Gailey makes ESPN list of Best Coaches

[Mr. WEO]

Whatever your views about Chan, it can't be ignored that more fans and media see him as a very good coach, and not one of the previous 3 clowns leading this team has earned that kind of praise since Levy retired. It's about time Buffalo got something right.

 

It's OK to reserve judgement for another year. None of those previous 3 clowns had a 4 win season.

[Amstel]

I like Gailey. I wasnt thrilled at all when he got hired. I was like are you kidding me? However, he won me over. We were a four win team last year. We couldve easily been a 7 win team had we beaten Baltimore Pittsburgh and KC. It remains to be seen however, I think these young guys will have learned from that experience last year. The last two games not withstanding these guys fought and never gave up.

 

Gailey is an old school guy. He's not Greggy coming in thinking he's hot **** and he's not meek and clueless like Juaron. I dont think he blames others before himself as was stated in an earlier post. I think he holds himself accountable. I dont have a problem calling out a player who isnt living up to potential or expectations such as Maybin. Unlike the previous regime he/they arent afraid of admitting mistakes. Cornell Green was a disasterous signing but they didnt keep him around trying to save face. They got rid of him. Albeit quietly but nonetheless got rid of him. Trent? Mistake and he was sent packing. While admitting mistakes doesnt win games its refreshing to see after the previous regime sticking w failed picks and signings. I also like the fact that Chan looks and acts visibly pissed after losses unlike Juaron.

 

I dont know about the choice of George as our DC and many thought it was a bad idea to go to a 3-4. They way I look at it, if you're gonna make the switch you gotta do it sometime better sooner than later. If we spend a year or two collecting 3-4 players while continuing to play a 4-3 I doubt the result would be much better. Again they brought in Wanstedt and I think we all know why he's here. They arent going to stand pat (no pun intended).

 

I dont know what the future holds and we may never get over the hump w Chan. But I know that I look forward to watching games more than I have in the last 5 years. Our defense got an infusion of talent through the draft and who knows we may sign some FAs (whenever the agreement is reached). Fitz is the guy from day one in year two of this system. We have some very promising WRs now in their second years plus the emergence of Stevie, Roscoe and now bring in Easley. I'm unsure about RT but the rest of the line comes back healthy (Bell and Wood)..... I'm pretty optomistic. I dont think we're playoff bound just yet but I think we'll hang with and beat a few more teams this year and .500 is a possibility......

[reddogblitz]

So you discount in a big way or completely his making the playoffs both years he HC'ed the Boys (this is a big part of why as noted above Jerry Jones has publicly said he wished he had a redo in canning him, He is a good coach exactly for the reasons you state that his work in charge overall translated into wins. Even as an OC with retread Fiedler QBing the team it translated into Ws and the team made the playoffs.

 

Perhaps you want to simply declare that you are not gonna hop onto the bandwagon until after it begins to leave the station.

 

That is your right to do so. However, it makes sense to call yourself a fair weather fan at best.

I do discount his job with the boys some, yeah. That team was stacked when he got there. They were 2 years removed from winning a SB and still had HOFers Troy Aikmen, Michael Irvin, Emmit Smith etc. Yes they made the playoffs twice, but one year they went 8-8. So yeah, I give him credit, but not a whole bunch.

 

What he did as OC has no bearing now. He is HEAD COACH. Head coaches job is to produce wins. PERIOD. There are no style points or Most Inspirational trophies in football.

 

I am anything but a band wagon fan. I watch all the games and travel across the country to go to 1 or 2 games a year and sometime catch a road game.

 

I'm just not ready to give Coach Gailey a lot of credit until the Ws start rolling in. He's done some good things, but so far the wins have been sparse. Winning 4 of the last 8 does give me hope.

[K-No]

no head coach is capable of doing more with less than Gailey

 

Well we're well qualified.

[thewildrabbit]

I will call Coach Gailey a good coach when all this starts translating into wins.

Exactly!

 

He was voted best innovator by the fans, which doesn't mean he is a good head coach!

 

 

Last season Ryan Fitzpatrick saved his bacon because Gailey put all his eggs into Trent Edwards basket, then cut him after two games.

 

This is the same man who stated that rookie RB CJ Spiller would "make the O line block better". Then names him starter to open the season.... only to bench him after a few plays because he couldn't block, find holes, run routes. Fred Jackson was forced into the game with a cast on his hand. Lynch was forced into the game with a gimp leg.

 

Names Cornell Green starter at RT only to find the guy couldn't even move in front of opposing defenders quickly enough to slow them down for as millisecond, something which any one of the thousands of drunken fans in the stadium could have successfully done. He gets a mysterious injury and then gets quietly cut during the season. With no adequate back up RT the team is forced to scavenge the waiver wire and back streets to find other players to suit up on Sunday at RT. Now the team is moving forward with one of these scrubs at RT this year.

 

Now looking back at those first two games by Edwards is it any wonder why he sucked so badly when his RB and linemen can't do their jobs? To call last years team unprepared for the season would be a drastic understatement In my view Fitz is the ONLY reason as to why the Bills didn't duplicate the Detroit Lions 0-16 performance last year. Even Buddy Nix thought the team was better then 4-12, remember his statement before the season that the team was " not that far away", something he later recanted after the team didn't win a game by week five, with "its going to take some time" Then the owner proclaims ""PP"" patience and pain. RW was right, It was a painful season to watch.

 

With only one QB & RB that knows the system.... no improvement on the O line...no improvement at the TE position...Its good to know that if anything happens to Fitz or Freddy J, that the team is screwed. Wasn't Gailey supposed to be an improvement over Jauron at 7-9?

 

 

Like the man said, I will call Chan Gailey a good coach when all this translates into wins.

[downunderbill]

It's OK to reserve judgement for another year. None of those previous 3 clowns had a 4 win season.

 

True. previous clowns had years to build rubbish teams. e.g. DJ and co had 4 years to build that 7-9 team.

[DanInUticaTampa]

 

My concern is that he is not a motivator and has never won anything, yet he has a tendency to blame others before himself and has a tendency to try to prod players thru the media. That might fly for Parcells, but not for a guy who hasn't proven he can win big. He expects results but he hasn't been successful enough in the past to get players to buy in unconditionally to the idea that he is doing everything possible to put them in position to succeed. I just have a suspicion that even if Nix puts the talent on the field for him he is not going to win, either because of bad assistants or a team that is tired of his approach. He will be up in front of the media, exasperated and throwing players under the bus until the team has to replace him and we are left wondering how this seemingly very talented coach just doesn't make a good head coach.

 

And then he will go someplace else as an OC and be very successful like so many other former Bills head coaches who were really not cut out to be head coaches in the NFL. Hope I am wrong, but that's the feeling I get from observing him last year and knowing his track record at Dallas.

 

Well, he had a good track record at Dallas. A winning record. And he seems to be a fine motivator, and any player he through under the bus deserved to be thrown under the bus. Throwing players like maybin under the bus isn't anything close to what hurt the team last season.

 

His weakness is in the assistants he hires, like you said. Wannstedt is a little help with that, but I think there are more problems across the board. His next biggest weakness is he doesn't draw free agents either.

 

But throwing players under the bus is not the problem.

[thewildrabbit]

Well, he had a good track record at Dallas. A winning record. And he seems to be a fine motivator, and any player he through under the bus deserved to be thrown under the bus. Throwing players like maybin under the bus isn't anything close to what hurt the team last season.

His weakness is in the assistants he hires, like you said. Wannstedt is a little help with that, but I think there are more problems across the board. His next biggest weakness is he doesn't draw free agents either.

 

But throwing players under the bus is not the problem.

There is a world of difference between becoming the HC of a team that has a recent history of winning and is still filled with those players, then getting a bunch of nobody's and rookies to believe in themselves enough that they can be great players.

 

So far all I'll Ive seen of Chan Gailey recently is he was able to make Tyler Thigpin look good in a bad offense that didn't win many games, and he did almost the exact same thing with Fitz last year. The ONLY thing that improved on last years team over the teams under Jauron was the passing offense. The defense, special teams and running game all got worse. You can't consistently win in the NFL being one dimensional like that.

 

When he wins more then 7 games he will prove he is better then Jauron, until then....

[downunderbill]

 

When he wins more then 7 games he will prove he is better then Jauron, until then....

 

If their record continues to improve, like many, I too am going to say I knew it all along.

 

Go Chan

Go Bills.

Edited July 2, 2011 by downunderbill

[BobChalmers]

I do discount his job with the boys some, yeah. That team was stacked when he got there. They were 2 years removed from winning a SB and still had HOFers Troy Aikmen, Michael Irvin, Emmit Smith etc. Yes they made the playoffs twice, but one year they went 8-8. So yeah, I give him credit, but not a whole bunch.

 

There is a world of difference between becoming the HC of a team that has a recent history of winning and is still filled with those players, then getting a bunch of nobody's and rookies to believe in themselves enough that they can be great players.

 

 

Troy Aikmen, Michael Irvin, Emmit Smith etc. were old and broken down when Gailey got them.

 

 

Dallas Cowboys W/L:

 

Before Gailey is HC:

 

1997: 6-10

 

While Gailey is HC:

 

1998: 10-6

1999: 8-8

 

After Gailey is fired as HC:

 

2000: 5-11

2001: 5-11

2002: 5-11

 

This is why Jones says he made a mistake firing Gailey. Trust him on this, he knows what he's talking about.

 

You keep dodging those facts, I'll keep moving them back where you can see them - no worries.

Edited July 2, 2011 by BobChalmers

[reddogblitz]

This is why Jones says he made a mistake firing Gailey. Trust him on this, he knows what he's talking about.

I'm supposed to think he's a good coach because JJ says he shouldn't have fired him? JJ tells whoppers on a regular basis. I lived in Dallas when he took over and let me tell you the man exudes BS. He also said there were 500 Coaches who could coach the Cowboys to a SB. If he says it's true it's probably not. If he thought Coach Gailey was so good he could have rehired him instead of getting Coach Phillips. He was available.

 

I'm not saying Coach Gailey is a bad coach. I want him to succeed. So far at least he has not. When the Ws start rolling around I'll give him full credit.

 

JJ has about as much credibility speaking about anything as Bill Clinton does saying he didn't have sex with someone.

Edited July 2, 2011 by reddogblitz

[ganesh]

This team's offense was orders of magnitude better with Gaily as the OC/Head Coach. I don't remember many moments on offense where I was pulling my hair out. Now, with Chris Kelsay lined up covering tight ends and wide receivers...that made me pull my hair out.

 

Really...It was so fricking frustrating on all those 3-point losses when Gailey refused to run the ball and kept throwing the ball and Fitz obliged with picks that turned double-digit leads into deficits and ultimately losses..

 

I am not even going to go on the side of the Defense.

[ganesh]

 

 

While Gailey is HC:

 

1998: 10-6

1999: 8-8

 

You keep dodging those facts, I'll keep moving them back where you can see them - no worries.

 

Who was the Defensive Coordinator for the Cowboys during those two seasons? Dave Campo who had been with the Cowboys for a long time and also took over as the HC.....Not some guy named Edwards

 

So would could he do with an athlete like Vince Young ????

 

 

 

Yeap! You hit the nail on the head. If these two breakout, we're in a good position for a play-off run. If not, same-old-same-old.

 

Right now the road to the playoffs for us goes through the Jets and Patriots. I don't know if this team has the ability to beat both of them @home and on the road. Additionally, there are just too many good teams in the AFC, Steelers, Baltimore, Indy. The question is can we compete with the likes of Kansas City, Houston, Miami etc for the one wild card spot.

[ARTnSocal]

My Jerry Jones always said he wished he hadn't fired him.

 

Is that the same Mr Jerry Jones who stated that he just couldn't get Wade Phillips out of his mind before finally hiring him?

[BADOLBILZ]

Well, he had a good track record at Dallas. A winning record. And he seems to be a fine motivator, and any player he through under the bus deserved to be thrown under the bus. Throwing players like maybin under the bus isn't anything close to what hurt the team last season.

 

His weakness is in the assistants he hires, like you said. Wannstedt is a little help with that, but I think there are more problems across the board. His next biggest weakness is he doesn't draw free agents either.

 

But throwing players under the bus is not the problem.

 

His biggest problem is a lack of success. Players buy in long term to coaches who have proven they can win. He has done no such thing.

 

Yeah, he had a winning season in Dallas, but he also had some talent there. It's not like his predecessor was a legitimate NFL head coach. Switzer made Marv Levy look like an X's and O's master by comparison and when a little strategy was required to compensate for declining skills of a team full of superstars.....there was none to be found. Gailey came in and actually did some coaching. That said, the team was going to continue to decline at that point. A terrible hire like Dave Campo served to make Jones realize that at least Gailey was not that bad.

 

To me, Gailey showed his true form at Georgia Tech. If he was such a great coach, he would have turned that program into a dominant one in the rather middling ACC. Instead, they underachieved and he was shown the door. Much like in Dallas, it was a diminishing returns situation. His act gets old with players and the less success they have, the faster he loses their ear. Not to compare those tenures to last seasons finish, but I think people forget that the last few games of last season were an absolute train wreck for the Bills. It did not end well at all. His ability to motivate and lead a team definitely concern me. His ability to get an offense to move the ball, not so much.

[thewildrabbit]

His biggest problem is a lack of success. Players buy in long term to coaches who have proven they can win. He has done no such thing.

 

Yeah, he had a winning season in Dallas, but he also had some talent there. It's not like his predecessor was a legitimate NFL head coach. Switzer made Marv Levy look like an X's and O's master by comparison and when a little strategy was required to compensate for declining skills of a team full of superstars.....there was none to be found. Gailey came in and actually did some coaching. That said, the team was going to continue to decline at that point. A terrible hire like Dave Campo served to make Jones realize that at least Gailey was not that bad.

 

To me, Gailey showed his true form at Georgia Tech. If he was such a great coach, he would have turned that program into a dominant one in the rather middling ACC. Instead, they underachieved and he was shown the door. Much like in Dallas, it was a diminishing returns situation. His act gets old with players and the less success they have, the faster he loses their ear. Not to compare those tenures to last seasons finish, but I think people forget that the last few games of last season were an absolute train wreck for the Bills. It did not end well at all. His ability to motivate and lead a team definitely concern me. His ability to get an offense to move the ball, not so much.

Well said.

 

Until I see more W's I'll keep thinking this was another wasted 3-5 years for the Buffalo Bills franchise

 

The guy was dismissed at GT after 6 seasons...a nice way of saying he was fired. where he NEVER beat that teams biggest rival in the Georgia Bulldogs,

 

NEVER won the ACC, never went to a BCS bowl, NEVER won more then 9 games and NEVER finished in the top 25

After his offense finished 2-14 for the KC Chiefs he was demoted as OC of a 2-14 KC Chiefs and stripped of play calling, and then fired a few weeks before the start of the season, he was out of football in 2009. That happened the same year Jauron fired Turk Schonert 2 weeks before the start of the season

 

I honestly don't know what Buddy Nix was thinking when he hired this man, but then again this might be the only guy who wanted the job in Buffalo, that the Bills were willing to hire....

 

Then considering the current owner is 92 and change will take place once ownership changes hands. Plus, not many quality HC's out there want to be micro managed by a notoriously cantankerous and frugal owner. An old school, Bill Bidwell, Al Davis, Robert Irsay, type of guy. I can't fault Bill Cowher and others for not wanting the head coaching job in Buffalo.

 

What does bother me is that Marty Schottenheimer stated he wanted the HC job in Buffalo, but that the owner (because of Nix?) stated he wasn't comfortable with hiring him. To be honest I'd put a hella lot more trust in Marty evaluating talent then I do in Buddy Nix. Marty S would have never allowed a loser like Cornell Green to ever see the field, much less pay him 3 mil per.

 

PS just wanted to add Gailey did have 6 winning seasons and most were 7-5, one 9-5 season. So perhaps after 5 years the Bills will go 9-7

Edited July 9, 2011 by Harvey lives

[Billsguy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=6712271

 

 

 

 

Personally, I'm happier having "Best Innovator" over "Best Sense of Humor", "Best Postgame Interview", and "Best Game Face".

 

Go Chan!

 

You can have the best innovator, but I prefer best won-loss record.

[spartacus]

Well said.

 

Until I see more W's I'll keep thinking this was another wasted 3-5 years for the Buffalo Bills franchise

 

The guy was dismissed at GT...a nice way of saying he was fired. where he NEVER beat that teams biggest rival in the Georgia Bulldogs,

 

NEVER won the ACC, never went to a BCS bowl, NEVER won more then 9 games and NEVER finished in the top 25

 

and with that stellar performance at GT,

 

 

Chan brought all of those assistants with him to Buffalo

 

I guess those are the guys that need a full season or two to evaluate whether a guy can actually play or not

 

 

 

 

 

[BADOLBILZ]

and with that stellar performance at GT,

 

 

Chan brought all of those assistants with him to Buffalo

 

I guess those are the guys that need a full season or two to evaluate whether a guy can actually play or not

 

His best bet is to demote George Edwards and hope the defense goes bananas with Wannstedt in the fold. Wannstedt proved that he is not of outstanding HC stock, but as a DC he has rings. He has a track record of producing dominant defenses. Initially, he should get a lot of players to buy into his approach, and if it is a good one then Gailey might be able to focus on the offense and escape the fate he suffered at Dallas and GA Tech. Wannstedt also brings a certain like-ability that Gailey lacks, which can only help Gailey in the lockerroom.

 

Yeah, the bottom line is that Gailey should have been the OC for a CEO type head coach like Cowher or Schottenheimer, but guys like that and meddling owners don't mix. The Bills specialize in hiring head coaches that are really just good assistants.

[thewildrabbit]

His best bet is to demote George Edwards and hope the defense goes bananas with Wannstedt in the fold. Wannstedt proved that he is not of outstanding HC stock, but as a DC he has rings. He has a track record of producing dominant defenses. Initially, he should get a lot of players to buy into his approach, and if it is a good one then Gailey might be able to focus on the offense and escape the fate he suffered at Dallas and GA Tech. Wannstedt also brings a certain like-ability that Gailey lacks, which can only help Gailey in the lockerroom.

 

Yeah, the bottom line is that Gailey should have been the OC for a CEO type head coach like Cowher or Schottenheimer, but guys like that and meddling owners don't mix. The Bills specialize in hiring head coaches that are really just good assistants.

Sometimes they hire the flavor of the month that gets stale pretty quickly, winning in today's NFL requires innovation and not some DC-OC who recently learned the latest trendy scheme.

 

 

In my view the main difference between a bad head coach and a successful one, is the assistants he hires. Look at Dick Vermeil and his second stint as HC, he hired a bunch of older experienced veteran NFL coaches for his assistants, the result was a SB. Look at the Steelers and their DC, would they be in the playoffs every year without HoF Dick LeBeau and his 3-4 defense?

 

Chan Gailey could be a great head coach and bring this team to the playoffs very quickly, he just needs to hire the right OC & DC. Look at KC last year, they hire 2 ex head coaches in Romeo Crennell and Charlie Weis and the team is suddenly in the playoffs

 

I'm not so sure Wannstache is the answer at DC, otherwise he would have been more in demand as a DC for some pro team. He certainly will help this defense, and be an improvement over anyone on the current staff, but that's not saying much.

 

 

From my perspective Gailey is a tool, as he is no better then Dick jauron in regards that he just sticks a QB behind center and expects him win games for him. He wants to run a high powered offense, but doesn't want to build a ground game for balance and to keep the defense honest. Doesn't want to build the line to protect the QB and to enhance run-pass blocking schemes. Doesn't want to draft-sign a top tight end to help as an outlet and block. doesn't want to hire a top OC to run the offense. Just like dickey!

 

This man is so unbelievably lucky that Ryan Fitzpatrick stepped up and played so well for him last year.... otherwise we might already have a new HC, or at the very least more fans thinking the way I do. I still think he will be fired after this upcoming season especially if Fitz gets an injury. The world will see that it was all Fitz, and not Gailey working some magic on another QB. He sure didn't help Edwards or Brohm, and I have no doubt he won't improve any FA QB the team signs...unless prehaps if its VY.