Last Guy on the Bench

Troy Andersen LB Montana St. Matt Araiza P San Diego St.

That's exactly what I've started to do, and it's great. I'll have a couple of subscriptions running at one time. When I've gone through most of the current content that interests me with those subscriptions, I'll cancel one or both and add another. You don't pay much that way, and you can watch anything from any service (eventually), as long as you don't absolutely have to watch every show you like the minute it drops a new episode.

Question for the contract/capologists: There's been a lot of talk about the Bears drawing up a contract with a poison pill with a huge up front number. I guess the idea would be a very high first year salary. (Since any other kind of guaranteed money would be prorated across the contract.) But I feel like I remember reading that NFLPA agreement prohibits a drastic salary cut from one year to the next within the same contract. Don't remember what the number was. And I could be wrong, because I think I read that a few years ago. But if my memory is correct, that means you can't pay a guy $10,000,000 one year and $500,000 the next (in salary). If that's true, the Bears really couldn't have artificially jacked the front end of the contract up too much. Does anyone else remember this rule or know about it? Or am I just mistaken? BTW, clearly there is no rule against large increases in yearly salary within the same contract - Watson is supposedly getting only $1,000,000 in salary his first year in Cleveland so any suspension won't hurt him financially (which is pretty effed up in my opinion).

I actually thought the low-key vibe of the video was refreshing. I've enjoyed the Bills' recent social media hype work as much as the next guy. But it's nice to see something down-to-earth like this too. I love catching all of these little glimpses of the facilities and the people behind the scenes. And Von didn't seem that subdued to me - more nervous, reserved, trying to feel his way into the place. Even for a multi-millionaire, HOF vet, it's gonna feel disorienting at first walking through your new home and meeting 100 people at once. I hope they do more videos like this. I can't get enough of the day-to-day life of the team.

These critiques of the Rooney Rule are simple minded. Regardless of race, there are lots of reasons it's good to get in a room with execs, even if they have already decided who they think they are going to hire. And there are also lots of good reasons for the organizations to hold multiple interviews, even when they have a preferred candidate. I've been on lots of hiring committees where we had a pretty good idea of who we would probably hire (often an internal candidate). But we went through our process and interviewed multiple people. Sometimes, we changed our minds because someone unexpected blew us away. More often, we did end up hiring the candidate we thought we would, but when we liked someone else we interviewed, we kept them in mind for other jobs (which they sometimes got), and also were able to talk about them to others who were looking. If you don't get in the room, none of this can happen. The Rooney Rule is a reasonable response to systemic, structural racism (based on who has what networks and relationships historically) and to personal, unconscious racism (who execs are "comfortable with," the "kind of person" they are looking for). It can't singlehandedly change either of these, but it does offer some incursion. Not saying it's perfect or beyond critique. There may be better ways to tackle the problem. But all of these "See, it's a farce!" posts are pretty thin.

Great post. I'll add: Let's assume there is a badass, elite coach out there who is definitely better than McD. (I'm sure there is, somewhere, somehow. No on is arguing that McD is the greatest coach of all time.) Given their history with the Bills and Sabres, what on earth makes people think that the Pegulas are just the owners to find that coach? Or Beane? He's never hired a coach. Even the best football minds (not the Pegulas, though their hearts are in the right place) struggle to find good coaches. It's as hard as finding good QBs. Most teams miss a lot more than they hit. The odds of this leadership group finding a better coach than McD are super low. As many have said, one of his greatest strengths is his willingness to self-assess and to work on his weaknesses. And he seems to be very ego-free in terms of his relationships with his staff and players, so he will continue to try to bring in the people that can help him. Let the man grow. Let him evolve. Let him coach.

I don't know. Kelly beat Marino more often than not, but lots of people rank Marino ahead of him. Then and now. Of course, Mahomes is fantastic. I have no problem with anyone who says he's the best. But if I have to start a new team and pick one player, I'm taking #17.

Good points. It's very fair to criticize decisions and strategy in that game (or in any game). And I totally agree that there is no one solution. That's why I think you have to look at the gestalt of the thing, rather than focusing on one year or one result. There are definitely coaches that are reasonably competent and kind of plateau and don't grow into greatness. Maybe Jauron is a good example? Still, give Jauron Josh Allen and who knows how that goes? Even the Bucs Dungy/Gruden example is questionable to me. Yes they won the SB so it's hard to argue. At the same time, they only made the playoffs twice in the ensuing 17 years and got bounced in the wild card round both times. So was that really the direction to take for the team? Might Dungy have won a SB along the way and kept them more competitive? I don't know. I do know that when he arrived they hadn't made the playoffs in 13 years, and under him they went four times in six years. Pretty good. The alchemy of a good team is mysterious. Maybe it will become apparent over time that McD's weaknesses outweigh his strengths. But for me right now, his considerable strengths dramatically outweigh his weaknesses, even assuming I have a good read on his weaknesses, which I probably don't. And I do think he is a guy that will attack his weaknesses head-on. That's one of his most admirable qualities.

That "choking" reputation is what I'm talking about. It's juvenile. Reid won lots of big games before Mahomes. So did all of those coaches. I don't put so much weight on whether a person wins one particular game - the Super Bowl. There is too much randomness in there and too small a sample size. Coaches that go to multiple Super Bowls or even multiple conference championships win tons of big games along the way. I don't subscribe to the idea that there is only one big game. If you do, you are bound to be disappointed in most coaches most of the time. I believe there are many big games every year. That's not to say that all coaches are equal, or that different coaches don't have different strengths and weaknesses, including game management. That goes without saying. I just don't find it so obvious that someone is a genius or an idiot based on, say, whether a kicker hits a kick or not. If one play goes differently yesterday, McD just beat the big bad Chiefs on the road and likely wins a Super Bowl this year, or at least gets there. Is he a different coach based on any one of those plays? Not to me. That being said, I do think McD and Frazier made mistakes in that 13 seconds. I'm particularly troubled by the way they were guarding the boundary as if out of bounds mattered at all with time only for three plays and with three KC timeouts left. Out of bounds or not wasn't going to make any difference. I also don't understand how you don't put two bodies each on Kelce and Hill, and I agree with people who argue that you didn't really need much pass rush, since Mahomes was going to throw it quickly no matter what. Still, we could be wrong about all of that, and even if we're right, so what? They made a mistake. I don't see it as indicative that they will never win "the big one." It's just something they'll have to learn from. To answer your question, I would never put a specific result on a specific year to decide whether to fire a coach, if it were up to me. I'd look at the overall body of work, I'd look at the way that coaches and players do or don't improve over the years, I'd look at the relationships between coaches, players, front office staff, support staff, etc. All of that matters to me. If the Bills continue to field a competitive football team that is generally in the playoff hunt, and if they continue to cultivate what looks like a very healthy organizational culture and learning mindset, I would keep the coach. The only reason I would fire a coach that had that kind sustained competitive success is if it grew clear that things had gotten stale, that he had stopped growing and progressing, and/or that he was no longer relating to and developing players well. So pretty much nothing next year short of a player revolt would make me in favor of letting McD go. Again, I wasn't originally a big fan of the hire. And I still don't think he's the kind of guy I would really jibe with. Not my kind of personality really. I also suspect he might never be the sharpest tactical tool in the shed. And I do wonder what Reid saw in him that made him fire him. Still, with all of that, I think he is doing an absolutely fantastic job and I hope to see him as the Bills coach for many years to come, unless something major changes in his approach.

Your list of "failed" coaches is hilarious. I hope McD is our version of those coaches. Two of them won Super Bowls. The tother two won bushels of games. Reeves won multiple conference championships and was NFL Coach of the Year twice. I love your definition of failure. I guess it includes 99% of coaches who ever coached, including a number of HOFers. McD will be in good company if he is one of those guys. According to you, the Chiefs never should have hired Reid, I guess.

Hope so. I'll be pulling for them, if I can convince my bruised heart to watch the game.

I agree, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I think they will romp over the Bengals. Maybe the Rams can give them a fight, but between Stafford and Mahomes I know who my money would be on. I think the Chiefs just won the Super Bowl tonight. By 13 seconds.

Yeah, I think he erred too. Definitely on the defensive strategy. Maybe on the kickoff - I'm less sure about that. Most coaches makes lots of mistakes though. It's an unbelievably complex and fast moving game. I'm not ready to throw out the people who have built by far the most satisfying and fun version of the Bills in 25 years. Josh has much to do with that, of course. He's a freak, and a good human, and unbelievably competitive and dedicated. But he could have landed with coaches who didn't develop him well, and who didn't prioritize the kind of tight and human culture that he seems to thrive in. I think he's in the right place with the right coaches. I'm looking forward to the next 10 years (although I don't know how much more damage my heart can take from these brutal losses - I've been at it for 40 years (50 if you count the fact that as a little kid my first football love was the Fran Tarkenton Vikings teams - no strangers to brutal losses)).

Fair enough. Sorry if I took you out of context. Totally agree that right now Reid is a better tactical coach than McD. And I'm not sure McD's strength will ever be tactical. But I do believe that he will keep working to find and develop good tactical minds and that everyone on the staff will keep working to improve their approach over time. I agree about Dabol too. He's a funny one. I like him, and think he will also continue to get better as a play caller. (No idea how he'll be as a head coach.) But I did think the coaching tonight on offense was nervous and tight at times, especially early. They needed to unleash Allen early and let things play out. That series of calls before the punt on 4th and 1 was painful (as was the punt). But they're human. I just get tired of everyone who makes a mistake (especially when a lot of the mistakes probably aren't actual mistakes) getting called idiots and trash, etc. But you weren't doing that, so sorry to aim my frustration at your reasonable post.

Do you know how many years people crapped on Reid for never being able to win big games?! Coaching, like anything else, is a developmental process. Plus you need the players. Plus you need to get a little lucky. I swear that Pittsburgh is the only team in the league with its head on straight in terms of letting coaches stick around long enough to develop and to give the organization some coherence. I wasn't a McD fan when he was hired. But he has done a great job building an organization that is geared toward long-term competitiveness. And he continues to grow as a coach. He'll get a little better each year if he's given time. These knee jerk responses are predictable, but ridiculous.

Bills or Chiefs are going to destroy either one of these teams.

I don't think it was confusing. He would be surprised if both were on the roster. He would not surprised if neither were on the roster. And it's implied that he wouldn't be surprised if the third possibility holds - that only one of them is on the roster.

Love it. Milano is serious. In other news, how good is Micah Parsons!? Coverage and rush. I would love to have that guy on our team.

Thanks. I went and looked for it, and I think this is what you were talking about? Pretty cool. Belestrator on Allen, Diggs, Singletary

Aw, crap. Now I have to like him. What are you doing to me Bill, being all classy and large spirited? It's disturbing my universe.

Yes, they have seriously upped their game over the past couple of years. This year especially.

Agreed, he's a good poster. But "we" don't "all" hate the Chiefs. Many do, but I don't really get it. For me, they are a great team, and it has been fun to watch them. Love Reid. Love Mahomes (don't understand why people are hating on him - except for the obnoxious brother thing). Don't get me wrong, I do hate losing to them. But that's another story. I hope we plaster them by 50 on Sunday and Mitch T. is on for mop up duty the entire fourth quarter. But life's too short to hate every excellent and entertaining team in the league. Save the hatred for where it really matters: The *Patriots.

Diggs led the league last year in receptions and yards. Massive year. You can't expect him to put up those numbers every year. No one does. His current numbers would be 96 catches for 1150 yards (in a 16 game season to keep it comparable) - a nice year that would be 3rd all time on the Bills for receptions and 10th all time for yards. If that's a down year, I'll take it. Plus he could easily go off for a game or three and jack those numbers up. Now that we are good and have good players, people's expectations are stretched beyond realism (see e.g., every discussion of Josh's regression).

That subtle one at the end with McKenzie just DESTROYS me. Funniest/coolest handshake ever.

The Red Rifle. Gotta love him. (A little easier to take when we are up by 28 and it's preseason, of course.)