dubs

And that's the difference. Instead of tax dollars, it would be a fund set up specifically and solely for one purpose, to give interest free loans to the Bills. It's entirely voluntary participation from 'investors'. It would have to be extremely transparent. Tax filings, annual reports, prospectuses, investment guidelines. Much more transparent than what goes on in getting funding from public tax revenue.

The owner can't simple bail and the fund would not be giving the money away. It's a loan, like from the bank but in this case from private 'investors'. The loan gets paid back to the fund, interest free. That's the attraction for a potential owner. The savings in the interest cost would presumably be enough to make the area more attractive. If the owner left, they'd have to pay back the loan and some penalty, I'd assume. It's interesting, that's for sure. I think the two obstacles are: 1) getting enough 'investors' to make the fund attractive to a new buyer 2) structuring the fund appropriately and cost effectively. In addition, I think this is potentially an extremely innovative private sector solution to the increasingly corrupt and wasteful public funding for stadiums that has gone on in the past. In this case, people have a choice and can choose this as a project to fund. Not simply because a government official decides it's a better use of taxpayer resources (I know the proposal is a mix of funding sources, but this could be a good first step)

It's a pretty simple concept. The "fund" would be there to provide the team an interest free loan, which could save the team between 10-20m per year in interest expenses. An approximate equal value to some teams annual luxury suite revenue. However, it would only be available to the team if it stays in Buffalo. Otherwise capital is returned to 'investors'.

Clearly you didn't read the article. It's not an 'investment'. It's more like a donation to help keep the team in Buffalo. You'd only get your money back if a new owner moved the team and repaid the fund, which was disbanded and capital returned to shareholders.

Graham is a thug 😎

This is a very deep question. Obviously it would have to be Mighty Taco. Extremely popular in the area, former buffalonians get their fix when they are back in town, but largely unimportant to the rest of the country.

It's a trade-off everywhere you live. Florida weather is great right now, but the summer is brutal and you'd have to put up with the culture down there. Phoenix weather now is perfect, but in a couple months you won't be able to go outside. Buffalo weather is so bad right now, but the summer and fall is ideal and the people are down to earth and cool.

Totally agree. I like it. I'm in the camp that isn't too concerned about losing Pettine. While I liked Pettine, it was easy to like him given that the recent bar had been set so low. What Pettine did do is set up Schwartz nicely in terms of what the strengths and weaknesses of the players were. I am hoping and confident Schwartz can take that info and improve the weaknesses (run, scoring) and enhance or maintain the strengths (turnovers).

This Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo "Bermuda" triangle seems like a lot of deck chair shuffling.

Agreed. Cleveland really sucks. That franchise is a walking nightmare that just crashed into the Bills.

hah…love it. couldn't agree more

Not sure what to make of this, but I was listening to WEEI this afternoon and they were talking about PJ. They said that they were sad to see him go, but that he simply wasn't' coach material. that he was more of a translator between the coaches and the players. Players loved him. Not sure what to make of that other than that it was their opinion PJ was a great guy in the perfect role for him. That PJ wanted to take on more, but they (and NE) didn't think he was capable.

haha...

Guaranteed?!?! Wow, you certainly a glass half-full guy. Nothing in life is guaranteed, especially in the uber competitive NFL and when it's highly dependent on the performance of the Bills.

You are right, I am not suggesting that he's walking into coaching the Patriots, Broncos, or Seattle. Most job openings are going to have warts. That's why there's an opening. I agree with you, there are definitely some risks and obstacles that he's going to have to overcome, but I just think if I were in his shoes, I'd be willing to take those risks and would feel that I was able to take on the challenge.

Criticizing Pettine for possibly take this job is mind bottling to me. It sucks from our perspective, but from his perspective it's a very good opportunity. He's got a roster with a good defense and some things to work with on offense. He's 47. He's going to get a huge, guaranteed, pay raise. He's going to a place that if he succeeds, he's a hero, if not, people will blame it on the FO or ownership. And there is NO guarantee he gets another opportunity. Next year there will be a whole new set of "hot" coaching candidates. There will be Bill O'Brian's (college guys) and Gase's (coordinators) and Muncheks (former head coaches). Having a defense that's ranked 20th in scoring on a team that's 6-10 isn't exactly going to WOW anyone.

I once interviewed for a job for 6 months before I actually received an offer. During that time I probably had about 15 interviews with 12 different people. Ultimately I took the job. I don't think it's that unusual. What is unusual is that it's in the public eye and millions of people have a vested interest in this because they are fans. I want Pettine to stay, badly, but I don't think it's a disaster for Buffalo if he leaves. I also believe that Pettine needs to take this opportunity, despite the risks. Other than ownership, I think it's a pretty good situation. He probably believes that in a fairly weak AFC North, he has a chance to take that team and compete for a division title. If he does that, there is no way he gets fired in 1 year.

Not exactly. Im not saying he has to be confident. I'm saying he IS confident enough. That means he sees things a lot differently than fans and people from the outside. It's really a no risk situation for him. Worst case scenario browns continue to be a disaster and it gets mostly blamed on the ownership.

Or maybe he never gets another chance. A bird in the hand is worth two... Also...Guys in that position are confident enough that they can make the situation a successful one.

I think it's difficult to look at this without the fan hat on. Bottom line, it's Pettine's life ambition to be an nfl head coach. He's 47. This is his opportunity. He'd be an idiot not to take it.

The thing I will say about what you are saying is that there is no way to know whether or not Pettine is/will be a good NFL head coach. Who knows? If he was so great, then he would have gotten one of any number of jobs that were available this year. He didn't even get an INTERVIEW, until the Cleveland Dumpster Fire. He may be the second coming of The Hooded One, who knows? But there are far more guys that were very good (hot) coordinators that were disasters as head coaches. We know that story all too well.

I'm getting a distinct: Everyone who's not a Bill or not affiliated with the Bills = good. Anything affiliated with the Bills = bad.

Cleveland = Super Bowl. Watch out!!

My guess is that one of three things will happen with this: 1) They hire Pettine by the EOD 2) They hire the Atlanta guy by the EOD 3) They tell Pettine, by the end of the day, that they need more time to do more due diligence and Pettine withdraws.

I like Pettine and hope he's around next year, but let's not overreact and make him and the Bills 2013 defense out to be the 85 Bears or 00 Ravens. Buffalo's Defense had a nice year. Pettine was a contributor to that. But our standards and expectations are so low we are making him out to be irreplaceable. Buffalo ranked: 10th in yards allowed 4th in passing yards allowed 28th in rushing yards allowed 20th in points allowed In many ways, you could make the argument that the defense was so focused on getting sacks and turnovers that they ended up with glaring holes in the running game and the result was a below average defense in the stat that matters, points allowed. Again, I want Pettine to stay and I like what the defense has done, but I am not going to lose all hope if he leaves.