Ever since former Philadelphia Eagle Brian Dawkins has been back in town, he hasn’t been shy about speaking out regarding hot topics with his former team.Earlier this week, Dawkins gave his thoughts about why Andy Reid should be on the hot seat this season, and the former Pro Bowler had some tough words regarding Reid’s status. Certainly fair, but a little tough nonetheless. However, BDawk has never been one to mince words and has always spoken from the heart.
Then, after the news about Joe Banner no longer being the Eagles’ team president, Dawkins again wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion.
He spoke with Mike Missanelli on 97.5 The Fanatic and offered his thoughts on whether Banner leaving was in the best interest of the team (quotes provided by Sheil Kapadia over at Moving the Chains)
First, Dawkins answered “Yes” when asked if parting ways with Banner is the best thing for the Eagles as an organization, and then elaborated further.
“I just think that the way things have been done for so long there, and we did have some success, but the way that some of the guys that are in house had to always scrap, fight and do different things in order to just get a deal, it kind of wears on guys,” Dawkins said.
“And that was really the philosophy of this team, the way that they did things. I’m not saying that it’s going to change 100 percent going forward. The thing that I would love to see is guys in house be able to be kept.
That was one of the things that always kind of frustrated me as a player, that guys who are in house and doing everything they can to improve the team are let go pretty easily, and then you go out and pay big bucks for free agents coming in.”
“When you feel like every guy that you see on your team constantly has to go through the same ringer and have the same conversations and have the same type of dealings that you have, it’s a frustrating thing,” Dawkins said.
On how Banner could have done things differently (sounds like he was talking about what it was like at the negotiating table).
“The thing for me is just it was really a lot of conceding,” Dawkins said. “It was always in my opinion the player needed to concede or back down off of his stance on where he wants to be. I don’t know if it was always a 50/50 thing, maybe a 70/30 where the player has to give this much back, or not want this much back, and then the organization says this is not a fair deal. I just know that certain situations and certain things could have been handled differently, and there would have been a completely different feeling about doing business in Philadelphia.”
Dawkins agreed that this may have been a power-play by Reid to gain more control within the organization.
“Sometimes when a coach tries to make decisions on what he wants and he has to go through three different people to get that guy, that’s a tough, tough position to be in,” Dawkins said
“However many of the middle men that you can get out is always a better thing for a coach.”
Dawkins obviously has first-hand experience in dealing with the Eagles under the Joe Banner approach.
After some contentious contract negotiations (during which it appeared that Banner didn’t want to make any of the aforementioned concessions), the most beloved player in team history bolted for Denver to sign a five-year deal that included just $7.2 million in guaranteed money.
So, it comes as no surprise that Dawkins maybe harbors a little resentment for the former bean-counter in Philly. After all, he wanted to stay to play out his career in Philly and the fans definitely wanted him here.
But alas, Banner had set a value for him and wouldn’t budge from that number no matter what.
With that said, when Banner was asked about any regrets he had during his tenure as team president, he took the time to point out the Brian Dawkins situation.
In doing so, he didn’t really admit any fault in the issue, just that he regretted giving off the impression that the team didn’t “appreciate and cherish him” as much as they actually did.
What he should have said was that, in retrospect, he should have conceded a little more to Dawkins just to keep the Philly icon around to finish out his career. At the end of the day, there was minimal difference from what Denver offered him.
It basically came down to Dawkins feeling disrespected, which led him to sign with Denver for more years, and what was ultimately only slightly more money. In other words, the problem could have been easily solved with a little more give-and-take.
Ultimately, Dawkins is one of only two players that the Eagles “allowed to leave” that I wholeheartedly did not agree with (the other was Jeremiah Trotter, the first time). The rest of the veterans that left after long tenures I could rationalize and didn’t mean to Philadelphia what Dawkins meant.
It’s good to have BDawk around again and speaking his mind. He’s a passionate person, and has no problem telling it like it is. It’s always interesting to hear what former players have to say about the team once they’ve retired.
Once can only imagine what will come out of Donovan McNabb’s mouth once he decides to hang it up.
Did Dawkins play on that defense vs NE in superbowl or NFC championship games they lost? Was he on the field vs Arizona when they got lit up in the playoffs? Or was that Banner and everyone elses fault? That was all McNabbs fault I forgot. Dawkins was excluded in having to make a play. Before I get bashed with the googolie eyed Dawkins lovers let me state I wanted Dawk to stay here to. But psssst Dawkins aint the first great player to leave a franchise. He wasnt Albert Pulos or Prince Fielder and in his prime. If Dawkins was that damn mad he should of taken discount “do it for the fans” BDawk. I will never feel bad for a millionaire no matter what the circumstance. So BDawk only has 70 million saved instead of 79 million. Booo hooo. Im sure he will survive. Lets be a little fair here. Didnt Joe Banner start the long term signings of young players here? Wasnt he the guru capologist of the modern era? I look at all these pathetic franchises that never sign anyone. This is the only city in america where certain players, coaches or in this instance front office personnell get criticized on the way they talk in press conferences. As a fan I understand that every FA cant be signed or everyone of your players cant be resigned. Isnt that true for every franchise or just Philly? BDawk you were a great player for my team, but you didnt do it for free, you were paid well and I wish you would of stayed but you didnt. We never won a championship which you as a leader FAILED at also so lets not exclude yourself as part of the problem. To come back now and start criticizing everyone is kinda weak IMO.
dagg, I agree. That SB was just as much as the defenses fault as McNabbs. But where, in any statements, ANYWHERE, did he cry, or blame anybody, for anything? You’re reaching a bit! BTW, he did take a discount, with his prior countract. Make no mistake about it, Banner & his non-football acumen, won’t be missed! Also, why should I, as a fan give a f^#@, about him being a f^#@ing cap genius? How did that apply with our on field team, being a SB contender? IT DIDN’T!!! You seem to have a short, selective memory. Up until last year, they never spent $$$, & went all out to win a SB. They were too busy patting themselves on the back, for winning the cap savings bowl, every year & nickle & diming there players. Remember how ALL IN, they were, to take the next step, the year after they got to the SB!? They did NOTHING! THEY POCKETED ALL THE PLAYOFF $$$, THEN, THEY ADDED MIKE f^#@ing McMahon, & refused to re-negotiate, TO’s contract, thus killing that run of success. He only came back early, ON ONE LEG, almost single handedly, winning us the SB! So before you go ripping, arguably one of the top 5 greastest Birds of all time, & get down on your knees for the shekel hoarder, get your facts & priorities straight.
dag..you are missing the point.
The locker room was continually damaged during banner’s haggling years…The Players did the best with what was given them but that one element from the FO could have been created the negative environment which SB teams avoid. Look how they treated TO in his prime after his presence changed the attitude for the better around here.
The eagles were able to get him based on an agent goof in San Francisco but refused to give him his worth.
Those were key years that could have yielded a Super Bowl….
Things are a little different this year but “Karma” is a mother, so the reality is the real window we had to win it all was shut…and the Giant’s seized the opportunity that was ours.
DCar do you truley believe this franchise has been cheap for the last 15 years? Seriously? Have they signed every pro bowler or everyone we have wanted? No. What team has? Have we lost FA? Sure have. Hasnt every team? Have we signed stiffs that cant play? Of course. Every team gets it wrong at times. If it wasnt for Banner we would look like the Phillies right now. A bunch of old broken down players with large contracts. How does Jeff Lurie get a pass? Hes the f%$ing owner . All he had to say is sign Dawk at any cost. period!
Heres a article I found thats a little more fair.The current group of Eagles has not had a lot to say about the departure of team president Joe Banner.
The reality is that most of them are happy with their contracts, and many of them have probably dealt more with general manager Howie Roseman.
But during the Eagles’ most successful years, plenty of key players sat across the table from Banner, looking to maximize their earnings as professional football players. Yesterday, I wrote about Brian Dawkins, who was critical of Banner and explained why he thinks the Eagles are better off without him.
Former players Jeremiah Trotter and Brian Westbrook, both of whom had contract disputes with the Eagles and Banner, also recently chimed in with their reactions.
Trotter, speaking to Tony Bruno and Harry Mayes of 97.5 The Fanatic, seemed to understand that for the most part, Banner was just doing his job.
“When you look at what he’s done from a business standpoint, he was one of the best at what he did,” Trotter said. “His job was to get the best players at the cheapest price. The Eagles made an art of that. It ruined a lot of relationships, it ruined some trust when it came to the players, but that’s what Mr. Lurie paid him to do.”
The tales of Banner playing the bad cop to Andy Reid’s good cop continually come up with the ex-players. None of them have a bad thing to say about Reid, but their opinions of Banner are completely different.
“It was hard for players to trust the front office, and a lot of times, Andy got caught in the middle of it because Andy was wearing two hats,” Trotter said. “I know it’s tough for Andy sometimes trying to separate being the head coach and the guy that upstairs is working directly with Joe, when it came to getting these guys signed.”
It will be very interesting to see what the reaction is the next time the Eagles have trouble getting a high-profile player signed. But this offseason, to their credit, Reid, Howie Roseman and company have done a good job keeping players like DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy happy.
“Even when you let guys go at the end of their careers, there’s a way of doing that,” Trotter said. “The way Brian Dawkins left, there’s no way that he should have been ran out the door the way he was. Or if you’re going to let him go, just say ‘hey, we’re going to move in a different direction.’ Don’t tell the public that we offered him a good contract, but he didn’t want that.”
Westbrook, meanwhile, also used Dawkins as an example.
“The one thing about Joe Banner is that he’s going to do what’s in the best interest of the team,” he said, during an interview with Tim McManus and Eytan Shander on 97.5. “And for him, it was a straight business. It was by the numbers, and the problem that you have in that as a player is you build relationships, so it’s not necessarily only by the numbers. There’s a value having Brian Dawkins on that team, even though he’s not the guy that he was at 25, and by the numbers at 33, he should be declining in his play. It’s a value of having those types of guys on your team instead of letting him to go to Denver and allowing him to go to two Pro Bowls after that.”
Westbrook also seemed to understand Banner’s role within the organization, but agrees with Trotter that he could have done a better job in his relationships with players.
“His weakness, as we’ve seen, he just wasn’t a personable guy,” Westbrook said. “He wasn’t a guy that was going to be able to talk to different players on the football team, and I think he would admit that. But at the same time, that wasn’t his every day responsibility.”
Westbrook gave an interesting response when asked what the one thing was he wishes Banner would have done differently during his time with the Eagles. He said he wishes the team that made the Super Bowl after the 2004 season could have had stayed together for at least one more year.
“Terrell Owens, he was happy, him and Donovan were in harmony, things were going good,” Westbrook said. “It was my understanding that Terrell just wanted the remainder of his contract guaranteed. If you can somehow keep that team in tact, that offensive staff in tact for another season… you would definitely be the favorites to win the Super Bowl. That offense [would have been] the No. 1 offense in the league for a long time, and we would have been so productive.”
In the end, Westbrook said, the conflict between Banner and some of the team’s high-profile players was difficult to avoid because both sides were just looking to make the most money.
“As a former player, I looked at Joe as the quote-unquote enemy, just because I sat across the table from Joe,” he said. “I think if I was on Jeffrey Lurie’s side, I want a guy like Joe Banner hustling and trying to make sure that he saves every dime, every penny that he can for me as a football team. However, as a player, I’m sitting on the other side, and I want every dime. I’m fighting for every dime that I can have in my pocket.”
Dag…did you hear the quote from Herremans yesterday?
He said the locker room felt in past years that the Eagles were cheap and happy things are changing.
If guys in the locker room says it and the fans have always noticed it…it’s so.
The cats out the bag now so you no longer have to tow the company line…the actions this offseason proves what Herremans said yesterday, along with the sentiments of disgruntled fans were right all along.
The Eagles did some good things in those cap managing days but the flaws in the system was the harsh devalue and insensitivity towards very good players here….That gets you close.
We got close….if we were playing horse shoes. “close” would be good enough.
Hey dag, don’t compare the eagles to the phillies, that old, broken down team won a championship, what the he’ll with this love for banner, a front office man, that’s all, with poor, very poor people skills, are you listening to what the players are saying, the only sympathy I can muster for him is that he did give Reid the players to win a super bowl and banner gets the axe while the real problem is notbonly still at the helm but likely to be resigned
Wonder what Dawkins thinks about the Economy in Greece, Iran’s plan to develop their Nuclear Program and the Kardashian Family…
Good Grief already Dawk… Enjoy your Reitrement or maybe start your own Blog Page…. “Dawk#20.Com”
The Eagles have made not secret of their desire to let guys go as they approach 30 years of age.
They have been running the organization like a college football program. Once you used up your eligiblility move on, regardless of talent.
Most superbowl winners hold on to the vets a little past their prime for leadership and big plays in big games.
It’s a fine line. A line the Colts just had to deal with. Made easier because of injury.
Without Manning’s leadership that team completely collapsed.
Whether you like him or not (I love him) Mike Vick leads by example. Sense I have been watching Vick since he was in HS and college I admit to being biase. Nothing was more infuriating to me was to see the Eagles call a pass play on 3rd and 1, watch the middle of the field open up, and McNabb would not run, but throw a ground ball.
Dawkins may be setting himself up to be a football commentator, giving the media what they want. Quotable soundbites. Only he knows for sure.
Even thought Dawkins was past his prime when he left philly, we (I know I did) underestimated his value to the team, as far as leadership. Quiten Mikell made the pro bowl because Dawkins was back there telling him what to do.
The secondary currently has talented high draft picks, who are without leadership.
As an emotional Eagle’s fan, I might have some joy Banner is gone. As a businessman, I would hire him in a heartbeat. And make him my new best friend.
The NFL is a business. There are only a handful of owners who really want to win a Superbowl. Eddie Debartalo was the best. Money was no object when it came to his star players. I believe Dan Syder and Jerry Jones both passionately will committ to win.
Jeffrey Lurie may have finally made enougth money, that winning a championship has become a bigger priority. Especially since the Phillie’s won and the Sixers are getting better.
Almost Every NFL coach is on the HOT SEAT. An average of 7 get fired every year. That’s been the problem with Andy Reid. Always stockpiling draft picks for the future like he was never leaving. Never a since of urgentcy to win now.
That has changed. They have cleaned house over the past few years. The only one left is the 400 lb gorilla in the room.
Should be an interesting season.
Paulman that is exactly my point. Why is Dawkins running his mouth so much? Like Ive stated before nobody has criticized Dawkins ever on those collapsing defenses he so conveniently leaves out of his conversations when talking about the past. Leadership Leadership? Where was his leadership against NE and Tampa Bay? How about Arizona and Carolina? ALL I ever friggin hear is about McNabb and AR. Well what about you Dawk what did you do to change the game? I love Dawk as much as the next fan but he isnt bigger than the institution. Dont make me pull up ED Reeds and Troy Polamalus resume in big games. You have the greatest image in Philly sports history theres no need to start criticizing others. There are 50 other sports franchises that let all their stars go and are never competitive are you kidding me about Banner?
bsm…Dawk was past his prime…yet was able to muster 2 pro bowls.
I wonder how much Banner thought 2 more pro bowl seasons was worth?
you can’t put a number on heart!
Passion alone can drive one to succeed and every hard hit and interception Dawk added while playing in Denver while our Safety position struggled badly, was a living testimony to “heart”.
Some guys now say…give the young guys a chance with the understanding you just can’t easily replace a future hall of gamer.
But that’s the problem here……
If you know you can’t easily replace a hall of gamer and it’s in your power…..don’t replace him until you see a talent on the team that’s able to step in after learning from the Hall of Famer.
You can’t leak garbage through the press and insinuate the player have lost a step and give a low ball number based on the metrics spit out from an excel sheet.
Look, even if we let the Dawk thing go..Even though I’m pissed how they handled him, that’s not the greatest disgust…..
Jerivicus is still running wide open with Levon Kirkland and Blaine Bishop looking on.
That year Tampa Bay won it all really signatures Joe Banner time here.
We should have paid Trot knowing at that time he was a top 5 linebacker and an unquestioned leader of the defense.
We let a better safety go over haggling in Damon Moore.
Levon Kirkland & Blaine Bishop were over the hill, cheap replacements.
They should not have been put in that position in the first and it cost us a Superbowl.
To be honest SOngs,
Those 2 Pro-Bowls were not even desrved by most Football followers…
2 years ago Safeties Troy Polamola and Ed Reed were injured and missed substantional parts of the 2010 Season.. If you and anyone else followed the Bronco’s Team much, you would have noticed that Dawkins was not even in on the field in most passing situations… It’s like many of the Pro-Bowl’s listings, many are based on reputation of past performance and not by current production… I am not taking anything away from Dawkins leadership,heart and passion for which he has always played with.. but he was not playing at a Pro-Bowl Level since moving on and other AFC Safeties like Ed Clark , Dwan Landry were much more worthy of the Pro Blowl recognition than Brain Dawkins.. It’s a popularity contest and is not a true reflection of a players production and effectiveness in my opinion…
I dont see anybody could have a problem with Dawkins comments.. He was asked and he gave an honest answer… He obviously wasnt the only person to have the opinion that he did of banner…
Westbrook, Trotter, Herremans and other have given basically the same opinion on the guy.
They understand he was just doing his job as he saw it… But according to the players, joe always had to win… and sometimes it hurt the team.
to be honest, I might have done what Lurie did.. Hire the guy, and then give him the boot when he outlived his usefulness…
Its only right….. Joe would have done the same to anyone else.. in fact he often did..
Can someone explain to me what the bitching on Dawkins is about? Let me see if I understand this. 5 championship games. In 04 you had a McNabb in his prime, TO, Westbrook and Jim Johnson running the defense and didnt win a superbowl. So having Dawkins here the last 3 years of his career would of won us a superbowl? Is that what this was about? Banner not signing Dawkins cost Philly a Superbowl? Haahahaha. Ok now I got it. He couldnt get it done with JJ, McNabb TO and Westbrook and Trott but he would of put us over the top with McDermott, Castille, Matthews and Chaney. Dawkins being here the last 3 years would of meant NOTHING!.
What NFL player loves the gm, president, when it comes to business they are by conflicting goals at odds, it’s that way everywhere in the league, in all of sports, your feelings are hurt because Joe was tough in the negotiations, to that extent I agree with dag, boo hoo, get over it cry baby, and banner takes the fall while the fat man stays, these ex players should stfu, spoiled cry babies, Banner will move on, make some more millions, billions, it’s what he’s good at
I would like to interview Troy Vincent, Asante Samuel(before trade rumors), Jevon Kearse, Jason Peters, Ricky Watters, Donovan McNabb. John Runyon, Nnamdi, Vick to name a few and ask them what they think. Then I would like to interview all the young players who signed 10 year deals and couldnt play and made out b/c of that philosophy. Cant just go to the few players who didnt cash in. Gotta go to the players who did cash in and get thier take. Lets be fair.
No no Daggolden you’re right. Sometimes as fans in Philadelphia we seem to get selective memory when it comes to our favorite players having a real impact, and stepping up….then we exclude them from critisism, or start making excuses for them………Thank you for not doing that.
BTW, Brian Dawkins is one of my favorite Eagles of all time, but you could see Dawk losing a step 3 years prior to his departure from the Eagles skill wise. He would make one heck of a coach, because the man knows foootball; front office, and on the field. But you are right he would have done nothing for those who just dont have it like Casey Matthews, Fokou, Jarrett, Juan Castillio’s shortcomings, and no real KR/PR……
Pat yourself on the back for being brutally honest brother. The GM agrees with you.
There has to be that one figure in position of power has had to be hard and stern.. You get a Team of 50 Players and Copaching Staffs and you are delaing with a lot of ego.. There has to be a person in the Front Office who is cold,calcuating and look at things as a businessman with an eye of future seasons to stay financially secure… Look at the Great Teams and Organizations.. There is someeon who has to play the straight-laced nerd beannie counter to make sure the Organization stays profitable..For the Eagles this was Joe OWner,, for other teams it may be the Owner or Head Coach or GM but as Jake above mentioned, you have to have someone running the ship and many in the Front Office around the NFL are not very beloved by the the palyers.. It’s just like in Business.. How many people feel that sometimes their Boss or Department Head of Owner doesn’t care or attend to their needs of their employees enough… many of thse athletes have been the big man on campus since they were teenagers,thru college and then start getting these big deals once they land in the NFL and are realrely ever told no by anyone close to them.. PLayers play the game and let the money guys run the Finances part of an organization and say what you want about Banner or his personality and goofy quirks.. He knows how to work Contracts, maximize the flexibilty as far as Cap Management for what’s best for the Organization… I can only think of about 4-5 really Bad Contracts paid out to Players who in no way shape or form deserved them
OL Stacy Andrews, DL Darren Howard, and Probably CB Asmo and we’ll have to see how QB Vick makes out this year to see if he deserved the deal he got.. I am not counting DE J Kerarse who of course, ended up not really showing his worth of his Contract, but that wasn’t Banner’s fault, the Guy just was injured too often but the players I listed above I think were flat out Overvalued and given larger Deals than they ever deserved .. Maybe Asmo will prove me wrong, but I was never all that high on him and think he’s more Hype that a Stud Player
I think ultimately this is a great move for the organization. I dont see any tears being shed for joe…
Im glad Lurie made this decision and now we can put that stuff behind us and move forward.
The setup is now in place for Reid… No more excuses…
daggolden,
Great posts !!!. It’s about time if we have to pass blame that someone one got it other than McNabb or Reid. How many points did New England score in the Super Bowl again? How any points did Arizona score in the NFC champion? Didn’t Westbrook, Trotter, and Douglas all get cut after they left the Eagles?
Newsflash: Joe Banner to speak later today. Reports are Joe Banner to tell Brian Dawkins ” Keep my name out your mouth” later on CSN @ 6:00pm . lol
Joe Banner isnt sad. He probably embezzeled like 2.5 billion from the Eagles over the last 18 years. Smart little mofo. lol
Excellent stuff Dagg. You articulated what I’ve been trying to articulate for a very long time. Dawkins left Philadelphia due to an injury – a bruised ego. He should have known Banner would play it like that, accepted it, and never expected more from the team. If he wanted to stay, he could have and still made millions. He didn’t want to stay at the expense of his ego and that’s that.
Dawkins is speaking the truth. This has been going on for a while. We all knew this. How many times on the blogs do we complain about them letting guys go to soon. This isnt a surprise to me…..nore should it be to any of you jokers on here.
dawkplex – What do you mean by “this”?
And can you please tell me how the Eagles let Dawkins go? The power was totally in Dawkins court. He was a free agent so the Eagles could “let” him do anything. So how did they “let him go”? I seriously don’t understand what you are talking about. He chose to go play for another team because he felt disrespected. He chose to leave the Eagles. Point blank.
What Dawkins complained about is football, modern pro sports, business. Not the Eagles. And I think that being caught up in the middle of it – as a player – made him lose perspective. He wanted the whole system to halt and make an exception for him.
We can all sit here n assume anything we want but Dawk was there n what hes saying is exactly what the whole locker room was feeling, its never good when what you do is never good enough in the bosses eyes, they could of and should of gave Dawk the same deal they just gave Bell, a big looking contract with only one year being guarenteed, but thats history, i will give Banner this, he did say he regretted not doing the right thing by Dawk, we all make mistakes, at least he was man enough to admit it.
@daggolden, thank you so much you could not have said that better, I agree with you 100%.
Letting Dawk go, in favor of Victor Harris, for only marginally higher money was not in the best interest of the team.
I’ve heard time again from the organization’s media that the difference between successful and unsuccessful teams is coaching. My hope is, that from this the Eagles FINALLY learned that players are not just interchangeable parts.
Eagles did not let Dawkins go, Dawkins choose to sign a better Deal with the Bronco’s which guaranteed him approx $9 Million over 3 Years while the Eagles offer was close to the about $5 Million in guaranteed $$ over 2 years whichwas Dawkins and any other free-agent players right.. Pure economics, I am sure if offers were real clsoe, Dawk probably would have stayed in Philly but since this was the last deal/contract that Dawkins would see in his Career, he decided to maximize his Salary and so who can blame him, but I also don’t blame Eagles either who gave him a fair offer and most NFL Observors feel that the Bronocs way overpaid for an aging Dawkins who had a nice bounceback Season in 2009 but was not that effective in 2010/2011 and was in fact a Part-time player his last season and half while with the Bronco’s and taken out of games in Passing situations/down…
Hate to see players complain when their careers are pretty much over, they were paid quite well when they were producing well, Dawkins is beginning to sound like McNabb, they both are trying to find all the reasons in the world to blame the Eagles for their careers coming to an end. I agree with Paulman Dawkins was more of a part-time player last season. He and McNabb both should stop with the complaining and blaming.
Banner did a great job for the FO. If you ever run a pro sports team, you want Banner on your team to oversee the numbers. With that said, the mistake that the Eagles made was allowing Banner to appear in public. They should’ve left Banner in his room working on numbers, and put a buffer between him and the public/media. Give Banner a PR spokesman to come forth with the numbers in a much more friendly way.
Anyone that has negotiated salaries or contracts for their jobs knows that it is not a pleasant process. But it can be eased a bit with the correct language and perception.