hondo in seattle

Our D didn't collapse when Schwartz revamped what Pettine had done. If the FO resigns Hughes and Spikes and the team stays healthy (including a returning Kiko), this D will only become better. Most of these guys were here for Pettine and already know Rex's scheme. The transition should be easy.

Not to point fingers at anyone, but there does seem to be a trend. As for drafting the kid... I'd be worried about only 3 games of tape and the fact that he was beat out by two QBs on his own college team. Makes me wonder what flaws he's shown in practice that we didn't see in the game.

Nor did Rex always line up 3 down linemen.

This is s a good post. Until John Fox became available, I didn't really like any of the options out there. Even John Fox would be controversial - he was a .500 coach at Carolina and only started winning with a talented Broncos team where his GM thought he under-delivered.

Ultimately I disagree but it's nice to read a cogent criticism of the Rex Ryan instead of some of the crap that's been posted. So thanks for that! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Whaley questioned Rex about his plans for the offense. I doubt if his answer was as superficial as "I'll hire Greg Roman." Rex knows offense is the Achilles Heel to his reputation and I'm sure he's reflected upon it. But let's not understate John Idzik hamstringing Rex. It would have been hard for Vince Lombardi to win many games with the players the Jets FO acquired for Rex. I still think there's a certain brilliance to this. Whaley hired the best defensive mind out there to make our D even better. Then he hired the best running game coordinator available because he knows we don't have an immediate solution at QB so we'll need to run the ball. So if our coaches (Rex & Roman) simply replicate what they've done in the past, we'll have a top notch defense and a good running attack. That's more than we had this year and should be sufficient to get us into the playoffs. And while Roman has never coordinated a particular potent passing attack, he did turn around Alex Smith's career. As for the impotency of the 49er passing attack this year, you really should read the Sacramento Bee article I linked earlier that puts much of the blame on Kaep and the receivers. Our offense gets better because Roman is better than Hackett. Our D gets better because Ryan is a little better than Schwartz. And our player-talent gets better because FAs would rather come work for Rex Ryan and Douche Marrone. Rex might not have been the best candidate out there but I just can't see this as anything but a step forward nonetheless.

I think Rex's resume on defense is better than Schwartz's resume. Given their different philosophies, it was hard to imagine them working together. It sucks for the players but what Rex installs will be very similar to what Pettine installed not very long ago.

If someone already made this point, my apologies, but Kaep sucks. He's not accurate. If Roman couldn't develop a good passing attack with Kaep in San Francisco, why would you think he could do it in Buffalo?

Or he might have been working with the worst GM in the NFL since Matt Millen.

Holy Crap! Does Rex really have the time to research a draft class so thoroughly that he knows who to pick in the 7th round. Yeah, I get it's a throwaway pick anyway. But I still think the Bills should let Rex do what he's good at (coaching) and let Whaley do what he's good at (player personnel). But it will be interesting to see how the Ryan-Whaley dynamic works out. Every HC worries about having a good GM who gets good talent for him. I think Rex probably worried more than most after the hell of working with John Idzik. It seems that Rex taking the job with the Bills is a vote of confidence for DW.

Derek, I really disagree with you. Here's why... We didn't just hire Rex. We hired the Rex/Roman combo and - although it took me a while to warm up to this - I think it will be a great coaching duo for the Bills. In San Francisco, Alex Smith was 1st round bust and perpetually mediocre QB until he blossomed under Roman's tutelage. Then Harbaugh decided to start Kaep over Smith and, as we've seen this year, Kaep sucks. Kaep isn't a good QB and his inaccuracy held Roman's offense back. When you say Kaep is better than EJ, did you actually watch Kaep play this year? According to the Sacramento Bee*, the 49ers left 100 points on the table this season either because receivers dropped passes or Kaep threw inaccurate balls. That's not the Roman's fault. That's lack of player talent. Roman is clearly better than Hackett - at least Roman had his rushing offense in the top ten every year. As far as Rex is concerned, over the past 6 years, the Jets were the best D in the NFL in passing yards, completion percentage, first downs and yards per play. Rex accomplished those stellar defensive statistics despite the crap talent Idzik acquired for him. Rex just might make our good Bills D into a great D. Let's imagine this: Ryan has our D in the top five (again) and Roman gets our running attack in the top 10. That's what these gentlemen tend to accomplish and it may be enough to get us into the playoffs. We almost made the playoffs this year despite an offense that was putrid at everything. Whaley is a smart man. He knows he doesn't have an immediate solution at QB. So he brings in Rex to make the D even better and because he knows Rex prefers to run the ball - something we can realistically hope to do well next year. And with Rex's assistance, Whaley brings in Roman whose expertise is building running attacks. Sure, they'd love to find a franchise QB. In the meantime, they're building a team that will get into the playoffs in 2015 without a marquis QB. At this point, all we truly need are two OGs. I'm guessing Whaley has a plan for the OL too. It's going to be a fun offseason and next January we're going to be watching the Bills on TV. * http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article5877429.html

Is Rex the Pete Carroll of the East? Both are great motivators who preach team unity and maximum effort. Both are 'player-coaches' loved by their players. And both are brilliant defensive tacticians. In fact, Rex and Pete may possess the two best defensive minds in the NFL today. But Pete has more player-talent in Seattle than Rex had in NY. Might we remedy that in Buffalo?

I don't care what Cimini says. If he doesn't see Rex's strengths as a coach, I'm confused. Rex may be the best defensive coach around today. He had the bad fortune of working for guy who may have been the worst GM since Matt Millen. But Rex's stats on the defensive side of the ball shine nonetheless. Can Rex and Whaley fix the offense? That's the million dollar question. We'll all speculate and argue but only time will tell.

That's a very valid question. Stories from the Bay Area seem to suggest Roman was more independent under Harbaugh than Marrone was under Payton. But it's impossible to know exactly how much of their offense was Harbaugh and how much was Roman. Pettine did a credible job when he got out from under Rex's large shadow. Let's hope Roman does great things away from Harbaugh's shadow. The thing about Roman is that he's been mentioned as a HC possibility for a couple years now. People in the NFL community seem to think highly of him. So I'm guessing he was not merely a figurehead in SF. But I don't know.

Ryan's "blind spot" on offense has a lot to do with a lack of talent. Idzik was an awful GM. But at least Rex hired a capable NFL OC for the Bills in Greg Roman (I'm warming up to this choice). Prior to joining the Bills, neither Hackett nor Doug Marrone himself had ever run a NFL offense. Despite the "OC" title in New Orleans, Marrone was a glorified OL coach there. To this date, neither Hackett nor Marrone has ever run a good offense at the NFL level. They've been proven inept both running and passing. Roman at least has a track record of building good running attacks. His history with the passing game is less distinguished but Alex Smith finally bloomed as a QB under Roman's tutelage. Rex is a great defensive coach. He's also a great motivator. Roman is a capable offensive coach. There may be better coaching staffs in the NFL but ours isn't bad. It may even be good. It's now Whaley's job to get Rex and Roman some offensive linemen and a QB.

I was one of the posters negatively commenting on Roman's ability to develop a passing attack. And I maintain some of my reservations. But these stats - especially the improvement in Alex Smith when he started working with Roman - make me hope I'm wrong. Thanks.

Looking at the past six years, the Jets D is first in pass yards, completion percentage, first downs, and yards per play. It's second in total yards. This all despite a poor GM. Chris Simms called Rex the best defensive mind in the NFL in the past 10 or 15 years. With those stats, it's hard to disagree. While I appreciate what Schwartz did last year, and the loyalty the players feel toward him, it's hard not to view him as expendable.

You won the lottery but you want to trade your winning lottery ticket for a new ticket that may or may not win - and probably won't?

You've gotta give Leroi the benefit of the doubt. If I'm not mistaken, he was the first to report a 2nd interview for Rex, the first to report Rex was hired, and the first to report Rex is bringing Roman (still unconfirmed but now widely repeated). If Leroi says the plan for the QB situation, free agency and draft will "blow your mind," I'm guessing the plan for the draft involves a trade. Either we're trading away players for picks or trading picks for players. Otherwise, how could any draft plan be "amazing" before the fact? Either that, or Leroi has developed a lot of faith in Whaley and his scouts and expects them to make good picks, whoever those picks might be.

I voted "Approve" but am decidedly undecided. First, I want to see what kind of coaching staff he puts together. Then, more importantly, I want to see how many games we win. But I am happy about one thing. Although I was not a Ralph-Is-Cheap guy, you couldn't help but notice that we typically didn't pay top dollar for coaches. The Pegulas, on the other hand, paid a lot of money for a big name coach. I think that in itself sends a good message.

Here's a sample of responses for those too lazy to check it out for yourselves. Nothing like texts from all your friends at 8 AM on a Sunday mocking you because your team handed a division rival a huge coaching upgrade. If that happens, I might be a little bit of a Bills fan. Reading the bills message board, it's funny how they're mostly thrilled, yet when I checked their board when Marrone was fired, they were all screaming no to Rex. I guess all fans do this, but still funny Don't know what to tell you if you don't think the Bills are in better position now than they were yesterday. And that position was already better than the Jets. We got big problems here fellas. I don't know what to tell you if you think Rex is anything to write home about as a HC. It's funny, because he's quickly become one of the more overrated head coaches in all of professional sports. I never liked his ability to hire an offensive staff ,that would worry me if I'm a Bills fan ex Ryan has signed a 5 Year contract with the Bills. My worst dream has come true again.... (Revis to Pats was my 1st)

If we do indeed hire Rex and Roman and retain Schwartz, it means we end up with three of our HC candidates on our staff. I only expected that in a Shanahan/Shanaha/Schwartz scenario. As I try to be optimistic about this, I reason that three HC candidates on the same staff ought to be a good thing.

According to some reports, Rex wants to bring David Lee in as the QB coach. We all may remember Lee, the guy who introduced the wildcat to the NFL, as the coach who Gailey hired to help Fitz with his mechanics. Thoughts? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2325799-rex-ryan-to-buffalo-bills-latest-contract-details-comments-and-reaction?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

The defensive players might be worried because they seem to like and respect Jim Schwartz. Didn't Kyle Williams previously tweet something about "continuity" regarding the desire to keep Schwartz? The offensive players are probably waiting to hear about an OC hiring if Rex indeed signs the offered contract to be HC. I'm not on twitter but I'm guessing it's mostly wait-and-see with the players now.

I wonder what Hackett's next job will be. OC at some middling college maybe?