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This whole thing is really screwed up. I am fine with Marrone leaving, but the front office stuff needs to be straightened out pronto. Either the Bills are committed to Whaley or they are not. Having Whaley leading the search for a head coach seems to suggest that he is staying on with the Bills as GM, but if this is a lukewarm commitment at best and he could be replaced after the 2015 season, I would much prefer that this decision be made now. The worst possible scenario would be for the Bills to hire a new GM after the 2015 season who would want to pick his own coach.

Was Polian going to bring AJ Smith in as GM or in some other capacity? If that is true and Whaley now knows it, the current situation is beyond weird.

What choice do the Bills have at this point but to have Whaley lead the process? Maybe this has some significance for Whaley's future with the Bills, but I think it is too early to tell given the current circumstances.

My guess is that Pegula was going to let things ride out for another year to give Whaley and Marrone a chance, and then make wholesale changes after next season if the team performs poorly.

The most unfortunate part of the Polian thing is that it makes the franchise look bad immediately after the Marrone debacle. I know that this was not Polian's intention, and the reality is that he is not at the right point of this career to undertake a "heavy lift" with the Bills. For the sake of the future and continuity, the Bills may be better off with a football architect who will be around for the long term with the energy and desire to last.

When Pegula purchased the Bills, he retained one of the best and most experienced advisors for the purchase of a sports team (Greenberg from Allen & Company). I am sure that this was a very helpful part of the overall success in Pegula having the winning bid to buy the Bills. I am surprised, assuming it is true, that Pegula did not retain a consultant/advisor immediately after buying the Bills. I know it would have been potentially a bit disruptive to the organization at that time, but if Pegula had specific knowledge of the opt out or the friction among certain members of the organization, it would have made even more sense.

The only thing that matters now is fixing the mess. It needs to be fixed quickly, but in a way that will makes sense for the long-term.

If it is true that Marrone spoke badly about the Bills' organization when he spoke to Polian, it must be galling for Pegula to have to pay Marrone millions of dollars for opting out while he continues to rip the organization. Couldn't the Bills at least have negotiated a non-disparagement provision for all of that money?

This is really bad. Optics matter if you want to hire good people. The Bills have now been spurned by Marrone and Polian and the negativity surrounding these decisions is all over. I was okay with the circumstances surrounding Marrone's departure leaving because I thought Polian was coming. Now with more negative stuff coming out and Polian deciding not to take a position with the Bills, I am very concerned. Who is available to clean up this mess? Wolf, Accorsi and Casserly already have been retained by other teams. I also think we are underestimating what needs to be done here. The perception that this is a "heavy lift" is not helpful, but without a starting caliber QB, among other things, it probably is.

I think the current situation forces the Bills' hand, and the Bills will need to make a decision on Whaley now and not wait until next year or after. Hiring another head coach will be disruptive for the organization and the team. Doing the same with a GM next year also would be disruptive because it can potentially affect a number of team personnel, including scouts and team administrators, and the overall direction of the team. Also, if Pegula decides to hire a new GM next year, it can be problematic to already have a head coach in place such that the new GM would not be able to hire his own coach, at least in the first year. We need to either clean house or commit to Whaley now so that we can begin to have some continuity and end the cycle of hirings and firings in our football operations.

I think all bets are off at this point regarding Whaley and possibly Brandon. What happens also may not play out as quickly as the situation with Marrone, particularly if Polian is coming but not until the end of January or after.

Some thoughts below. 1. Marrone seems to have a huge ego, and at least on the surface, it appears that he has pulled a Parcells type move by opting out (we all know he is no Parcells). I have a feeling that what will come out over time is that the Pegulas were not interested in retaining Marrone long term, and his position as head coach would be in jeopardy in the short term. This would be consistent with the reports that Pegula would not give him or his assistants extensions and the silence from Pegula at the end of the season regarding next season. Simply put, I do not think that Pegula wanted Marrone to continue as the head coach of the Bills. 2. I really hope there is a plan in place and the Bills were prepared for this scenario. 3. A lot of stuff will come out about Marrone now that he has opted out. We are already beginning to hear that people in the organization will not miss him or his miserable demeanor. Will be interesting to see if this will be the view of the current players as well. The "Saint Doug" stuff and the supposed friction with Whaley that we all observed during training camp were definitely a prelude to current events. 4. Outside of Buffalo, the optics of this will look bad, particularly if Marrone leaves for the Jets. There is more to this story, but I am not sure the national media will appreciate the realities and nuances of this situation. 5. I get why Marrone negotiated and would want the opt out provision in his contract, but I do not understand why the Bills would agree to it without an offset provision. That is poor negotiating. 6. Whaley may have won the battle, but he may still lose the war. If Polian is hired, I am not sure what this would mean for Whaley since I am sure the Polian would want to hire his own people, including a GM. 7. I have no idea if the head coaching position for the Bills will be attractive. Plusses are the defense, a young roster and the resources of the Pegulas. Minuses are no first round pick in 2015 and no starting caliber QB on the roster. 8. I hope Schwartz stays as DC. We need some continuity, and Schwartz did a very good job with the defense. I do not think that I would want him as the head coach. 9. I like the way Pegula handled the opt out in not agreeing to give Marrone an extension or give in to his other demands. But this shows how tough the NFL can be, and none of the owners will be real friends. I hope the Pegulas are tough and will be able to navigate through all of the current and future issues and obstacles. The most important skill for now will be their ability to hire quality people to run the organization (football related and business related). 10. I will always wonder whether Marrone played Orton in the last game to try to get his win total higher. Maybe his interests were aligned with what was good for the Bills overall, but you do need to question his motivations about this and maybe other things as well.

If it is true that Marrone gets paid in full for 2015 without any offset, the person who negotiated that deal should be fired.

I really thought that based on the items listed that this is where it would end up. Marrone seems to have a huge ego, and the broadcasting of the opt out was definitely planned. It also makes sense as to why he played Orton in the last game. He was gunning for as good a record as possible with the opt out in mind.

The decision to trade our first round pick in 2015 to move up to take Watkins will potentially hurt us in the search for a new head coach.

Brandon deserves tremendous credit for his marketing efforts with a team that has not made the playoffs in 15 years. Going to Oakland could be interesting to Brandon, particularly if the real goal is to move the Raiders to LA in a year or two.

Marrone is leveraging the opt out knowing that there are no guarantees that next year will be better without a starting caliber QB currently on the roster. Makes some sense, but the guy's ego is definitely worrisome.

Yes. The QB situation and lack of a first round pick must be considerations (plus his relatively low salary compared to most NFL coaches).

If Marrone has more power or they are trying to placate him, Hackett will not be fired.

Marrone is clearly angling for something, probably more money and who knows what else. The opt out in Marrone's contract was leaked on purpose. If this is true, forget about Hackett getting fired. If Marrone really has the leverage, he will not have to make any changes to his staff unless he wants to, and the only member of the front office in real danger is Whaley. Marrone's stock is up and Whaley's is down. Whether this is fair, it is difficult to say.

Most of the items I listed were factual, except for two and three.

Things are not adding up, or are at least very weird. Consider the following: 1. Polian states that Marrone should be considered for coach of the year after the GB game. 2. Whaley gets negative press from people like Don Banks and Jason La Canfora. Banks, in his "Black Monday Primer" column about possible GM/coaching changes, makes specific reference to the trading up to get Sammy ("Whaley could be vulnerable to be replaced"). La Canfora states that Whaley may be under "review." 3. Rumors about Polian coming to Buffalo in some capacity are refuted by Polian, but then tonight Polian apparently was evasive about it on Sirrius radio Peter King notes today in his MMQB column that a Polian family member is a serious candidate to run the Bills' personnel staff (or two Polians). 4. Marrone's ability to opt out of his contract becomes widely publicized immediately after the season ends with NFL insiders, such as Schefter, suggesting that Marrone could be highly sought after if he decided to opt out. 5. Orton retires suddenly. 6. It is reported that no one on the current staff has been told that they are good for next season. No meetings with ownership are planned. Pegula continues to be silent about any future plans. 7. During the press conference, Marrone notes that he texted the "owner" about Orton retiring and asked Brandon to inform Whaley. Where is this headed?

Why wouldn't he opt out? If he thought the Bills would still try to retain him, at a minimum he could increase his compensation, which apparently is at the very low end of the coaching salary spectrum.

Unless it is Polian, it does not look like the Bills are going to be hiring a consultant, at least not a name we typically hear (Accorsi, Wolf, and Casserly). Kind of shocked about this. Seemed like it would make a lot of sense given new ownership and a failure to make the playoffs for 15 years.

Disclosure of the opt out in Marrone's contract has been widely disseminated. I do not believe this is an accident. Possibly it is coming from his agent. We all know that agents have conversations with teams all of the time. Maybe a formal offer cannot be made, but I would expect that the parameters of a possible deal would be discussed in general terms. Under this scenario, Marrone would opt out only if a deal looks certain and then formally negotiate with the interested team or teams and sign shortly after opting out. I may be wrong, but I think that Marrone, to the world outside of Buffalo and our message boards, is perceived to have undertaken a difficult situation and made the best of it under very difficult the circumstances. Losing an owner, having a bidding process for the team, getting a new owner, having a losing culture after not making the playoffs for 14 years, having a rookie GM, and not having a starting caliber QB on the roster would individually be problems. In the aggregate, these issues would be exceedingly difficult to overcome during the course of a season.