A couple of prank callers managed to get Bills GM Buddy Nix and Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik on the phone on Monday and recorded it. Hilarity ensued. Deadspin has the audio.
Buddy Nix, Mark Dominik kvetch about free agency
Deadspin got its hands on the audio of a six-minute phone call between Bills GM Buddy Nix and Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik.
If you’re looking for an inside scoop on free agency, you’ll be disappointed by the recorded conversation between the two general mangers. If you’re looking for some laughs and a reminder that being an NFL general manager isn’t unlike a lot of other office jobs, you can appreciate the six minutes of kvetching.
My favorite takeaways from the call:
1. Buddy Nix does not have a grasp on important 20th Century technology, like the telephone, but he isn’t totally senile. The man knows that draft picks are the way to go in the NFL, so maybe he’s on that whole advanced analytics train.
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a backup quarterback, and his general manager knows that. Nix complains about the QB he signed to a seven-year, $62 million extension in 2011.
Here’s what Nix said:
“We’re still struggling here with our quarterback...We’re not really struggling--he’s going to have to do something, or we’ll have to. We just can’t afford to pay that kind of money for a guy who’s fighting for probably a backup job.”
3. General managers don’t like the three-day negotiating window either. It was a bore for the NFL media. For Nix and Dominik, it breaks down the united front among teams to keep free agent prices low. In their eyes, the players were getting all the leverage offered by the window, especially their own free agents who Dominik complained would not call him back.
Here’s that portion of the call:
Players and agents reportedly did not like the new negotiating window either. According to a weekend report from Jason Cole, many saw it as an opportunity for teams to low-ball players, seeking out cheaper options in free agency and further squeezing the middle tier of veteran players.
NFL general managers, they’re frustrated at work just like the rest of America!
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