Chan Gailey = Lou Saban?

[hondo in seattle]

Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban. Both believe(d) in these things: practice hard.... play hard... no whining... no excuses... no-nonsense focus on fundamentals... block... tackle... hit 'em and hit 'em hard... and win.

 

Both were/are of the school of thought that you build your team around the talent you have, not around some brilliant philosophy you've developed.

 

Saban inherited OJ who was misused in his first 3 years in the NFL and only averaged 622 yards per season. OJ was considered by many to be a first-round bust. But Saban built his offense around OJ and the Juice averaged 1540 yards per season (more than 100 yards per game!) and 5.1 yards per carry from '72 to '76. (Remember, teams played a 14 game schedule in those days).

 

It's amazing how players with records of mediocre production can blossom with competent coaching.

 

Before Saban, the Bills had won 3 games in '70 and 1 game in '71. With Saban coaching, the Bills won 4 games in '72 and 9 games in '73.

 

Incidentally, Saban's descendents on his coaching family tree include Marty Shottenheimer, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy - all of whom were also on a lot of fans' wish lists. Well, we didn't get a Saban disciple but I do think we got someone with many of the same traits and I'm wondering who will blossom under his coaching.

[Guest dog14787]

Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban. Both believe(d) in these things: practice hard.... play hard... no whining... no excuses... no-nonsense focus on fundamentals... block... tackle... hit 'em and hit 'em hard... and win.

Both were/are of the school of thought that you build your team around the talent you have, not around some brilliant philosophy you've developed.

 

Saban inherited OJ who was misused in his first 3 years in the NFL and only averaged 622 yards per season. OJ was considered by many to be a first-round bust. But Saban built his offense around OJ and the Juice averaged 1540 yards per season (more than 100 yards per game!) and 5.1 yards per carry from '72 to '76. (Remember, teams played a 14 game schedule in those days).

 

It's amazing how players with records of mediocre production can blossom with competent coaching.

 

Before Saban, the Bills had won 3 games in '70 and 1 game in '71. With Saban coaching, the Bills won 4 games in '72 and 9 games in '73.

 

Incidentally, Saban's descendents on his coaching family tree include Marty Shottenheimer, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy - all of whom were also on a lot of fans' wish lists. Well, we didn't get a Saban disciple but I do think we got someone with many of the same traits and I'm wondering who will blossom under his coaching.

 

 

Chan Gailey ( I know its still early ) has impressed me greatly, and while I'm not familiar enough with Lou Saban to draw the same conclusions, your description of Gailey seems dead on and that alone speaks volumes in my opinion.

 

Gailey's got the stuff great motivators/ teachers are made out of and I couldn't be happier about our new HC,

 

 

what a breath of fresh air...

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Well, Chan while being older than Cowher, coached under Cowher…who coached under Schottenheimer…who played under Saban…

 

I too, love Chan's gruff no-nonsense style.

 

I love in his introductory press conference when he was asked about his heart attack…after answering the question he glared at the reporter and sarcastically commented, "thanks for bringing that up."

 

He's not a fancy guy. But he oozes old-school football out of every pore.

[Mr. WEO]

Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban. Both believe(d) in these things: practice hard.... play hard... no whining... no excuses... no-nonsense focus on fundamentals... block... tackle... hit 'em and hit 'em hard... and win.

.

Essentially, you're saying that Chan=Lombardi.

 

I'm on board with that.

[BillsPhan]

Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban. Both believe(d) in these things: practice hard.... play hard... no whining... no excuses... no-nonsense focus on fundamentals... block... tackle... hit 'em and hit 'em hard... and win.

 

Both were/are of the school of thought that you build your team around the talent you have, not around some brilliant philosophy you've developed.

 

Saban inherited OJ who was misused in his first 3 years in the NFL and only averaged 622 yards per season. OJ was considered by many to be a first-round bust. But Saban built his offense around OJ and the Juice averaged 1540 yards per season (more than 100 yards per game!) and 5.1 yards per carry from '72 to '76. (Remember, teams played a 14 game schedule in those days).

 

It's amazing how players with records of mediocre production can blossom with competent coaching.

 

Before Saban, the Bills had won 3 games in '70 and 1 game in '71. With Saban coaching, the Bills won 4 games in '72 and 9 games in '73.

 

Incidentally, Saban's descendents on his coaching family tree include Marty Shottenheimer, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy - all of whom were also on a lot of fans' wish lists. Well, we didn't get a Saban disciple but I do think we got someone with many of the same traits and I'm wondering who will blossom under his coaching.

 

Lou Saban is still the only Bills coach to lead them to league championships (AFL) - 1964 and 1965. That was 7 years before he came back and built his new Bills team around murderer Simpson.

 

So please tell my how this great Bills coach reminds you of Chan Gailey, when Gailey still has not coached his first preseason game for the Buffalo Bills?? Gailey has not won any championships at any level of his coaching career, unless he won high school championships early in his career or something. He won with the Cowboys but not in the playoffs, and did not do enough to convince Jerry Jones to keep him around after his 3 years were up. That was back in the mid 90's, and no other NFL team thought enough of his "no nonsense fundamentals" to hire him as their head coach since then, until Buddy and Ralph brought him in this year. He certainly was not much better then average during his years as head coach at Georgia Tech, and his teams never beat state rival Georgia during his tenure there.

 

Yet here you are starting a thread telling us you think he = Lou Saban.

 

Are there any fans left on this board who remember the great Bills teams of Saban (that's stretching it a bit, I know), or more realistically the great Bills teams of Chuck Knox and Marv Levy? Those 3 best coaches in Bills history were great, don't get me wrong. But they also had great players to make their coaching work.

 

Please stop thinking that Chan Gailey has the ability to win as Bills head coach, even if you think he is the second coming of Lou, until Buddy fins him better players.

[Original Byrd Man]

Chan Gailey so far has impressed me greatly, and while I'm not familiar enough with Lou Saban to draw the same conclusions, your description of Gailey seems dead on and that alone speaks volumes in my opinion.

Lou definately marched to the beat of his own drum but he was one heck of a coach. In my opinion he was the best coach the Bills ever had. I don't mean to discredit Marv, but Saban accomplished so much with far less talent. I only hope Chan is the next coming of Trader Lou.

And to BillsPhan,I remember. I had seasons tickets back in the old rockpile that cost me $36.00. I also remember that if you bought a beer they gave you the bottle. Not a good idea!

[San Jose Bills Fan]

So please tell my how this great Bills coach reminds you of Chan Gailey, when Gailey still has not coached his first preseason game for the Buffalo Bills?? Gailey has not won any championships at any level of his coaching career, unless he won high school championships early in his career or something.

 

Yet here you are starting a thread telling us you think he = Lou Saban.

 

Disappointing, Billsphan. Here's what hondo said, boiled down.

 

He didn't say what you put in his mouth, that Gailey=Saban. He said "Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban."

 

Take a chill pill.

 

 

Chan kind of reminds me of Lou Saban. Both believe(d) in these things: practice hard.... play hard... no whining... no excuses... no-nonsense focus on fundamentals... block... tackle... hit 'em and hit 'em hard... and win.

 

Both were/are of the school of thought that you build your team around the talent you have, not around some brilliant philosophy you've developed.

 

Incidentally, Saban's descendents on his coaching family tree include Marty Shottenheimer, Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy - all of whom were also on a lot of fans' wish lists. Well, we didn't get a Saban disciple but I do think we got someone with many of the same traits and I'm wondering who will blossom under his coaching.

 

A person posts something optimistic, and gets trampled on. But that's not negativity.

[hondo in seattle]

Lou Saban is still the only Bills coach to lead them to league championships (AFL) - 1964 and 1965. That was 7 years before he came back and built his new Bills team around murderer Simpson.

 

So please tell my how this great Bills coach reminds you of Chan Gailey, when Gailey still has not coached his first preseason game for the Buffalo Bills?? Gailey has not won any championships at any level of his coaching career, unless he won high school championships early in his career or something. He won with the Cowboys but not in the playoffs, and did not do enough to convince Jerry Jones to keep him around after his 3 years were up. That was back in the mid 90's, and no other NFL team thought enough of his "no nonsense fundamentals" to hire him as their head coach since then, until Buddy and Ralph brought him in this year. He certainly was not much better then average during his years as head coach at Georgia Tech, and his teams never beat state rival Georgia during his tenure there.

 

Yet here you are starting a thread telling us you think he = Lou Saban.

 

Are there any fans left on this board who remember the great Bills teams of Saban (that's stretching it a bit, I know), or more realistically the great Bills teams of Chuck Knox and Marv Levy? Those 3 best coaches in Bills history were great, don't get me wrong. But they also had great players to make their coaching work.

 

Please stop thinking that Chan Gailey has the ability to win as Bills head coach, even if you think he is the second coming of Lou, until Buddy fins him better players.

 

 

I agree with most of this, actually, but have to add a few points.

 

BillsPhan, you are right that it's too early to annoint Chan as the second-coming of Saban. But I do think there are some similarities and that there's a reason Bill Cowher likes the guy. And I don't think it's entirely coincidental that Chan coached for Cowher who coached for Schottenheimer who played for - and says he was very much influenced by - Saban. Those four coaches share some similar traits. As a die-hard Bills fan, I hope the similarities show up as wins.

 

And you are right that Buddy needs to find him better players. But bad coaches make good players look average (e.g. Lee Evans?) and average players look bad (e.g. TE?). Good coaches like Saban and Gailey do the opposite. I think there might be more talent on this team than most think. I think we all agree that the Bills - particularly on offense - were not competently coached under DJ. It will be interesting to see what the same players will do with Chan.

 

And I wonder, BillsPhan, how you can decry the comparison between Gailey and Saban and use as proof that Gailey was unimpressive at Georgia Tech? Saban was 94-99-4 as a college head coach while Chan was 68-41. I think the totality of Chan's resume is solid.

 

And no one else wanted Chan? That doesn't mean much. Detroit wanted Matt Millen as GM. Teams aren't always great at choosing their leaders. Marv couldn't even get a job as a coordinator for a while and ended up in the CFL. Belicheck waited for 5 years after his Cleveland gig before someone thought we was worthy of a HC position and even then only one team offered him the job.

 

Thanks to everyone else for the support on one of my first posts. Go Bills!

[PromoTheRobot]

I would love to know what Chan really thinks of the players he has. Ignore the so-called experts. I want to know what Chan thinks. We may not have a serviceable QB but I believe we have decent talent in several areas. Does Chan see a way to win games with these guys?

 

PTR

[CodeMonkey]

Essentially, you're saying that Chan=Lombardi.

 

I'm on board with that.

[Mark Vader]

As long as he's not like Nick Saban.

[Meathead]

come to think of it we have never seen gailey and saban together at the same time ...

[Beerball]

Both were/are of the school of thought that you build your team around the talent you have, not around some brilliant philosophy you've developed.

In that regard you could be right. Remember though...back then everybody was run first. Saban simply insisted that the O-line be a priority.

 

Chan hasn't done that yet...or he wasn't heard if that was his desire. But I do think that he is trying to put the best system in place based on the talent he has.

 

Most importantly though...no babies born yet.

[spartacus]

I would love to know what Chan really thinks of the players he has. Ignore the so-called experts. I want to know what Chan thinks. We may not have a serviceable QB but I believe we have decent talent in several areas. Does Chan see a way to win games with these guys?

 

PTR

if he thought he could win games, he would be sure he had a real LT

 

 

with a piss-poor OL, he has a built-in excuse for whatever sorry record the team posts this year as they start their 2nd straight decade of rebuilding

[Beerball]

I would love to know what Chan really thinks of the players he has. Ignore the so-called experts. I want to know what Chan thinks. We may not have a serviceable QB but I believe we have decent talent in several areas. Does Chan see a way to win games with these guys?

 

PTR

I think we'll win our share, but our share won't be more than 6 games. He's shooting for next year (must be with QB and O-lines huge questions). Funny thing is I think he'll get it done over the long haul.

[Guest dog14787]

I think we'll win our share, but our share won't be more than 6 games. He's shooting for next year (must be with QB and O-lines huge questions). Funny thing is I think he'll get it done over the long haul.

 

 

It doesn't surprise me Beerball that most folks see us having 6-8 wins again this coming up season, but the way I see it we will improve both defensively/ offensively under Gailey/Nix and our Buffalo Bills football team will be bigger, stronger, better coached and more motivated then we have seen them in over a decade.

 

Dick Jauron: "Its hard to win in this league"

 

 

Chan Gailey: "We are going to win in this league"

 

 

 

9 plus wins this season as we finally turn the corner and never look back.

[The Senator]

19 and Oh baby!!!

 

 

GO BILLSSS!!!!

 

PosLUSZny!!!!!

[PromoTheRobot]

if he thought he could win games, he would be sure he had a real LT

 

 

with a piss-poor OL, he has a built-in excuse for whatever sorry record the team posts this year as they start their 2nd straight decade of rebuilding

That isn't necessarily true. Chan has has won without an LT before. Plus you are strictly thinking long passing game. We now have a solid running and short pass attack. You are also assuming that Bell, Meredith or Wang will not develop into a serviceable LT. I wouldn't call any OL with Levitre and Wood "piss-poor".

 

PTR

[JohnC]

Essentially, you're saying that Chan=Lombardi.

 

I'm on board with that.

 

Aren't you stretching that analogy to a fantasy level? Let's not get carried away here. I think Gailey is a good fit coming off a Jauron stint. Gailey is closer to being a Hank Bullough type HC than a HOF Lombardi HC.

[CardinalScotts]

Couple things about Chan Gailey-

 

during his last job as head coach I think some forget what he walked into in Dallas

 

over that two year period Jason Garrett had to make seven starts

First year Billy Davis was opposite Irvin the next year goodbye Irvin hello Ernie Mills

There was no Jay Novacek try David LeFluer instead

The well known O-line had changed out Tuinei, and Gogan gone, Stepnoski injured , Nate Newton now 38

You had Everitt McIver and Clay Shriver breaking in

The first year Kawicka Pittman and Harvey McCormack combined for 11 sacks to lead the way

The next year Alonzo Spellman and Greg Ellis teamed up for 12.5

 

This was not a great team or even a talented one except they did have Aikman 75% of the time and Emmitt Smith

was getting older but still pretty good. Our current roster is possibly more talented over all but the quarterback question makes you feel lost on where we are.

 

I don't think there should be much question on Gailey's abilities he's proven it over and over, he's good. He's a bit of a tyrant, demanding, disciplinarian what a change on our sideline and practice field