RuntheDamnBall

I'm sure Brees had some help formulating this, and as Jeremy says, the players want a bigger piece of the pie, but this is a pretty good argument. I think the NFL might be aiming too high here instead of simply trying to strengthen their ruling against American Needle.

I'm happy to "grace the board," Mr. 66 posts tough guy. You (or the OP, presuming you're not the same guy) could have read all the news that's been posted on the front page and gotten the same information on the coaching candidates that "won't even talk to the Bills," which was my main point. Criticize the grammar message if you want. Everyone, and I include myself, is guilty of spelling errors and typos. I'm sick of the dumbing down of our language, though, and it's not exactly hard work to communicate using the correct words. If we can't get meaning across effectively, what's the point of writing?

Irony defined. I'm from Buffalo and moved to NYC, btw.

Maybe I'm man enough not to be embarrassed by a freaking football team. I live in Brooklyn, my heart's in Buffalo and the team is my connection to the area where I grew up. I travel to see games every year, have bought the ticket, and am raising my daughter to be a Bills fan. Criticism is fine... I do it all the time myself. If your own fandom embarrasses you, maybe you should "eat your medicine."

So... why do you spend so much time here?

It's football. You'll be pissed, then you'll find beer.

This will matter less if Buddy Nix can get the Bills some players. Frazier has shown he can coach guys with talent.

1. Learn the difference between "there," "their" and "they're". Totally different meanings. It's grade school English. People might take you seriously. 2. Perry Fewell talked to Buffalo. He was their first candidate interviewed. Grimm is going to interview. Garrett is coaching the Cowboys and we have no idea if anyone has reached out to him from the Bills' end. It might be impossible if JJ has total control over Garrett contractually. Schottenheimer is the only one to "apparently" not want to talk to the Bills. This is according to Schefter and his "sources," who've been wrong a few times here. Even this might just be because he likes his job in New York Jersey. Relax. If you're that embarrassed, you can find a new team. May I suggest some apparel?

Three more: he's under contract. The only way, right now, that they can get him is by compensating the Panthers. Presuming he even WANTS to come to Buffalo, I don't think his effect will so much better than that of another good candidate out there, that the Bills could afford to surrender a high pick for him. They need all the picks they can get. And no way is Carolina going to fire him and pay him.

The only reason the Bills should not take their time would be if the guy they want is available (read: not still coaching in the playoffs) and wants to come to Buffalo. Presuming Cowher doesn't want to come here, and presuming the BILLS are intrigued enough by coaches still in the playoffs, I think we've got to remain patient, as nice as it would be to get an answer. Personally, I'm hoping that the Jets lose this week, as I would be anyway, and we get our shot at B-Schott. This would be ESPECIALLY great if the rumors about his dad being involved are true. I think based on name and Marty's cache alone the Bills could get some good people to come to Buffalo (and perhaps pick off some talent from within the division). I hadn't really warmed up to the idea until now, and his hiring would mean nothing without good players for him to coach, but I would feel a hell of a lot more confident in the people evaluating them onfield with a Schottenheimer team involved. I could also warm up to Garrett but I find him to be an unlikely hire, due to a probable agreement with Jerry Jones as well as what Wade would likely tell him about working for Ralph. Don't get me wrong, my main hope is for Cowher to have an apparent change of heart and say yes if he's feeling the itch. But the Bills obviously can't proceed as if that's plan A. Plan A should be to interview the best guys available, and if they're in the playoffs, we've got to wait.

No love for the Jim Kelly question, Tim? I do appreciate the time you take to answer these.

Putting aside the notion that Cowher had no hand whatsoever in selecting his personnel (which I find hard to believe)... That looks a lot like the list Marv Levy was blessed with, sans the position of QB, which is arguably the most important one on the field. It looks a lot like the list for Holmgren's Packers. Great teams have great players. What's the point of the conversation otherwise? If this team can't get some great players, it won't win. No one here is disputing that. At the same time, you've got to admit the talent in the league seems to have watered down a bit since the 80s-90s and as Buddy says, no team is that far away. Marv has no championships in 12 seasons with our Bills, and he's beloved here. Marty Schottenheimer has won zero titles. I'd take him in a heartbeat. Also, not all of those guys on your list were in the primes of their careers during Cowher's tenure, either. Great players, and no doubt Cowher benefitted from a well-run organization, but he did ulitmately get his team a title. Look, do I think Cowher is one of the great ones? Not in the least. Do I think he's a coach who could get this team to the playoffs with the right personnel? I do. And his track record has proven that he can. If he was a beneficiary of Lebeau, all the better -- maybe he'll bring (the right) Dick back here. In the meantime, the perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good, so to speak. Perfect ain't coming here. And the Bills are going to have to pay for good. I know you disagree, and I respect the perspective, but I think it's worth the risk and it will most definitely give the fans here some hope that they haven't had in years.

Simon, I definitely like your style a lot of the time, but I hesitate to let you off the hook on the idea that Neil O'Donnell, Kordell Stewart, and Tommy Maddox are part of the "best talent" the Steelers assembled. And Cowher had at least a hand in choosing a lot of that talent. I think on one hand this might suggest he's had a bad history of choices when it comes to QBs. But the team had one big hit at the position during his tenure and that's all it needed to put them over the top. I look at how far they got with the three above names and think of it as a bit of a miracle. If Cowher is a failure as you suggest, I'll take the failure of making the playoffs year-in, year-out. I have enough confidence in Nix's resume that the team could assemble talent like the Steelers had. As for the division, I think we're about to see an opening as some of the Pats' premier guys start to face a little bad luck and the injury-filled downsides of their careers. Belicheck without Brady=Belicheck w/ the Browns or w/ Bledsoe. The Jets are paper tigers as far as I'm concerned though they do look a little better when they run and stop the run -- the things they do best. Ask Sanchez to do more and I think he looks very average. The Dolphins IMO are going to be the one legit team to contend with going forward, as Parcells can't be discounted and they run the ball extremely well. If I were Cowher, I'd say that this division looks more winnable than most people care to admit. The Bills pretty much proved it by getting every one of their divisional opponents in their sights and then letting them get away. A coach who gets his players to discipline themselves could build a division-winner in Buffalo.

Tim: I offer a break from the Cowher / coaching queries, though I'm sure that the coaching search is an interesting story to pursue. Jim Kelly often alludes to his wish to be involved with an ownership group, and he maintains that the Bills will never leave Buffalo as long as he has anything to say about it. That'd be music to the ears of most Bills fans. But most view Kelly's statements with a fair measure of skepticism, given his well-publicized business failures and Ralph Wilson's stated intent to hold onto the team for the rest of his life, then have it sold to the highest bidder. From your time covering the team do you get any sense that Kelly actually has the means and/or access to put his money where his mouth is, with regard to the ownership situation? Any informed guesses as to whom Kelly would have assembled for an ownership group? Do you get any sense that Mr. Wilson might change his mind regarding a sale of the team during his lifetime, as recent speculation has suggested? Thanks for taking the question.

Knowing the Caveman, and knowing who his likely sources are (we both go back to the 80s/90s home of training camp), I'd say put stock in what he says. These guys might be changed men, but they knew how to party, and how to get away with a lot. This should surprise no one who followed the team or football in general back in the day. For every person who gets caught (Bruce Smith~ cocaine + more than one DUI) there are going to be some who don't. Here's hoping, as many claim, that they are changed men. If not, it doesn't damage what they did on the football field. It just means they're not role models, and any parent worth his or her salt knows that athletes probably shouldn't be role models unless they've earned that status.

I think you're right. It seemed too out of whack; thanks! Edit: this'd make the franchise # for 09 (based on 08 numbers): $7.02MM Seems low based on the other links? Still doesn't answer the question for numbers based on this season.

2009 numbers aren't out there from what I can find in a lazy google search, but based on 2008 numbers you're looking at an average of at least $14.1MM. Generally, you'd think that the numbers are never going down but contracts are a bit different from year to year and teams could have back- or front-loaded them. Still, in the neighborhood of double his 09 salary (and that's a low estimate) seems steep, even if he's still got it. 2008 top WR salary numbers (approx): L Fitz: $17MM R Moss $14MM TO $13.7MM Berrian $13.7MM Javon Walker $12MM avg~14.08MM this is from USA Today Don't know why there's no NFL equivalent of Cot's Baseball Contracts to help out here...

+100000

I'd definitely be interested in seeing a Cowher @GM / Grimm@HC combo, or Ron Wolf and Grimm, provided they got along. Both moves would require Ralph really opening up the pursestrings, but look... it's now or never. Get serious -- this is an opportunity!

AVP ate the menu.

Tampa 2 defense is played by the 9-0 Colts. I don't like it, personally, but it's the personnel. We could play with an extra man on the field, and the Bills would still probably get run over -- because dollars to donuts the extra man is going to be a 220 pound linebacker / DB hybrid. Despite all this, the defense is keeping them in some games that the offense is all too happy to give up on. And any defense that holds a team to six points should win.

I can one-up you on a definition of awesome. Butch Rolle threw me a football at 1989 training camp and I got it signed by most of the team.

I for one am hoping for Davidson and Louisville to make the final four and ruin everyone's brackets.

ROTFL.

I think he means vile.