Good thoughts!
Consistency was definitely part of the problem because you had to get new players for new schemes. That’s part of the reason it was so hard to get out of mediocrity, it became self perpetuating.
At certain times, one of the reasons I hoped they’d give a coach a longer chance was simply so they wouldn’t have to start over and continue to replace good players and waste draft picks. One of my thought processes would be, “what if this coach just needs more time?“
I think that McD going to the playoffs his first year really helped buy him some time to turn this thing around even though we didn’t go anywhere that first playoff year. Think about it, people would’ve already been calling for his head in year three because he hadn’t been to the playoffs yet. “Here we go again, just another coach that can’t take this team places.”
Thankfully, that era is over. Go Bills!