hondo in seattle

Yeah, I agree - though more nicely. Just because Rex was fired doesn't mean there was an ultimatum. Terry says there was no ultimatum. I have no reason to think Terry is a liar. And I think he would have more knowledge of the situation than Vic. Vic - like Sully - seems not to have developed many, if any, sources inside OBD. Pretty much everything Vic says is either speculation or stuff he reads on the internet. I miss Larry Felser who once wrote intelligently about the Bills for BN and did often have good sources.

Wow. Vic is going downhill - sounds more like Sully each year. Rex worked directly for the Pegulas. Right or wrong, that's the org chart. So it makes sense that Whaley wouldn't have been involved in the decision to fire Rex. "I'm hearing around the league..." In other words, Vic doesn't have sources inside OBD. Instead he listens to the low paid talking heads in other NFL cities. Weak. There's nothing new in this interview. Only speculation, rumor, and opinion. And there are posters here whose opinions I value more than Vic's. I thought it was interesting Vic referenced 'Terry Pegula's interview for the Associated Press' but did not mention JW by name. Professional envy?

Do Sully and Bucky really think they represent me? Crazy, if true. Sully's an embarrassment to Buffalo, IMHO.

Sully is such a drama queen. "It was quite possibly the worst moment in the history of the franchise.... Welcome to the abyss, the new bottom." The Bills just finished a 7-9 season and fired the coach. The guy not responsible for the firing - but responsible for the next hire - can't adroitly answer questions about the firing. And this is the new low for the franchise? So this is lower than when our greatest player ever slashed up a couple people? Lower than when the Bills went 1-10 under Harvey Johnson as Head Coach? Lower than when the Bills insanely rehired Johnson a couple years later only to see him go 1-13 this time? Lower than Wide Right? Lower than seeing Kevin Everett paralyzed? Lower than when Sully became a beat writer for the BN?

Amazing how someone so good can so quickly become so useless. This makes me rethink the merits of capitalism! Does a guy who plays a game for a living really deserve to live like this when public servants (teachers, cops, firemen, soldiers, sailors, etc) tend to live paycheck to paycheck in far humbler housing?

Doug Whaley looked bad in the interview because the media set the agenda. They kept asking him questions about Rex, rather than the coaching search. Given the scurrilous orientation of the Buffalo media, this was no surprise. Whaley didn't want to talk about Rex. One, it was old news. That ship has sailed. Two, Rex didn't work for him and the Terry's firing of Rex happened spontaneously in a private phone conversation. Hence all the 'not privy' remarks that made DW seem weak and uninformed. The media was obsessed with the rear view mirror while Whaley would have rather talked about the road ahead. But it's Interview 101 to know your talking points. Get those out. Get them out clearly and with authority. Don't let the people questioning you hijack your agenda. But failing Interview 101 is not a big deal. It doesn't mean Whaley is bad at building a roster nor does it indicate he'll fail at hiring a coach.

He transformed it from a bad roster to an average roster. That's progress... but is he flat-lining at .500? There's been a lot of rumor and speculation that Whaley thinks this is actually a good roster. And hence agrees with the need for a new coach. I haven't seen this from a credible source but it seems believable. We'll see.

I've got to agree with this. I've known people who were pretty awful when giving a presentation or interview. But they shined otherwise. Whaley has built the Bills into a .500 (more or less) team. Considering the level of the competition in the NFL, that's not bad. You've got to be pretty bright just to get that far. Is .500 good enough? Of course not. But imagine a lottery where the winner gets to be the GM of a NFL franchise. As smart as we fans like to pretend we are, we're all actually simpletons in the field of talent evaluation. Most fans, given the chance to be a GM, would fail to outperform Matt Millen. I'm willing to judge Whaley on what we actually know - to hell with all the overreached conclusions and speculations. He's had more success with free agency than the draft. So far - without ever before having the opportunity to pick a HC - he's given us an average NFL team. He's no idiot. But so far he hasn't delivered what he needs to deliver.

Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I felt all season that the Bills had a mediocre roster coached by a mediocre HC. So, I opined, you either fire both Rex and Doug or neither. As I saw it, both were equally complicity in our ongoing mediocrity. Others disagreed. Many felt Rex was more to blame. Others felt Whaley deserved the lion's share of the culpability. Now, it just doesn't matter. Whaley is picking his HC to lead his roster. If we don't win now, there's no doubt who to hold accountable.

From a JW article: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is unhappy with the Bills' decision to bench him to close the season and questioned whether he's played his final game for Buffalo. Unless he hears otherwise, Taylor said he can only assume the benching reflects the Bills having lost confidence in him to continue on as their starter. "That's fair to say. That's what it showed," Taylor said Monday, when Bills players gathered to clear out their lockers a day after a season-ending 30-10 loss at the New York Jets . "Did I believe that was fair? No, I didn't," Taylor said, adding he's hoping to get a lengthier explanation from the team during exit meetings. "Once we have the conversation and it's actually explained to me why it was done the way it was, we'll move forward from there. But we'll see when that happens." I get the people who are frustrated with Tyrod and want a different QB. But until we find a better signal caller, I think we need to take care of Tyrod. The Jets game showed us how truly bad our offense can be when the wrong guy lines up under center. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/63e7f58a2efc406c963f51a3c7baea68/bills-qb-taylor-questions-future-buffalo-after-benching

By who? By you just now?

Most of what I said/suggested was confirmed in the JW article just posted... As the call came to a close, Pegula said Ryan asked to speak to the owner privately. Pegula said Ryan then directly asked him about his future beyond this season. Pegula said he had no choice but to set things straight with Ryan. "I was asked a point-blank question and based on the discussions we've been having all year, I felt it was better to tell Rex that we were going in a different direction," Pegula said. Ryan recommended Lynn to take over as interim coach for Buffalo's final game. Though Pegula was going to wait to evaluate Ryan's job after the season, he said he probably would've come to the same conclusion now as he did a week ago. Pegula based his decision on his own observations, input he's received from his front-office staff over the course of the season, and also on previous discussions he's had with Ryan regarding addressing the team's struggles. "(Whaley) had input on the basis of conversations throughout the year, what the problems were," Pegula said. "But did Doug ever say, 'Are we firing our coach, are we keeping our coach?' We never had that conversation. I took it upon myself to tell Rex on the basis of conversations about the games and the aftermath of certain games that, hey, things aren't going well."

Rex worked for Terry. Rex told him on that one-on-one phone call, according to reports, "If you're going to fire me, fire me now." Terry had probably wanted to wait until the end of the season. He probably intended to warn Russ and Doug in advance. But now that push unexpectedly came to shove, Terry honored Rex's request. So Whaley was not "privy" to that conversation. That conversation was unplanned and no one knew in advance where it would go. Here are the only facts that actually matter. Rex was fired. Even continuity guys like me can see why. Now Whaley is in charge of the new HC search. GMs typically hire HCs so putting Whaley in charge is interesting (given his past role) but nothing especially worrisome. I see no drama here. No sign of dysfunction. I'll pass on all the hand-wringing and Sully-esque whining. Or - at least - I'll wait until Whaley chooses a new HC.

Yep, it's hard to defend our running game when we effectively have 2, sometimes 3, running backs in the backfield. I don't know how to quantify TT's contribution to the running game but I do know it's more than just his rushing yards. Still, his inconsistent vision and accuracy can be maddening.

Gugny, nice admission. I wanted to believe in EJ because he's a class act. I wanted to believe in EJ because he works & studies hard. I wanted to believe in EJ because he's thrown some beautiful passes that hinted at potential. But after the Jets game, all hope and belief are gone.

Thanks for the summary. Perfectly predictable.

Agree. Whaley will be largely in PR mode today. Far more interesting is who he'll hire for HC, who'll he draft, which FAs he'll sign, and what players he'll jettison.

Yikes, what we see is the tip of the iceberg. Maybe not even that much. We have virtually no idea what's actually happening at OBD. We have no idea how well they're doing their due diligence We have little idea how much authority Whaley has (or deserves). We have zero knowledge of their motivations. We do know a few things about the org chart but not enough to draw any sweeping conclusions.

Much truth in this. I believe even the Pats draft more QBs than the Bills. I do think it's hard to have two developmental QBs on the team at the same time (we have Cardale), but I also think the Bills should have drafted many more QBs since Kelly retired than we have. Even at the considerable risk of wasting draft picks on QBs who don't work out like EJ.

Oh Wise One! I'm glad you know TT's future when us mere mortals are hanging on to futile hope. You may be right about TT's mediocrity. I'm personally not convinced yet. I remember when I thought Plunkett was a proven mediocrity. In his 5th and last year in New England, he completed a stunning 39% of his passes! After two more mediocre years in San Francisco, he went to Oakland and led them to two Super Bowl championships. I remember when I thought Drew Brees was a proven mediocrity. Being a Purdue alum, I watched his career closely and was disappointed by the uninspiring numbers he put up in San Diego. His first three years there he averaged barely 200 yards passing per game. He was Tyrod, without the legs. Now Brees just completed his 5th 5,000 yard season - more 5,000 yard seasons than all other NFL QBs in history combined! Those, and other examples, taught me not to jump to conclusions too quickly. Some QBs need time to develop.

"What you saw today is what we are without Tyrod." This is what I thought when I watched the game. Scary.

There are few things more fun than an uninformed opinion. Fan logic: we're not happy with our QBs and WRs therefore their coaches need to be fired. Coaches don't recruit. They get what they get and coach them up as best they can. The talent of the players limits the accomplishment of the coaches. Maybe the TT we saw this year was the best of all possible TTs. Maybe he would have been far worse with another QB coach coaching him. Maybe Lee performed a coaching miracle just getting this much production out of TT. Without more information, we have no way of knowing.

There is NOTHING on Lynn's resume that says he'll be a good HC. He's not even a proven OC at this point. As fans, we don't see his intellect, his work-ethic, his interpersonal skills, his organizational skills, his judgment, his leadership. We have no reason to believe he'll be a good HC. Then again, some of the people who actual know him say he's got what it takes. And they may be right.

I really like EJ's attitude and his reported work ethic. And there were moments in his career when he looked like a NFL QB. There are some pretty passes in his resume. But after today, all I can do is wish him well on another team.

Man, what are you talking about? Lynn had 5 days to hire the coaching staff he wants, rebuild the culture, and implement his philosophy and scheme. How much time do you want to give him?