8-8 Forever?

And we ARE an UFL team. Performance-wise. Also, the financials of the Jags and the Bills are likely very similar. they have 30% less fans but their ticket/suite prices are probably 30% higher and revenue per game (including suites, etc.) is comparable.

Pretty cool website. that scene would certainly beat the Ralph in December. Of course its 25 miles from L.A. proper, so who knows who would come that far.

That scenario would probably play out that way, unless the existing Oak or SD stadiums can be renovated for far less than the cost of building a new stadium. If I was to purchase the Bills I would have to consider moving them to Oakland or SD (depending on which of them moved to L.A. ) and renovate the existing stadiums there if the numbers worked. I've never been in either stadium so who knows. The WNY economy is never going to move much beyond where it is today, therefore revenue from this market is kind of a given. Not so in California. California will recover and grow again.

just move the franchise to Raleigh and you can have Cowher. I'd take that trade.

there are 4 big time NT free agents coming out this year...

None of these guys are coming to live in Buffalo. Give me a break. Unless the coach has a personal reason or level of interest, or history, they ain't moving to buffalo. that goes for people in general. Its not a place you move to without some personal reason, unless its the only job available... which will not be the case for the top candidates. Lets just stop the nonsense and be happy if we can get a Haslett (who lived here and played here at one point).

His agent messed him up. Got him the contract, but ruined the player it seems.

Holmgren's going to move from California to f ing Buffalo, New York? When the team is one Ralph heartbeat from a top to bottom housecleaning and a likely franchise move? You have to be kidding me. This isn't fantasy football guys.

If I just paid $700 million for something, I'm bringing my own people in.

Well said.

Exactly, plus Ralph loses money by hiring a big time coach. The loss of $$ from fans is far less than the $$ he'd have to guarantee a Gruden or Cowher.

Ralph is running the business of the Bills brilliantly. The majority of his revenue is shared TV money, which he gets even if the stadium is half full. The stadium won't be half full, because Bills fans come for the party as much as anything else. So, do the math, its easy. Lets say 20% of the fans stay away next year because they are upset (I don't see that happening if the team wins 2 or 3 more games, which is likely) . That's 14,000 unsold tix at $50per, so that's $700k over 7 games, or $5million. That's a very small number. Smaller if another game goes to Toronto next year. Not sure if Ralph gets a cut of concessions, probably not. Even with concessions, the number is still pretty much equal to what he'd have to pay Gruden or some other name brand coach for next year. Plus he'd have to guarantee Gruden $15 mil. over 3 years, so now Ralph's on the hook for another $10mil. I think he keeps Jauron next year and waits and sees what happens with the CBA. thats the smart business guy move. He owns the fans. they will keep coming. in 1984-5, the stadium was still at 50,000 - 60,000 fans. Don't ever say Ralph is not a smart business guy. He knows how to run a blue collar/small market team... keep costs/payroll low, keep tix prices the lowest in the league, let the tailgate parties go on all day (most stadium owners do not allow the mayhem surrounding the Ralph on game day) and work to a minimum 8 - 8 record and you make money all day long.

nope. In fact I believe that until the CBA is signed or agreed to in principle, Ralph may not spend another dime on head coaching costs (maybe an O - coordinator) . which means we may have DJ next year as well. lets see you " keep the faith" in that scenario...

if it takes 2 years for the O line to come together, who cares who the Qb is?

i wonder if DJ is around next year too. Obviously the Schonert firing , the Peters thing and the Crowell thing were front office mistakes of gigantic proportions and then when Brad Butler went out for the season along with Schouman that was about it for the offense for this year. Ralph doesn't much care anymore.. he;s in the hall of fame for cryingout loud. what else does he want? no way a franchise in buffalo will ever be able to attract the needed talent to make the playoffs .. heck Pia Tiosamoso or whatever his name is took less $$ to go somewhere else... the wheels are off and they are not coming back on....

i am a die hard bills fan, but when you really look hard at home run throwback, it was a legal play (barely, but legal) and an awesome call with awesome execution. kudos to the titans for pulling it off. move on.

he had to point out that Byrd is with the Bills as the Bills have not been part of the NFL conversation in so long no one outside of the area knows who plays for the Bills anymore. Or cares. You only get attention in this league if you win games.

Then step away from the table. Ralph will not commit the dollars. Not going to happen. He is running it like a business and he knows he's the Kansas City Royals. Just stay in the game, make a profit and do what you can on players within the cash to the cap policy and hire coaches you can actually get to come to buffalo. That's not a winning formula, mainly because average talent requires great coaching, and that kind of coaching can go anywhere and the B Lo has to be near the bottom of any rock star NFL coach's list... correct?

1) there will be someone right there behind you buying your season tickets. 2) Coaching/Front Office $$ comes right out of luxury suite and ticket sales -- Bills are lowest in the league in both.. If you are "sick and tired" of Ralph not pulling $$ out of his pocket to make up for the relative lack of box office revenue, you need to find another team to root for, cuz this one ain't changin'

Exactly right. Well said. DJ will be fired. We go to 3-4 adn sign one of the NT's. Absolutely. Why a north pole team would play a 4 - 3 is beyond me, other than personnel. is ted washington still available?

What settlement? Dick gets paid for next year. Guaranteed contract. Thats why it probably won't happen. Especially wiht the CBA undecided and a strike looming over 2011. I bet everyone at OBD has a contract that expires after 2010 season. Ralph may wait and see if there is football in 2011 before committeing big guaranteed $$ to the coaching/exec staff.

Peters is a rare talent, a nutjob to be sure, but will be in most of the next 10 pro bowls... bad move by bills..

the problem is, unless a GM and other front office candidates have some kind of tie to WNY, which is rare, they are not coming... i really do not see it.. Buffalo as a place to live is so far behind any other NFL city that attracting general management talent will be very difficult if openings in other cities exist (and they will)... Marv wouldn't move back, he stayed in Chicago, for example.. he is a bad example and was a short term fix, but the area is generally regarded as a not much of a place to live when compared to the vast majority of NFL cities.. its going to take a very special fit... not that Jim McNally was a great coach, but he came strictly because he had ties to the area.. the bills are pretty much in tough shape until the franchise is sold and moved to somewhere management talent wants to be.. and by the way, toronto canada is probably not high on peoples lists as well...

Until the collective bargaining agreement is signed, ensuring NFL players actually play in 2011, my guess is Ralph hangs on with DJ. Why give a Gruden, etc. $5-6m per year GUARANTEED for 3-4 years and then have no ball in 2011??? I do not believe coaches contracts have anything to do with the CBA and are not contingent on whether real or replacement players or anyone else plays -- if they did, not sure a coach would sign the deal.. ... I wonder if Ralph waits to see if the the small city franchise owners get screwed again as they did a couple years ago by Jerry Jones and the big city owners.... The 2010 offseason is going to be all about the CBA and less about coaches and teams and who won and lost....

Sell the team to someone who gives a crap about competing for the title instead of focusing on ensuring everyone in WNY can get fall down drunk 8 more times a year.