BuffaloWings

Same here....give me the announcment. However, I'm too impatient sometimes. I'd rather see a thorough search that takes 3 weeks and have them come up with the right guy. I'll listen to/read the rumors, but it means little to me.

From what I remember, I didn't think Sherman aggressivley pursued Sapp. I thought Sapp went up to him to shake hands after the game was over and Sherman blew him off...which got Sapp all ticked off, wondering why Sherman was pi$$ed off at him. Sapp hasn't done much since, except maybe catching a TD pass, and has become a non-existant force with the Raiders DL.

The main reason TD waited was to actually interview Marvin Lewis & John Fox - both were assistants on teams playing in the Superbowl. The rules at the time stated that nobody could contact/interview assistants while their teams were still in the postseason. It was right for him to wait...he just picked the wrong guy.

I still think that's because Jauron is the most popular name to interview at OBD. Let's see what Clayton/Mort say tomorrow after Sherman interviews. I still want to see Jim Fassel interview.....

Exactly....Jauron is the leading candidate because he's the most "high-profile" guy who has interviewed so far.

When are any of these "experts" going to write a serious column about the Bills? I'm sick of being the mockery of the league...even among analysts.

I couldn't agree more. I think TD wanted to "make a splash" by hiring the next great coach that he found out of nowhere...combined with the fact that he probably wanted someone who wouldn't challenge him.

This is really the problem I'd have with Payton. I think he's had the play-calling stripped from him twice - definitely once while with the Giants, I think once while with the Cowboys. Once Jim Fassel started calling the plays, the Giants took off and made the playoffs. That's a red flag to me.

Because the players who play for him buy into his system and leave everything on the field. The Bills defenses of the late 90s were in the top 5 each year they made the playoffs and the Vikings defense is what brought them back into the playoff mix this year. TC ran both of them and every one of his players played hard for him. The only knock I'd have on him is that he has no HC experience, which I'd prefer in a new coach. However, he's ran defenses for years and has been an assistant head coach for the Jets (yeah, I know...the Jets).

I really believe Fassel should get a chance. I thought he was the man when Mularkey was hired, but obviously TD doesn't listen to fans' opinions. I'm not sold on Sherman, Payton, Rivera, or Lewis just yet. Al Saunders will likely end up in Oakland. Jim Haslett will end up being DC somewhere next season. I'd have a little comfort level if it was either Fassel or Cottrell, but none of the others...yet.

I'm on the fence between Denver & Carolina.....but I'll go with Denver right now. I think Denver beats Pittsburgh, but in a close game. I'm not sure Troy Polamalu can win the game by himself and Plummer will be able to adjust to the Steelers' blitzes better than Peyton did. Carolina is on a roll right now and even without Foster, I don't think Seattle's DBs can keep up with Smith. I'd watch for Ricky Proehl to have some big catches. I think those two teams will win next week, but Denver's running game is a lot deeper right now. If those two teams get there, all they have to do is stick Champ Bailey on Steve Smith with some safety help and that takes away about 75% of Carolina's offense. Nick Goings is a good RB, but not quite DeShaun Foster. Denver's OL should hold down Peppers & Rucker.

I think you meant Chloe? I thought it was weird how they made a kid a hostage, but you knew he would be. Pretty good start, nonetheless. I already miss Michelle.

He was put on IR late in the season.

I think what Donahoe was *trying* to do was basically hire the guy who would be the next great coach, so he'd have that on his resume. Of course, he might have been restricted by Ralph's budget, which could be the reason GW and MM came in. Of course, he hired two guys who constantly made mistakes on & off the field, none of which were to be overcome on the field. I don't think the GW hiring was really that bad of a choice (given what I know now), but he just wasn't ready. Mularkey was just brought into a nearly impossible situation and didn't have the resources to win. Neither coach was helped by Donahoe being so cheap and letting Winfield & Pat Williams go, along with getting bargain basement linemen.

I heard the same thing...and immediately tuned to WFAN. This isn't the first time ESPN has made fun of this whole thing. I'm starting to get sick of them mocking the front office. I'd like to hear a respectful opinion on this whole situation. I think the consensus around the league - including these self-proclaimed "experts" on ESPN - is that Marv coming into the organizationis a good thing. Despite his age, I can't find much evidence to disagree.

As I recall, Jim Fassel also yanked the play-calling while Payton was OC for the Giants. Not necessarily a bright spot on one's resume.

Well, he ran a pretty good defense in Minnesota...which happens to be nowhere near where Wade is right now. I think part of that had to do with the personnel. Cottrell brought in the players he worked with in Buffalo and they played hard for him. This is one reason Cottrell might be a good HC - players will buy into his scheme & philosophy and run it close to perfection.

Preference would be Fassel, Cottrell, or maybe Sherman, but I think it's going to end up being Haslett. Seems that the hot defensive coordinators end up doing well (Lewis, Fox). If Ralph & Marv see that trend, I hope they consider guys like Ron Rivera or Cottrell.

I *might* be willing to give him a pass for this year with the whole Katrina thing and losing Deuce midway through the season. However, he had talent and wasn't doing much better than mediocre and just missing the playoffs. Maybe Buffalo would be a welcome change of scenery for him, but I don't think it's worth the risk right now. He might benefit from a few years away from the head coaching spotlight.

I'm sick of it...the only reason these "experts" are saying he's the leading candidate is because he once played in Buffalo and gets along with Ralph. There's no real basis for him becoming the head coach other than that.

If any of what SDS says is really true, then it seems as if a shakeup needs to start at the top. Yeah, I know...it's Ralph's team. But it seems there is no more discipline anymore in this organization. If Clayton and Mortensen are getting these "reports" as they happen, someone is leaking them. That's bad. If people are internally saying the play-calling of Jerry Gray is intentional to stick it to the Bills, that's also bad. The organization needs someone to come in and stop the buck and fire those who are developing their own agenda. Get rid of the dead wood and malcontents. I hate to say this, but we need someone like Jerry Jones (not Jerry himself, but someone *like* him) to come in and restore order to the world. This organization is out of control and may actually end up in LA if someone doesn't put a stop to this sh*t.

Wade Phillips is one those "outstanding coordinators, but lousy head coach". Look what he did in Denver, Buffalo, Atlanta, and now in San Diego....just as the defensive coordinator. His track record as a head coach is horrible, but when he directly ran the defenses, they were in the top 5 of the league.

I could go for Fassel - he has experience being a head coach and can handle the media and scrutiny. If he could handle New York City, Buffalo oughta be a breeze. I also think there are plenty of legitimate candidates...I just wish Ferentz didn't withdraw his name (if I heard that correctly). But we need a coach who players will play hard for - Cottrell, Donnie Henderson, etc. - and one that knows the right guys to bring on board with him. Jeff Fisher might be a pipe dream at this point, but one can dream....

It would be nice, but I saw something this morning that said Kirk took his name out of the running for any possible NFL openings.

You know...Chris Mortensen said the same thing yesterday on ESPN Radio. At least, he tried to sell Irvin over every other finalist. Given that Peter King (who seems to have been wrong about a lot of stuff over the years) was on ESPN radio, also, it makes a ton of sense that he's *say* he'd vote in Irvin over Monk. I'm starting to like these "analysts" less & less these days. Monk deserves to be in the Hall about 30 years before Irvin should be even considered.