Former Eagles' exec Banner interested in Bills
For most of his 18 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, Joe Banner was reviled by many fans of the franchise, and vilified for the club's inability to win a Super Bowl during his time as owner Jeff Lurie's first lieutenant.
Banner, 59, stepped down as team president Thursday. He was a savvy guy, a front office executive who introduced some new wrinkles -- like the actuarial-based assessments of a veteran's viable productivity -- to the game. And Banner took much of the heat for coach Andy Reid, perhaps even more of a lightning rod during their time together, for the voracious Philly fans. No doubt, Banner made some mistakes and misjudgments -- perhaps most notoriously the decision to let popular safety Brian Dawkins depart as a free agent in 2009 -- but more often his personnel calls were on the nose.
Particularly early on, the model he established -- identify and draft good players, develop them, funnel them into the lineup when ready, and often sign them to contracts years before their current deals expired -- as a solid one.
Few of his "early" contracts, which locked in players for deals that ended up saving the team money in the long-run, blew up in his face. For all of that, Banner should have been more appreciated than he was. Now that he is gone, perhaps with some time to closely examine his methodology, Banner will get more credit for what he brought to the Eagles' organization and the league.
Banner will work toward assembling a group to perhaps purchase a professional sports franchise, preferably in the NFL.
However, reports that Cleveland and St. Louis might be on Banner's radar are likely erroneous.
The Browns said through a spokesman that the club is not for sale.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke hasn't acknowledged the rumor with any response. Even with the problems at the Edward Jones Dome, league sources indicate he's not going to bail.
Don't discount, though, the possibility of the Buffalo Bills. While the Bills aren't technically for sale, Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson is 93 years old, and none of his heirs really want the team with his eventual passing.
Wilson's will includes a stipulation that the franchise will be handled by a group of estate trustees, much like the Jets were when Leon Hess died in 1999, with the intention of selling the Bills. At some point, they'll be in play.
