Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson announced that he had elevated Russ Brandon to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. The promotion provides Brandon with full authority over the entire organization’s operations.
“Russ Brandon has done a tremendous job in his 16 years with our organization and is very highly respected throughout the National Football League,” said Wilson in a team statement. “He has proven to be extremely successful with each new level of responsibility he has been given and has earned this opportunity. Russ is a proven leader and he will now have full authority over the entire Buffalo Bills operation. I have granted him full autonomy to run the organization as he feels is best.”
Brandon was moved by the opportunity to lead the Bills franchise.
“I want to thank Mr. Wilson for this incredible opportunity,” Brandon said. “I’m humbled and honored in his confidence in me to lead this organization into a new era and to provide a clear direction and winning pathway into the future.
“I met with Mr. Wilson yesterday. We had a wonderful visit. It was a rather emotional visit. He told me he was passing the torch to me to run this franchise in totality. He has granted me full authority to run this franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations.”
With Wilson traveling a lot less in recent years back and forth between his Detroit offices and One Bills Drive the Bills Hall of Fame owner deemed it best to cede the responsibility of day-to-day operations to Brandon.
“I think when he looked at it from a day-to-day operation it’s difficult to manage from afar,” said Brandon. “He was very clear to me yesterday that it is now (my) responsibility moving forward.”
The Bills new team President did emphasize that GM Buddy Nix will remain in his current role and continue to run the football side of the operation.
“I will be real clear about one thing. I will not be drafting people,” said Brandon. “I will not be making the final decision on a free agent. I will empower the general manager Buddy Nix to do that. Do I have final authority and say? Yes, but that’s what Buddy Nix, the general manager does. He identifies personnel and runs that side of the operation.”
Assistant GM Doug Whaley remains in his role as well largely overseeing the college scouting operation while also assisting on the Pro Personnel side.
Brandon is only the third team President in the organization’s history joining Wilson and Tom Donahoe, who ran the organization from 2001-2005.
The team’s new organizational leader laid out three specific promises to Bills fans.
“Number one I can promise you this will be a forward thinking, progressive, attacking organization heading into the future,” Brandon said. “I also will promise that anyone that knows me that I will leave no stone unturned in taking this organization to a world class level.
“Most importantly I will empower people to do their jobs. It is well documented the success this organization has had off the field for the last 15 years. I get a lot of credit for that. Where the credit should go are to the people that run this operation on that side of the house. I will empower those people to do their job and I will empower the football people to do their job.”
Also the Bills have announced a new lease to keep the organisation in Western New York for at least the next seven years.
The Agreement signed by the Governor, the Buffalo Bills, and Erie County includes a commitment from the Bills to stay in Buffalo for at least the next seven years, and $130 million in upgrades to Ralph Wilson Stadium. The agreement also includes the creation of a New Stadium Working Group and Fund to explore the potential for constructing a future new professional sports stadium in Western New York.
“The Buffalo Bills are a central part of the cultural, economic, and of the entire Western part of New York State, and the state has never wavered in our commitment to keeping the Bills a thriving part of the Buffalo community,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “With a fan-base as diverse, passionate, and energetic as any professional sports team in the nation, the Buffalo Bills account for hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact as well as hundreds of jobs in Western New York, and today is a major victory for our entire state. This agreement ensures the Bills stay where they belong right here in New York, while also protecting tax payer dollars and putting in place a longer-term vision for the team’s continued presence in Buffalo. I commend the Bills leadership, our NFL partners, the ownership of the Stadium, and the County officials for their hard work in reaching this major agreement.”
