Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

And Charlie Casserly was one of the "advisors"... I like beathard fine, would have preferred George Young, but no big deal, Young will get in eventually. But it seems like a bit of a conflict to have Casserly in the room.

JohnTurney wrote:And Charlie Casserly was one of the "advisors"... I like beathard fine, would have preferred George Young, but no big deal, Young will get in eventually. But it seems like a bit of a conflict to have Casserly in the room.

Agreed with all this. Beathard was one of the best Contributor candidates out there, glad he got the nomination, very deserving. He was likely to do so anyway, but having Casserly as the advisor when Beathard got the nod doesn't look exactly kosher.

bachslunch wrote:

JohnTurney wrote:And Charlie Casserly was one of the "advisors"... I like beathard fine, would have preferred George Young, but no big deal, Young will get in eventually. But it seems like a bit of a conflict to have Casserly in the room.

Agreed with all this. Beathard was one of the best Contributor candidates out there, glad he got the nomination, very deserving. He was likely to do so anyway, but having Casserly as the advisor when Beathard got the nod doesn't look exactly kosher.

I agree... the optics are poor but I doubt it mattered much

While Beathard was great at finding hidden treasure (e.g. signing Joe Jacoby as a free agent), he also whiffed on a fair number of draft picks, most notably trading a bunch of picks and players for the rights to move up and draft Ryan Leaf.

Sad to say, no shortage of Denver partisanship has reared its ugly head on this issue. This article is from a local sportscaster with a definite collusion bias:

http://www.9news.com/sports/bowlen-snub ... /467346083

Which is nothing compared to the appallingly partisan and conspiracy-theory laced article found here:

https://www.milehighreport.com/2017/8/2 ... pat-bowlen

The PFHoF is definitely better than a passing interest to me, but jeez, get a life and a little perspective already. Unreal.

From a different thread:

I think Beathard's work with putting together the 1982-83 Redskins is the greatest singular 'GM/personnel' achievement in NFL history.

He inherited a team that traded away most of its draft choices (thanks, George!), hired a rookie head coach, yet found a way to get production from an assortment of 'odds and ends' players. Art Monk and Mark May were the only two Washington 1st round picks on that 1982 roster. They had a span of regular/postseason games where they went 31-3, with two of the losses being by 1 point.

Shipley wrote:While Beathard was great at finding hidden treasure (e.g. signing Joe Jacoby as a free agent), he also whiffed on a fair number of draft picks, most notably trading a bunch of picks and players for the rights to move up and draft Ryan Leaf.

True, Beathard's tenure in San Diego ended up with Kevin Gilbride (!) coaching Ryan Leaf (!!)...but Beathard also is still the only GM to get the Chargers to the Super Bowl. I think it would be interesting to compare draft records of guys like Ron Wolf, Jim Finks, Bobby Beathard, etc. I'm guessing they all have their share of whiffed draft picks.

Good take on the Beathard/Ryan Leaf question from Clark Judge at Talk of Fame:

"The Leaf situation should not affect his candidacy. As one GM told me, “If you don’t swing and miss on a high draft pick, you’re not trying. We’ve all done it.” Plus, there was a real division of opinion on Leaf vs. Manning when they were eligible for the draft."

Link, see final comment as of now:

http://www.talkoffamenetwork.com/beatha ... 018-class/

bachslunch wrote:Sad to say, no shortage of Denver partisanship has reared its ugly head on this issue. This article is from a local sportscaster with a definite collusion bias:

http://www.9news.com/sports/bowlen-snub ... /467346083

Which is nothing compared to the appallingly partisan and conspiracy-theory laced article found here:

https://www.milehighreport.com/2017/8/2 ... pat-bowlen

The PFHoF is definitely better than a passing interest to me, but jeez, get a life and a little perspective already. Unreal.

I thought the first article was absurd--until I read the second, which moved it into the ridiculous category.

The first somehow blames Washington's mediocre ALL-TIME record on Beathard--as if Marshall's bigotry had nothing to do with it. Both also ignore the fact that Beathard also ran things in Miami prior to the Skins and had gotten his start with the Chiefs during the 1960's.

Yet the second's absurd fanboy love letter to "Mr. B" is an absolute joke, somehow making the case that the TV contracts before Bowlen got involved were a pittance. Also, I thought Kraft was responsible for the labor peace and it's not like Bowlen invented the concept of Sunday night football. As far as the success of the Broncos, Bowlen's biggest asset is that he wasn't a meddling owner--I think the players and coaches had a LITTLE bit to do with that run. Finally since when are the "facts" that "the way he ran his franchise like a family and the relentless desire to always be No. 1 'in everything' the basis for any HOF candidacy.

BD Sullivan wrote:

bachslunch wrote:Sad to say, no shortage of Denver partisanship has reared its ugly head on this issue. This article is from a local sportscaster with a definite collusion bias:

http://www.9news.com/sports/bowlen-snub ... /467346083

Which is nothing compared to the appallingly partisan and conspiracy-theory laced article found here:

https://www.milehighreport.com/2017/8/2 ... pat-bowlen

The PFHoF is definitely better than a passing interest to me, but jeez, get a life and a little perspective already. Unreal.

I thought the first article was absurd--until I read the second, which moved it into the ridiculous category.

The first somehow blames Washington's mediocre ALL-TIME record on Beathard--as if Marshall's bigotry had nothing to do with it. Both also ignore the fact that Beathard also ran things in Miami prior to the Skins and had gotten his start with the Chiefs during the 1960's.

Yet the second's absurd fanboy love letter to "Mr. B" is an absolute joke, somehow making the case that the TV contracts before Bowlen got involved were a pittance. Also, I thought Kraft was responsible for the labor peace and it's not like Bowlen invented the concept of Sunday night football. As far as the success of the Broncos, Bowlen's biggest asset is that he wasn't a meddling owner--I think the players and coaches had a LITTLE bit to do with that run. Finally since when are the "facts" that "the way he ran his franchise like a family and the relentless desire to always be No. 1 'in everything' the basis for any HOF candidacy.

All good points. Also what makes Pat Bowlen a better candidate than the late Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke?

Regarding that talkoffame article...

...becomes the sixth nominee since the category was established in 2014 and the third former general manager.

Ron Wolf and Bill Polian, members of the inaugural contributor class in 2015, are the two other GMs.

Not to be nitpicky but are they forgetting about Jim Finks?