Buffalo Bills: Revamped Front Office Has Much to Prove

The Buffalo Bills are replacing departed general manager Marv Levy with an unexciting, somewhat unproven group of talent evaluators.

In the ultimate anticlimactic move, the Buffalo Bills determined the future of their general manager position over the weekend. To the surprise of no one, that future includes not actually hiring a general manager.

Instead, as most believed would happen after 82-year-old Marv Levy stepped down in December, the Bills will make their key organizational decisions by committee. Their front-office group includes owner Ralph Wilson, chief operating officer Russ Brandon, vice president of college scouting Tom Modrak and VP of pro personnel John Guy.

"It has been my experience over the years that our greatest opportunity for success comes when we promote from within our own organization," said Wilson, 89, who gave promotions to Brandon, Modrak and Guy, each of whom had lesser titles and fewer responsibilities prior to Saturday.

With the Bills having made their choice, one immediate question comes to mind.

Can a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 1999 emerge from the doldrums if it doesn't have a highly accomplished executive calling the shots? While Modrak has contributed to drafting some solid performers with three different franchises, the fact is that Buffalo is just 45-67 since he joined the team along with ex-G.M. Tom Donahoe in 2001. Additionally, Brandon hasn't shown he has a vast array of football knowledge (he's primarily a marketing guru), and Guy isn't someone who has distinguished himself as an above-average talent evaluator.

Of course, the aging Wilson is at the front of the line, and that can't be encouraging for Bills fans. Although Wilson, who founded the team in 1960, seems to be a venerable figure among Buffalo's many loyalists, his nearly 50-year run has proven more disastrous than fruitful. Evidence of that is the Bills' 17 playoff seasons out of 48 and .476 overall winning percentage.

Frankly, you have to wonder if Buffalo, which has just one plus-.500 season this decade, will avoid falling behind the NFL pack even more. Along with their uninspiring group of decision-makers, the Bills have never been known as a free-spending franchise, and they're still saddled with a head coach, Dick Jauron, whose career record is an embarrassing 50-67.

With division rivals New England and Miami employing such Hall of Fame, Super Bowl-winning minds as Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, it's safe to say the Bills have a steep hill to climb (both during the present and future) just to stay competitive within the AFC East.

As for actually seeing their team make the playoffs again, well, that might be something Bills fans will have to wait awhile longer for.

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