BillsPhan

Mike Oher was taken in the first round at RT by the Ravens. He has started since game one. Big Phil Loadholt was drafted in the second round by the Vikings at RT, he has started since game one. Eric Wood - first round - starter. Andy Levitre - 2nd round - starter. Are you beginning to understand the pattern here?? Jamon Merideth - 5th, or 6th round draft pick by the Packers last year - practice squad. Now big Jamon may become a starting tackle in the NFL - someday. But now that Buddy Nix, Mr. "football guy" has the final say (alegedly) as the GM of football, I think you will watch him take either a right or left tackle in this Aprils' draft either in round one or round two.....round 3 at the very latest. If the Bills really want to upgrade, they need to upgrade the talent level on the O-Line, not "hope" that an injury ravaged year of experience will bring their sorry collection of tackles up to a better level of play! (And every single right and left tackle the Bills lined up ended up getting injured at some point of the season.)

Here is Mike Tomlins' resume' before the Steelers hired him as on only their 3rd head coach since 1969: "Prior to joining the Steelers, Tomlin spent the 2006 season as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator after spending the previous five seasons (2001-05) as defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers." Thats it folks. Six lousy seasons as an NFL assistant coach, and bang...he's the man to replace Bill Cowher. Where is the next Mike Tomlin? There are 48 coordinators eligible to be interviewed right now, that are not spending 105 hours per week preparing for their next playoff game. In fact, they may even.....God forbid, fly up to Buffalo, to interview for he Bills' head coaching position tomorrow. Are you telling me that NONE of those 48 coordinators are worthy of at least an interveiw, especially considering the beating Ralph, Buddy and Russ are taking in our local and the national media for going after these arrogant ex coaches and assistant coaches who continue to refuse to even talk to them? Every day another sports writer chimes in how stupid it is for the Bills to be "taking this long" to hire their guy. (That argument really doesn't hold water to me, what if the Bills had their hearts set on one of the coordinators working for the two teams that play in the SB? And that guy would not take the job or interview until after the game? Gee, I guess that means that the Bills would need to wait until after the SB, right?) Whatever the right answer is in when to hire your coach regarding the college all star games and preparing for the draft etc etc etc, it seems to me that the Bills could be extending their search to more candidiates around the NFL.

Bobby April, Sean Kugler and Perry Fewell all got lateral jobs from other NFL teams. So what? As assistant coaches for the Bills, they collectivley sucked. May have been more ones' fault over the others', or none of their faults. What's the difference? Fewell showed a lot of passion and did very well taking the Bills to a 3-4-0 finish as interim head coach. But as defensive coordinator, I thought his schemes were terrible, and every season with the Bills his defense was one of the worst against the run. Good luck Giants, if he is allowed to use his "11-Gap" "Cover-Zero" 4-3 schemes featuring light assed over- persuing lineman and linebackers. April was always considered one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL, and most of his teams in Buffalo were excellent, I thought he would get hired quickly and he was. Kugler? Who knows what the Steelers see in that guy. I don't get that hire one bit. Bottom line, the Bills entire staff had to be blown up, and if other teams find individual coaches a good fit for them, who cares? If the Bills ever bring in their own new head coach, he will be bringing in his own staff anyway.

First of all, Thurman Thomas is a Hall of Fame running back who gave his heart and soul to the Buffalo Bills - so please stop with these moronic ignorant insults about his much publizied problems with alcohol years ago. Give the guy a break already. Secondly, no matter what Thurman or Jimbo "predict", they are being hopefully delusional. Ralph Wilson told everyone his only succession plan for his Buffalo Bills is that they will be sold apon his death. End of story. He apparently wants nothing to do with passing the team onto anyone in his family, and has on interest in selling any part of the team to anyone else while he is still breathing. I have no idea why Thurman and Jimbo have made their strange statements about the team "staying right here" and "big announcements coming", but I really wish they would just shut up about this once and for all. All they can do, in my humble opinion with zero inside information, is to keep working behind the scenes on their "local ownership group" for the inevitable day Ralph dies.

"Kissing Suzie Kolber" - Hillarious.

Jerome Bettis says he wants to coach the Giants. Rod Woodson says he only wants to coach the Cowboys. Plaxico Burress says he only wants to coach the Lions, but Plaxico is not thinking too clearly these days. Really I think Cowher should stay on CBS, how will be do without his smooth coherent 8 second play by play highlights when he almost always pronounces at least one players' name right....almost.

I disagree. But then again I don't remember making borderline psychotic comments about Scotty. I don't even like Star Trek that much, but when I did watch it years ago, I liked the old dude. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on, Captain!!"

What a pity. And only after winning 3 SB's this past decade, damn it! Those Pats fans should boycott every game until they win that 4th one!

At least he's not saying its' because he is in love with Weisenhunt and Phoenix, if its' true. Funny, I don't remember Grimm even being an OC in the NFL? It really seems to me that these assistant coaches who have never been hired as head coaches in the NFL, should be taking every single interview they are invited to. If nothing else, it will help then gain exerience with the interviewing process. They can always turn down the job if it is offered to them. At least then they can be more prepared for their next interview, and they would have given the team inviting them to interview the respect they deserve.

Typically stupid sports "reporting." Complete total speculative garbage based on nothing else but Bettis's....opinion. Jerome Bettis works in the sports media, I think, at least sometimes, perhaps on NFL network? I don't know, I think I've seen him on some talk shows. If Cowher ends up taking over in Carolina should Fox get fired, or San Diego if the Jets upset the Chargers this weekend and Smith tosses out Norv, or Dallas if the Vikings blow them out somehow and Jones finally dumps Wade, just how damn ignorant will that make Bettis look? I read the link. Bettis was talking as if he is Cowhers' agent, or Bill Cowher himself....basically guaranteeing us all that its' Giants or nothing. Hillarious.

The most frustrating part of the speculation is how negative Bills' fans are about their own team and their own city. I agree with you, that no one knows at this point who the guy will be, despite all the "educated guesses." Buddy Nix has to be smart enough to know that whoever gets hired, has to be more passionate about wanting to turn the Bills around then the last three idiots other GM's have hired since 2001! Gregggg Williams seemed only to want to hear himself talk up at the podium and blamed every loss on his players, since he and his coaches were doing all the right stuff. Mularkey was better, and coached the Bills to their only winning record just missing the playoffs in 2004, but he quit before he showed us his entire potential. And nobody needs to discuss DJ anymore.

I know he does. I'm just reacting in kind to his reply to my thread on Brian Shotty. To quote him, he said: "Holy crap. Do the world a favor and post less." Sorry, I could not resist. Although as far as Edwards is involved, I would not want him to coach the Bills either.

Holy crap. If you hate every opinion out here so much, why do you read them all in the first place? Do the world a favor and stop bashing the posts you think are below you, and try to come up with an orignal thought.

Thank you. Since you dislike my post so much, I will be sure to post more.

Mularkey. Now there's the another arrogant wimp I will hate forever as an NFL coach. I actually liked him in Buffalo. He was 14-18 in his two seasons, and I thought he had some real potential to be a fine head coach. But when he looked into the eyes of an NFL Hall of Fame former coach like Marv Levy, and say "Sorry Marv, I quit", when Levy offered him the chance to stay on and help the team re-build, I lost all respect for him. I hope he's enjoyed going back to OC these past 4 seasons, since I don't see any teams beating down his door to offer him his second chance.

I agree that until his injury, Wood was playing well for a rookie, and that Levitre and Byrd had pretty good rookies seasons. But you can watch two rookies starting this weekend, that for the life of me, I don't know why the Bills did not draft. Mike Oher - RT in Baltimore, and Phil Loadholt -RT for the Vikings. Both were available in the rounds they were chosen for the Bills to draft. Oher would have had to have been the Bills first pick, and might have been considered a "reach." - but watch the kid play for the Ravens this week, and then imagine him playing in place of any of the "bartenders" that ended up playing either tackle for Buffalo this season. And although he was taken later in the draft, you should watch big Loadholt play for the Vikings as he starts at RT for them. Now he has struggled more then Oher this season, but man, he would have made any tackle for the Bills look like they belonged at UB if the Bills had taken him! I know the Bills had injury problems at both tackle positions this season. Brad Butler and Demetrius Bell were supposed to be the starters all season. But if the Bills would have drafted either Oher or Loadholt, that would have really strengthened the depth of the tackle position. Besides, I am convinced either Loadholt or Oher would have beaten out both Bell and Butler, at either tackle position - depending on which one was worse then the other in training camp. In my humble opinion, Oher or Loadholt would have won at least the RT starting position for the Bills, which would have left Butler available to help out at guard as the two kids did struggle in the middle, or he would have been right there to take over for Bell when he got injured. Sorry to be so long winded, but the Bills needed help at OT, and they did not address it with a talented OT draft class. That is why I agree with most on this board, that the Bills have not drafted "smart" for many years, and last year was no exception.

So what? What are these former head coaches or current coordinators who have never been head coaches today? WIMPS? Spoiled arrogant jerks who need to have everything be perfect before they take on the biggest opportunity, or best new opportunity, of their lives? If all of this crap is true, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of hearing this crap out of our own Bills fans, then this franchise should absolutley "get the hell out of town", as the very best Bills GM in the history of the team once told whiny fans to do. Just exactly when does any NFL team fire a head coach and decide to hire a different one? When they have a great QB, when they have arguably the best O-Line in football, when they have a great tight end, when they have a huge talented defense that needs no improvement at all, when they have the best genius GM in the history of the NFL working for them, and when they have the best weather in the country?????? The Bills are not the first NFL team to have these problems. The Bills are not the first NFL team to have an inexperienced man in charge of the operations. (But they have hired a real football guy in Buddy Nix, so that is one improvement you left out.) And guess what, it gets cold and shows in New York, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Boston, and on and on. Here is all any prospective head coach candidate needs to know about the Buffalo Bills "situation": It is one of only 32 NFL Head Coaching opportunities in the world. End of story.

Your link is a joke. TARA SULLIVAN is a home town sports writer from Jersey basking in Shotty's success. What do you think she's going to do? Critisize him, as he should be critisized, for turning down an opportunity to interview for one of only 32 NFL head coaching jobs in the NFL, after allowing the team with the only current opening to ask permission to interview him? Instead, she reached out and used Steve Spagnolla as the perfect example why Shotty should stay put. Well, I have not seen the Rams fire Spags yet, have you?? And the Rams sucked when he got the job, and nobody expected him to turn them around over night. Am I missing something? Has Spags been whining about taking the job, and how badly he wished he was back as the DC for the Giants? Tara is homer, talking up their favorite son. Shotty's hot in the biggest market in the USA right now, he knows it, and he's cocky about it. She even threw in the tired, aged old classless "frozen Buffalo" remark. But I'm glad you introduced her column to me. If the Jets get bounced easily by the Chargers, I'll see what she writes about their golden boy then! Listen, agree with all of this Buffalo bashing all you want, "modern" Bills-Fans. I still hate this kid, and hope he crashes and burns big time this weekend.

I'm new on the board too. But the only answer I can give you for Ralph Wilson not guaranteeing the Bills stay in Western New York is that.....he simply won't. People tend to make more out of Ralphs' words then they should. He said that he will not pass the team onto his family. He said he will be the owner until he dies. He said apon his death, the team will then be sold. Sure it's not what we want to hear, but he has not swayed from those terms one bit since he said them, and in most cases, Ralph Wilson is a straight shooter who says what he feels. Sorry, but all the Jim Kelly - Thurman Thomas rumors you can come up with has not changed those basic facts, right out of Wilson's mouth. The best thing Kelly / Thomas can do is gear up for the sale for the day Wilson dies, and have his billioniare buddies prepared to make a strong bid. Other then that, I have not heard Wilson say he will sell off part of his team, or anything else.

You don't fault him for turning down the offer to interview. Simply amazing. Are you a Buffalo Bills fan, or Shotty Jrs. agent? Please tell me the only downside of turning down the experience of interviewing for a head coaching position in the NFL is. Many coordinators and position coaches have said that they appreciate the chances they've gotten to interview. That they've gained valuable experience just from the process, despite the fact they did not get the job. Come on, what is the only downside? It's getting hired when you really don't want the job in the first place. Well, Mr. "I claim to be a Bills fan on this board but I really love watching the Bills get treated like crap by idiot young coordinators and the national media so I can sound cool on The Stadium Wall", I am really pissed off about this young cocky jerk not even having the decency to tell Russ Brandon not to ask for permission. And that's because I've been a die hard true blue Buffalo Bills fan for over 40 years, and could care less what anyone else on this "cool" board think. Go Chargers - please blow out the Jets by at least 30 points this weekend, and please stop Shotty's "hot offense" in it's tracks, so he and his cocky buddy Ryan can get beaten up by the NY City media and bring them back down to earth.

Oh really? Well maybe I'm just pissed off that this young kid turned down an opportunity to interview for a head coaching job for an NFL team. Maybe he might have told the Bills not to even ask the Jets for permission first, instead of making them look even more foolish by doing so. Or maybe I'll be telling everyone "I told you so" if he does in fact interveiw for another surprise job that pops up this season. And what is your psyche all about? Is it just cool to accept the fact that our favorite NFL team sucks as a place to be the head coach? Doesn't that piss you off? Anyway, I hope the Chargers blow Shotty the cocky Jets out by about 40 points this weekend.

Brain Shottenheimer recently said: "The last couple years, I've had some opportunities, and was very interested. And for the first time in a real long time, I'm really happy. I love it here; I love working for Coach Ryan. I hope I'm here for a long time." Translation: "I'm too good for the Buffalo Bills, and if I interview, with Nix's relationship with my Dad, they will most certainly hire me, so I'm turning down the opportunity to interview for one of only 32 NFL Head Coaching postions available in the world.....despite the fact I'm only 36 years old, despite the fact I've never been a head coach of any kind, despite the fact I've only been an OC for a few years." In addition, as far as his quote above about "loving to work with Coach Ryan", if some other more "attractive" NFL job pops open by surprise when the SB is played and the '09 season is officially over, (such as Dallas, if the Cowboys lose big to the Vikings and Jones decides he's had enough with Wade. or San Diego if the Charges go down to the Jets and they send Turner packing), watch him jump on a plane to Dallas or San Diego in a heart beat to interview for those jobs, even though he's "really happy and loves it in New York." I would respect young Shotty if he would have just said, "I want to thank Mr. Wilson for the opportunity to interveiw, but I am not interested at this time." He's only going to look foolish now, with his bull about his love fest with Rex Ryan, if he ends up interviewing anywhere else this year.

..."But Logan has an intriguing new nugget, posting Wednesday night on Twitter. He writes that Cowher is "OK" with the Bills' salary offer, but that Cowher wants a "commitment" from Russ Brandon regarding the money that would be available to sign players."... That's all the research you used. Some nobody from East Aurora who may or may not know what the hell is going on with the Cowher situation?? The "Joe Logan" blog? Now that's hilarious. Now I know this could be fabricated even more then I thought before you replied. And even if this is 100% true, how do you know Brandon and Cowher are not still negotiating the numbers of that "commitment"?? All your rock hard stone cold fact of a quote states is that Cowher "wants" the committment, not that Brandon and Wilson won't give it to him. Here's my opinion: Cowher is in no hurry to make a decsion - and why should he be? All the NFL teams may not even be finished firing coaches yet.

Number one, what "reports" are you reading that say that Wilson already told Cowher his players budget?? That sounds like total fabricated crap to me. Secondly, after waiting 14 years for the next Jim Kelley to play QB for the Bills, I cannot believe people are out here still saying the Bills should not draft a QB with their first pick. Everyone says there won't be a QB worth the number 9 pick this year, that Clausen and Bradford will be gone, and then nobody else should be taken in the first round. WHY? Especially after wasting the #11 pick on Maybin last year. If the Bills can reach for a defensive end, they can reach out for Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow with the number 9, as far as I'm concerned. Let's check out the starting QB's for the 8 teams left in the playoffs this year: Chargers: Rivers - Number 4 overall. Jets: Sanchez - Number 5 overall. Colts: Manning - Number 1 overall. Ravens: Flacco - number 18 overall. Cowboys: Romo - undrafted. Vikings: Favre - #33 overall. Saints: Brees - #32 overall. Cardinals: Warner: undrafted. That makes 6 of the 8 starting playoff quarterbacks drafted within the first 33 picks of their respective drafs. Guys like Romo, Warner and Tom Brady are about as hard to find or end up with on your team when they become great as the Bills have found a playoff spot this century. But of those other 6 guys, none were drafted lower then the very top of the second round. So I think its' about time to forget all of this "let's get our QB later in the draft" garbage, don't you?

Things change as the playoffs continue. Did Wade save his job even if the Vikings win this week? If not, and the Cowboys go down badly, everyone then looks to Dallas if Jerry throws out Phillips. What happens in Jacksonville if Del Rio does take the USC job? And of course there is always Oakland, they may suck as bad as Buffalo and their owner is crazier then Ralph. But they do have nice weather and are right across the bay from lovely San Fran. Bottom line, Brian and Dad don't need to make a decision until after the SB and the dust finally settles on every teams' coaching staff.