patfitz Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 For my money it is hands down Ted Marchibroda. I beleive he is what made the Super Bowl Bills possible. Marv was the beneficiary. Some may claim Chan Gailey but I sincerely doubt Nate Hackett enters into the conversation or for that matter ever will.
tennesseeboy Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 I guess Marchibroda. The K-gun and ramifications of the no-huddle and the tour trips to the SB is pretty hard to beat. Kelly certainly managed it well. I can't think of anyone with such a claim and would probably say Lou Saban for his two trips into the Bills in his developing the OJ offense, and the development of a more NFL type offense with Kemp, Gilchrist, Dubenion etc. would probably come in second.
Maddog69 Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 Jim Kelly Yep. Jimbo had the most success of any play caller the Bills have ever had.
Nanker Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 Brian Cox. Without a doubt he was the most offensive caller by far. It's not even close.
RussellDopeland Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 My dad! I can remember as a kid, during the Knox years, watching games with him- he'd call out the play before the snap ("Cribbs running left on a pitch") and he'd be right like 95% of the time. Problem was the opponent knew it too.
Best Player Available Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 My dad! I can remember as a kid, during the Knox years, watching games with him- he'd call out the play before the snap ("Cribbs running left on a pitch") and he'd be right like 95% of the time. Problem was the opponent knew it too. Well, if you have kids you can do the same now. On first and ten call out "CJ up the middle" the odds are in your favor. And the opponents still will know it too.
hondo in seattle Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 Joe Ferguson. In 1975, the Bills scored 30 points per game. They led the league that year in both yards and points scored. In fact, I believe it was the most points scored by any NFL team in the 1970s. OJ and Braxton racked up nearly 3000 yards rushing in a 14 game season. Fergy was efficient throwing the ball - tying Fran Tarkenton for the NFL lead with 25 TD tosses. The Bills were an unstoppable offensive powerhouse that year. Too bad the defensive secondary was as porous as colander. I believe Fergy called the plays that year but couldn't guarantee it. Maybe a Bills old-timer or NFL historian can correct me. If it wasn't Fergy then probably Head Coach Lou Saban was calling plays or OL Coach Jim Ringo.
Buffalo_Stampede Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) For my money it is hands down Ted Marchibroda. I beleive he is what made the Super Bowl Bills possible. Marv was the beneficiary. Some may claim Chan Gailey but I sincerely doubt Nate Hackett enters into the conversation or for that matter ever will. People would hate that simple offense we ran. Honestly though, when will fans understand the QB makes everything work. Jim Kelly in his prime would be great in any offense. Edited September 25, 2014 by TheTruthHurts
Buftex Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 (edited) I'm gonna say Jim Kelly, or Ray Prochaska. Prochaska was the OC under Chuck Knox. We all know about "Ground Chuck", but I think people remember those offenses as being far more one dimensional and limited than they really were. In 1980 and 1981, when Joe Cribbs was added to the offense, they had a potent combo of run and pass, and used Cribbs as a receiver out of the backfield, before that became a big part of the "norm" for NFL offenses. Those were really fun teams to watch, in a different era of football. As for Jim Kelly, I think everybody knows, he called his own plays...sure, he may have relied on his own arm a few too many times, but what to expect when a guy with a healthy ego is calling his own plays? We want a guy who wants to be "the guy"...and Kelly certainly was. btw- my dad, whose birthday would be tomorrow if he was still around, played some college sports with Ted Marchiabroda...got to meet him a few times...hell of a nice guy. Edited September 25, 2014 by Buftex
vincec Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 Ted Marchibroda. He had a lot to work with but got an awful lot out of it. Joe Ferguson. In 1975, the Bills scored 30 points per game. They led the league that year in both yards and points scored. In fact, I believe it was the most points scored by any NFL team in the 1970s. OJ and Braxton racked up nearly 3000 yards rushing in a 14 game season. Fergy was efficient throwing the ball - tying Fran Tarkenton for the NFL lead with 25 TD tosses. The Bills were an unstoppable offensive powerhouse that year. Too bad the defensive secondary was as porous as colander. I believe Fergy called the plays that year but couldn't guarantee it. Maybe a Bills old-timer or NFL historian can correct me. If it wasn't Fergy then probably Head Coach Lou Saban was calling plays or OL Coach Jim Ringo. Yeah, but weren't the plays in 1975 OJ left and OJ right? Not too much strategy involved.
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted September 25, 2014 Posted September 25, 2014 Joe Collier Defensive coordinator. Though, the fact that he took a team that went 12-2 and 10-3-1 and went 9-4-1, 4-10, and 0-2 before being canned was pretty offensive.
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 26, 2014 Posted September 26, 2014 Chuck Knox... LoL... J/K. Jim Kelly... For sure.
boyst Posted September 26, 2014 Posted September 26, 2014 I don't think he was the best but Kevin Gilbride was a good OC. He couldn't change his system to modern football but you can see he knew his stuff.
hondo in seattle Posted September 26, 2014 Posted September 26, 2014 Ted Marchibroda. He had a lot to work with but got an awful lot out of it. Yeah, but weren't the plays in 1975 OJ left and OJ right? Not too much strategy involved. It was a little more complicated than that! Sometimes on 3rd and long it was OJ draw!
Bob in STL Posted September 26, 2014 Posted September 26, 2014 For my money it is hands down Ted Marchibroda. I beleive he is what made the Super Bowl Bills possible. Marv was the beneficiary. Some may claim Chan Gailey but I sincerely doubt Nate Hackett enters into the conversation or for that matter ever will. Short memories. I recall people calling for Ted's head, then he turned the no huddle k gun to Jim Kelly. After that Ted got smarter. Best play caller was Kelly, followed by Jack Kemp. No OC we ever had consistently managed a game as well.
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