MRW

With or without Rex being fired, if the Bills don't turn things around, Whaley's head was going to roll. Seriously, what is up with all this conspiracy-style thinking.

I think the Pegulas know the extent of his involvement with the prior coaching search, and they've elected to publicly make him the face of this next process.

I'd be excited to see Shaw but everything I've read from him indicates that he has no desire to leave the college ranks.

I really don't see the case to keep him. If the Pegulas do decide to keep him around, I would be very curious to hear why they have any optimism that things will improve in year 3. In year 2, the defense is even worse than last year. I can't see anything that Rex brings to the table.

This little snippet has no apparent connection to the rest of your comment, but just to set the record straight, Cowher declined interviewing for the HC spot (and therefore never said he would hire Gailey as OC), but recommended that the Bills consider Gailey for HC.

I appreciated it and thought you had some very good points. Item #2 in your disappointments section is weighing heavier and heavier for me and why I would rather see the Bills move on from Ryan. The continuity argument only works for me if there is some sign of improvement, and the defense is not any better in year 2 under Ryan. If they had even taken a step up to, say, #10-12, I could see it. So while I don't think 9-7 would be a crushing disappointment, I hope that management will make a realistic assessment of where the team stands, and ask if they have actually improved in any respect from a year ago, or are they just spinning their wheels. I think if you look at it in that way, the case for making a change is pretty strong.

I remember seeing a lot of glaring clock and game management errors from him in his last couple of seasons as well.

Pretty drastic overreaction at this stage. He did not miss many games in his first two seasons.

Would not surprise me one bit. It's not that he wouldn't attract any interest, but I don't think anyone is going to offer him a big enough payday to entice him. I don't see him playing somewhere for $4-5 mill (and even that would be a ridiculous overpayment for his production the last 2 years).

Is Whaley completely powerless in this scenario? If he keeps getting bad information, isn't it his job to get better staff reporting to him? And if he doesn't, isn't he ultimately responsible for these failures?

That's a good point. However - with the way this season has gone so far - if TT is unable to handle the faster pace, I'd just as soon see it revealed as plainly as possible in the remaining games. Because I would consider that a fundamental skill that any QB the team is going to commit to long term will need to have. It may well be a fiasco but I'd rather see that than pay him like a star at the position only to find out that he isn't up to the task.

I don't believe there's an ultimatum. That doesn't mean the Pegulas have made an open-ended promise to keep Rex and Whaley on board no matter what the results are. If the wheels really come off I'd expect them to come under serious scrutiny. But "don't go 3-13, or else" isn't much of an ultimatum.

Waiting to see who the third round pick is

Don't forget guys who would've still been available later.

If they don't shell out money for Gilmore they're just going to use another top pick to replace him. So which is worse in your view?

It's not much in and of itself, but it's a foot in the door. Other coaches in the past have gotten their start in a quality control role (Mike Pettine, for one).

They do. And as far as I'm aware, quality control assistants are universally considered part of the coaching staff.

Interesting. I see you've chosen to completely ignore one type of response in your analysis although it's made up a sizable number of the replies.

Hard to believe that he was out of the NFL for a year when he was actively looking for a job.

So let's see, Whaley gets blame for picking EJ, even though he was not the GM, but does not get credit for TT even though he was the GM? Seems like a no-win situation you're setting him up for here.

You know, that's a common sentiment, but what would "giving them a game" have looked like? Really, anyone who just wants to gloss over the fact that the Bills ended up losing that game by a TD + 2 point conversion needs to explain what their standards are. And yes, you can tell me all about garbage time, the Pats* let off the pressure, etc., but the game is 60 minutes and a game where you trail by a score with two minutes left and the ball is not one where you didn't give your opponent a game.

Yeah, but at some point don't people get sick of looking for something to be outraged by? A comment someone makes in a reply on their own personal account is the modern equivalent of an overheard comment in a bar and doesn't merit much of a reaction. I can't be the only one sick of seeing people combing through other people's online activity to hold them up to public shaming.

When the Bills stink it up, I don't feel humiliated. Why should I? I'm not getting paid millions to coach or play for the team.

But can an owner play for both teams in two different cities?

Really... no sense? You don't think that's a bit over the top?