jahnyc

No, I don't think so, but I wonder if they will be able to work out a long-term contract with him. I do think Levitre is gone. It seems way too quiet if any negotiations were taking place or there was a possibility of him being re-signed.

Pretty pessimistic about the upcoming season as well and the current playoff drought is ridiculously long, but at some point it will get better. Even the Bengals have some good players now and have made the playoffs recently. My current negativity stems from the lack of a quality QB and so many holes on the team with not much available for free agent signings in terms of cap space. Kind of shocking that we do not have more cap room given the current talent on the team.

Nix's statements seem less positive about Levitre than what he was saying when Poz and Stevie were going into free agency. If Fitz is willing to forego or defer his upcoming $3 million bonus, I bet there is a better chance that he will be in training camp than Levitre. Not getting a good vibe that the Bills will be making an effort to re-sign Levitre.

I think Levitre gets at least $6 million per year in the open market and possibly up to $8 million per year. I would probably sign Levitre and pass on Woods next year. I really like Woods, but two major leg injuries makes me wonder whether his career will be shortened by past injuries or future injuries.

PFT reports that Dustin Colquitt, the punter for the Chiefs, signed a five year deal worth $18.75 million with $8.9 million guaranteed. This is crazy. How much is Levitre going to get on the open market?

Just read on PFT (from a Tim Graham blog) that Levitre has not heard from the Bills at all (although it is not clear whether this means no contact or there has been contact but no offer made). He is clearly disappointed that he has not received an offer yet. Also, read on Fan Friday with Chris Brown that if Levitre asks for the "moon," Chris Brown does not think that Levitre will be back with the Bills. This all makes no sense to me.

Do we know if the Bills are using the exclusive or non-exclusive franchise tag on Byrd? I kind of hope it is non-exclusive since the Bills could match or get two first round picks if he is signed by another team.

It will be interesting to see if anything has really changed or enough has changed. Russ Brandon is in charge and RW is much less involved and has ceded authority. The Bills fire Gailey and his coaches and bring in a new coach and staff. Nix stays, but Whaley is clearly up next. I think the team could have benefitted from a new GM with strong experience, but they decided to keep Nix, which concerns me. I am not enamored with his drafts over the last three years. The team may a bit more talent now versus when Nix became GM, but the overall talent level is still low. If Nix steps down, are we confident that Whaley can be the guy? How involved has he been with recent drafts? So where we are? Some change, but probably not enough.

Was he projected as a strong safety or free safety? I don't think he would beat out Searcy at strong safety after one training camp as a safety. Seems like he would be a back-up at safety next year, assuming he is moved and the Bills re-sign Byrd.

As I noted above, 2009 was a very good draft, but the 2010 and 2011 drafts were not, at least so far. Too early to tell about 2012. The reality in today's NFL is that you need first and second year players to contribute immediately for overall team success. Players drafted outside of the first round will be free agents after four years. There were way too many misses in 2010 and 2011, including Troup and Williams. Spiller is the only strong pick from these drafts. Even Darreus underperformed last year (although I understand that this could be due in part to the difficult family matters he needed to deal with last year).

Considering where the Bills were in terms of talent four years ago, they needed to "hit" on their drafts. Wood, Levitre and Byrd in one draft is a very good draft. This was the draft before Nix became GM. Nix's drafts have been average to below average (although it is probably not fair to assign a grade to the 2012 draft). The bottom line is that if we only get seven starters out of four drafts, we will not be making the playoffs.

We go through this every year. We start with a bunch of holes immediately after the season, and we end up with more as we approach free agency and the draft. Sure, it is possible that the Bills will fill many of these holes before the start of the season, but the number of holes this year is really significant, and draft picks and few free agents will not be enough to fix this. The reality is that the Bills have not been hitting on enough draft picks over the last three years.

I hope the Bills will be more competitive next year, but we have significant needs at LB, WR, TE and CB (I am ignoring QB for this post, which is probably the biggest need of all). LB: Cutting Barnett leaves us with Sheppard and Bradham. Not sure whether either is starting caliber. I don't think there is a reserve linebacker on the roster who can step up to a starting role. The Bills need at least one new starter, assuming that the team stays with Sheppard and Bradham and Bills do not switch to a 3-4 , in which case we will need two new starters. The current group of LBs could be the worst in the NFL. WR: After SJ, there are no starting caliber WRs on the roster. I have my doubts as to whether Graham will develop. Need at least a second starting wide receiver opposite Stevie and likely a third wide receiver (in the slot, with Nelson not coming back). Another poor unit that ranks among the NFL's worst. TE: I like Chandler, but he may not be ready to start the season. Need a starting caliber TE. CB: Need a starter opposite Gilmore, particularly if McKelvin signs with another team. Need to see if Brooks can develop. I have no hope that Williams will become a solid CB, and I expect him to be shifted to safety. Rogers played poorly last year and we need an upgrade at the nickel and dime CB. How does this all get fixed this offseason? We can't count on rookies filling all of these spots, maybe our first and second round picks will be able to step in, but who knows? What I find disturbing is that there are not obvious choices currently on the roster to fill these spots. Throw in the uncertainty at the QB position and the possibility that Levitre will not be re-signed, and you have a team that still seems far away in year four of the most recent rebuild.

The sad part of all of this is the admission that the Bills do not have a starting caliber CB on the roster to play opposite Gilmore. All of these draft picks over the last number of years, and the best answer is McKelvin? He has consistently underperformed as a high first round draft pick and is a free agent this year.

Sorry, but after 13 years of not making the playoffs and only one season with a winning record during this period, this is where we are. I will be excited to watch the Bills in 2013 (just like in every past season), but my expectations are low. I do not think this is unreasonable or particularly negative in light of past experience.

i agree with Sullivan that at this point, the Bills do not deserve the benefit of the doubt about much of anything. We will all hope for the best, but this is a very inexperienced staff overall. Many head coaches have gotten a boost from older, experienced coordinators and assistant coaches. Wade Phillips has helped the Texans develop a very strong defense. Same with Lebeau in Pittsburgh. Would Tomlin have the success he has had without Lebeau running the defense? Jauron and Gailey ultimately failed due to their choices of coordinators (Jauron with the offensive coordinators and Gailey with the defensive coordinators). I think experience matters, particularly with coordinators. I also do not understand why Hackett will be the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach. Doesn't he have enough on his plate as offensive coordinator?

I still think #1 and #2 will happen (Whaley to become GM, Nix stays on as a consultant), probably after the draft. #3 has happened with the hiring of Marrone (although for full credit, I should have referenced Brandon's ties to Syracuse/Marrone). I hope #4 did not just happen with the hiring of Hackett as offensive coordinator, but clearly #5 has with his hiring (and I would expect more to come). The Bills are way too predictable.

I hope he is not going to be the offensive coordinator.

Looks like I should have included something about an internal restructuring where one of the current upper management guys (in this case Brandon) gets more power/responsibility, although this fits with the Bills history of not really bringing in people without current or former ties.

I agree regarding Caldwell. The Bills need a fresh start, and they should not make another hire that has been associated with the Bills. Nothing against Whaley, but he is something of an unknown at this point. We have no idea how involved he has been with the decision making by the front office.

Based on my experience of being a Bills fan for a number of years and the way that ownership and the front office operate, I would predict the following: 1. Whaley is elevated to GM. 2. Nix stays on as a "consultant." 3. New head coach will be someone Whaley is familiar with from Pittsburgh (such as Grimm or Whisenhunt) or Marrone. 4. New head coach will hire an incompetent coordinator for either the offense or defense or for both. 5. Some of the assistant coaches will be from the college ranks. I hope I am wrong.

Best wishes to Chan. Thought he significantly improved an offense that was poor prior to his arrival and was missing some key pieces during his time with the Bills. Unfortunately, with the Bills, it is always be careful what you wish for.

If the last time the Bills hired a head coach is any indication, then one would have to conclude that the opportunity with the Bills is not as attractive as other potential opportunities. Seems like we are hearing all kinds of interest in San Diego from Reid, that Saban would consider Cleveland only (and McDaniels, originally from Ohio, may have interest as well), and that Kelly may consider the Eagles. Have heard nothing about potential head coaches having interest in Buffalo (and to be fair, maybe we wouldn't). Is the situation with the Bills stable? Not sure about ownership, and even if Nix is retained, would a potential head coach feel comfortable that he or Nix would survive another poor year (particularly if a new GM is brought in the following year)? Throw in our lack of a quality QB, and maybe Buffalo is not all that attractive at this time. Yes, the Bills did spend a lot on Williams, but do not forget that RW will be paying Gailey and his assistant coaches for at least next year potentially if they are let go.

Will the Bills be able to attract a quality head coach and assistants? Seems like Turner (Chargers), Reid (Eagles), Shurmur (Browns), and Crennel (Chiefs) are very likely to be fired after the season ends. That is five likely openings if you include Gailey. Mularkey (Jags), Munchak (Titans), and Whisenhunt (Cards) are also at risk of being fired, along with, although less likely, Allen (Raiders), Smith (Bears), and Rivera (Panthers). Many of these potential opportunities are more attractive than the situation with the Bills, either due to ownership, overall stability (including front office), money (i.e., willing to spend money on players/assistant coaches), current talent, or location. At a minimum, I would put San Diego, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Carolina and Chicago in this category. Given the number of possible openings, past history with Wade Phillips and Mularkey, and uncertainty with the GM position and other issues, will the Bills be able to attract a quality head coach? I think one of the keys will be moving very quickly. The Bills will need to fire Gailey immediately, begin the head coach search, and make a hire as soon as possible. This will be key to getting quality head coach and, as importantly, strong assistant coaches. This may mean that the Bills cannot wait to interview assistant coaches with teams that are in the playoffs.

The AP article makes it seem like the Bills have not engaged in serious contract discussions with either Levitre or Byrd to this point. This does not make sense to me since it appears that at least Levitre wants to stay, unless the plan was to sign Urbik and let Levitre leave. Unfortunately, this may be the scenario we are facing because the Bills know that Levitre is going command a big contract given the recent deals for other quality guards in the NFL. As others have noted, tagging Byrd makes sense with the relatively low franchise tag number for safeties.