphors, needs to “hit that one out of the park”. Not only is his legacy on the line, so is the team’s. The Bills haven’t made the playoffs in six years. They haven’t won the division in ten. Marv needs to learn from Donahoe’s mistakes. Buffalo has been the training ground for young, inexperienced assistants, and that has to stop. He needs to hire an experienced, seasoned, NFL Head Coach if he wants the team to succeed. Once that is done, the rest of the pieces will fall into place. Will every decision on every player be a good one? Of course not, but the two things will result, with absolute certainty. The lines, both offensive and defensive will not be ignored, and it will be a team decision, as opposed to one man’s choice.

See, Marv Levy understands what Tom Donahoe never did…handing down decisions from on high is not power. Consensus building and compromise is where the real power lay. Getting people to join you in fulfilling the task at hand, is what power is really all about, and that’s what will return the Bills to glory.