hondo in seattle

I'd be thrilled if they had a chance to interview Tony Dungy.

Maybe my favorite is when people write "Hugh Jackson" - or better yet, "Hugh Jackman" - instead of "Hue Jackson." Hopefully if we hire him to be our next HC - and hopefully we don't - we all learn to spell the name correctly. Sadly, I spell Pegula right because I tend to pronounce it phonetically as PEG-you-la.

Pegula might have told Whaley that the final decision is his. But with the Pegulas attending every interview, it will be hard for Whaley not to know which way they lean. And then what? Does Whaley go with his own judgment or defer to the Pegulas? There's never been a lot of job stability in defying owners. Let's hope the Pegulas and Whaley agree.

I don't want to hire a HC based on EJ's need for a mentor. Especially when I'm not convinced EJ will ever be a good starter, even with the best mentors in the world. I want a HC who's a great HC, not just a QB guru. I do however believe we should find the best QB coach around. Maybe we already have him - Todd Downing. I don't know. Given that we might not find a QB better than EJ before the 2015 season begins, it makes obvious sense to coach EJ up as best as possible. And we need a creative OC who doesn't need a top-flight QB to deliver offensive production. Because we're probably not going to have that kind of QB next year. Adam Gase is a great coordinator when he has Peyton Manning out there. I wonder what he could do with a lesser QB.

Wny? Unorthodox? Maybe. Screwed up? Not necessarily. Really the only thing the GM is supposed to do with coaches is hire the HC. Other than that, in most cases, he lets the coach do his thing. In a couple cases, the GM reports to the HC. I don't see why the HC has to report to the GM or vice-versa. They're distinct job functions. Too often you see good coaches get fired by bad GMs because the GM doesn't want to accept the fact that he just hasn't acquired enough player talent for his coach to work with. If Pegula separates the two (GM and HC) in the organization structure, you preclude that.

It's hard not to imagine that Marrone and Hackett had something to do with it. And the state of the offensive line. I believe Orton was in the top five of the league in snap-to-throw time, which was of course a factor of his lack of faith in protection. It must have been frustrating to know you were missing open receivers either because you were (1) getting hit, or (2) rightfully afraid of getting hit. I'm not saying Orton was a great QB. But looking at things from his POV, it's easy to find reasons why he might have been unhappy with the state of the offense and, particularly, the passing attack. And didn't Boobie say Marrone doesn't have the best personality?

With all the talk of Polian coming in, I worried that Pegs had soured on Whaley or that Whaley's relationship with the Pegulas was strained. Worst case scenario would be that Whaley was so miffed that he would quit. Hearing that Whaley is leading the search gives me a feeling that there is some stability at OBD after all.

Somewhere I read that Hue Jackson comes on like Pete Carroll when you first meet him with all sorts of confidence and positive energy. But, according to the article, the pretense wears thin after a while and you see Jackson for what he really is: a fraud & pretender. I'm smart enough not to believe everything I read yet this negative description of Jackson sticks with me even though I've read more positive takes since. Hue did go 8-8 with a weak Raiders squad in 2011. They haven't won more than 4 games in a season since he left.

I'm not sure they saw this coming but they certainly allowed it to happen. The Pegulas have tons of money. If they really wanted Doug to coach the team for the next four years, they would have accepted his conditions. But, in fact, that's not what they wanted. Their faith in Saint Marrone was far from absolute. So they let him walk. There is so much speculation and contradictory reports on the internet right now. It's hard to know what's true. But the one undeniable fact is that Pegs allowed Marrone to leave and that says a lot.

I'm a fan of anyone who wears Bills colors so I was a Doug fan until he quit. I was a Doug fan with reservations, of course. His NFL experience was at OC and OL and yet our offensive, especially our OL, struggled. You had to be worried about that. But you also had to give Doug credit for delivering the first winning season in a decade. I don't wish ill upon anyone but I won't be pulling for Marrone going forward either.

Let's remember, Pegula let Marrone walk. Marrone had conditions for staying, including a 2 year extension. If Pegula et al were enamored with Marrone and truly believed in him, I imagine they would have met those conditions. It's not like Terry couldn't afford contract extensions. Clearly Pegula (and, I assume, OBD) were not convinced that Marrone was the long term answer at HC. They decided it was best for the team to not meet his conditions and let him leave. Let's see how that decision pans out.

If Gase was able to import some of Denver's offensive productivity and Schwartz kept the defense good....

What was Polian's new role supposed to be and where would that have left Whaley?

Worst bind ever? How about when we had to start one of our WRs (Ed Rutkowski) at quarterback? Or when we were stuck with Harvey Johnson as our Head Coach - twice?!?!? If we find a good coach and competent QB, we'll be okay.

Yessir!

I'm not sure we know enough of the circumstances involved but your observations do indeed beg the question.

So much contradictory stuff in the media that I've decided - for the time being - to believe none of it.

If we all had veto power, there'd be nobody left.

In the 6 years after Gruden won his SB in Tampa with the team Tony Dungy built, he went 45-51. That track record scares me. Plus, Dennis is right. Gruden loves MNF and gets paid well to live a good life.

More than once this season, I told me wife in disgust, "That's it! We're not watching any more Bills games this season!" But then we do. Welcome back!

Yeah it all makes sense except that the Chargers aren't going to give us Rivers. Given what we have right now, I'd love to be wrong.

I agree with most of this except for the part I bolded. There is certainly something to the Steeler system, But part of that system includes filling positions with good people - like Cowher. It's true that Cowher did not inherit a train wreck from Chuck Noll when he retired. But Chuck won 38 games in his last 5 years as coach: Cowher won 53 in his first five years. In other words, Cowher improved upon what he was given. But you're last statement "He has nothing to gain, and a legend to lose" probably succinctly sums up the reality of the situation. Cowher's not going to coach here or anywhere else - much to my disappointment.

Somewhere I saw Hue Jackson's name mentioned as a possibility. That's someone I don't want.

Really? Aaron Williams seemed pissed. I work in the business world and business is never all business. Loyality and integrity matter to many people. Many, many times I've seen business folks make business decisions because of loyalty. Those who give the most loyalty usually get the most loyalty so it ends up paying off. But you're right that it was a sound business decision.

As a business decision, you can't fault Marrone. If he had stayed, he would have effectively been working for free in 2015 (he gets the $4 million either way). Plus, with no starting QB on the roster, the win total could have easily declined thus ruining his marketability. So he got out then the getting was good. Nonetheless, it feels like he quit on both his players and coaches. If Pegula had treated him unjustly in some way, you could rationalize it. But Pegs honored his contract. It was Marrone who suddenly decided that the contract he originally signed wasn't good enough. I guess a 15-17 record can go to your head.