Who do you WANT as the Bills coach in 2015?

[Bangarang]

I would seriously take Rex Ryan as our next HC if he became available. The guy can coach the hell out of a defense and his teams have played very hard for him over the years. Coaching last year's Jets team to the record they had was impressive considering the little amount of talent they had on offense.

[reddogblitz]

I want a guy who can come in and at his first meeting tap his Super Bowl Ring (you get one even if you lose) on the podium like Chucky does in the beer commercial. Then say, I want to win another championship and here's how we're gonna do it ... Immediate buy in and respect from all the players. Said coach will also be able to bring quality co ordinators and assistants down the line that will want to work for him. FA players will want to come here and play for him too.

 

I'm tired of Nate Hackett's and Alex Van Pelt's and George Edwards' for co ordinators.

 

Names that come to mind for me include Hardball, Coughlin, Gruden, Cowher.

 

We have acquired good talent here at most positions. HC is one of the ones we haven't.

[Kirby Jackson]

Because you seem to think that the transition from College to the NFL is effortless, and easy. Yet I already showed you numerous great college HC's that failed big time as NFL HC's. Chip Kelly IS an anomaly and perhaps a genius because he has had no prior NFL experience. Whereas both Pete Carroll & Jim Harbaugh both have been in the NFL for over 10 years.

 

Marrone has even had prior NFL experience as a player, as an O line coach, as an OC for the Saints under Sean Payton, and is currently in the process of failing in his first stint as an NFL HC.

 

Chan Gailey had prior NFL experience and failed miserably. Then after his first stint as an NFL head coach " you don't know what you don't know"! NO THANKS, I don't want another wannabe or maybe who will need 3-5 years until HE learns the NFL ropes.

There are plenty of guys that had success and then failed: Shanahan, Lovie, Gibbs, Gailey, Dennis Green, and on and on. It's a stupid argument because it works both ways in all cases. You can find lots of guys in any case that you can make to prove a point. There are former head coaches that have done well and others have failed. The same goes for college coaches and former coordinators. All that matters is what you believe in and how much success you have had doing it.

 

It translates WAY more now than ever because of the way that the college game is influencing the pro game. If you haven't watched Malzahn or Briles please do. They constantly have guys in space. They are a little different in personality and style but in general they create mismatches. They do EXACTLY what Chip Kelly did. If one (or both) of those guys make the leap they will be stars in the NFL. There is no doubt in my mind. I don't know if the Bills is a better job than Auburn but it is a better job than Baylor. That may be a factor.

[Augie]

Space? You mean we can't send CJ into the A gap on every first down? Are we allowed to deviate from our plan like that?

[217014170]

I want a guy who can come in and at his first meeting tap his Super Bowl Ring (you get one even if you lose) on the podium like Chucky does in the beer commercial. Then say, I want to win another championship and here's how we're gonna do it ... Immediate buy in and respect from all the players. Said coach will also be able to bring quality co ordinators and assistants down the line that will want to work for him. FA players will want to come here and play for him too.

 

I'm tired of Nate Hackett's and Alex Van Pelt's and George Edwards' for co ordinators.

 

Names that come to mind for me include Hardball, Coughlin, Gruden, Cowher.

 

We have acquired good talent here at most positions. HC is one of the ones we haven't.

It's not a Super Bowl ring when you lose...it's a Conference Championship Ring...big difference.

[Mickey]

I want an amusing coach who spits out pearls of wisdom like:

 

 

"Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl."

 

"I'm really happy for ... the guys who've been around here for six or seven years, especially our seniors."

[stevestojan]

Without question (and without reading this thread) the answer is Marrone. He has us with a .500 record with an abortion of an OC, no OL at all, a QB who some think is past his prime, and a third and fourth string RB crew.

 

I'm still shocked that fans don't see how incredibly well Doug has done given the tools he's been given.

[OldNMBillsFan]

Bill Cowher shaking hands with Pegula last night was trending online. make it happen Terry and Kim!

Cower also said on the pregame that its crazy to keep changing coaches every couple years and that Marrone needs to be given a chance. Its difficult for the players to keep learning new systems. They never become experts at the system. I honestly don't think hardly any of the coaches on the list would even come to Buffalo. Hell, Chip Kelly wouldn't come here. He basically said he would go back to Oregon before he came here.

[Prickly Pete]

Without question (and without reading this thread) the answer is Marrone. He has us with a .500 record with an abortion of an OC, no OL at all, a QB who some think is past his prime, and a third and fourth string RB crew.

 

I'm still shocked that fans don't see how incredibly well Doug has done given the tools he's been given.

 

Dude, they will likely finish 7-9 or 8-8...in these days were some teams go worst to first it's not very impressive.

 

Marrone chose Hackett, Marrone seemed satisfied with the OL acquisitions...it's his team, and the offense is awful, even with a defense that gives them great field position.

 

Marrone is mediocre at best. He is a terrible game manager, and gets his shorts handed to him by upper echelon coaches....

 

"Thanks, Doug. Great game..see you in a few weeks"- Bill Belichick)

 

I can't even imagine what Belichick could do with this Bills defense swapped into Pats jerseys. A game like the Jets game with 6 turnovers, would have been some historical scoring binge.

Edited November 15, 2014 by HoF Watkins

[reddogblitz]

It's not a Super Bowl ring when you lose...it's a Conference Championship Ring...big difference.

 

Says you, but I'd take that.

 

Hell, Chip Kelly wouldn't come here. He basically said he would go back to Oregon before he came here.

 

He also told Cleveland and Kansas City the same thing.

[thewildrabbit]

There are plenty of guys that had success and then failed: Shanahan, Lovie, Gibbs, Gailey, Dennis Green, and on and on. It's a stupid argument because it works both ways in all cases. You can find lots of guys in any case that you can make to prove a point. There are former head coaches that have done well and others have failed. The same goes for college coaches and former coordinators. All that matters is what you believe in and how much success you have had doing it.

 

It translates WAY more now than ever because of the way that the college game is influencing the pro game. If you haven't watched Malzahn or Briles please do. They constantly have guys in space. They are a little different in personality and style but in general they create mismatches. They do EXACTLY what Chip Kelly did. If one (or both) of those guys make the leap they will be stars in the NFL. There is no doubt in my mind. I don't know if the Bills is a better job than Auburn but it is a better job than Baylor. That may be a factor.

You seem to be missing the point, and its not a stupid argument either. Every single one of those people you mentioned were on the payroll of some college before entering the NFL. Then when they first took a job in the NFL it was as an assistant coach. But, none you mentioned made an immediate transition from head coach in college to head coach in the NFL, NOT ONE! Huge difference as each one of those people learned the ropes of the NFL over time, and didn't jump right to an NFL head coaching job.

 

The numerous people I previously mentioned all were great head coaches in college, and failed in the NFL at the head coach level. Allow me to reiterate. Nick Saban didn't- Steve Spurrier didn't-Lou Holtz didn't- Butch Davis didn't- Bobby Petrino didn't-Dennis Erickson didn't- Frank Kush didn't- Bud Wilkinson didn't- Dick MacPherson didn't- Rich Brooks didn't.

 

The Buffalo Bills just recently hired 2x head coaches in from college in Chan Gailey with his 5 years of being the head coach at Georgia Tech, and numerous years of experience in the NFL as an assistant and previous NFL head coach, and he FAILED! Doug Marrone a HC in college at Syracuse who has previous NFL experience as an NFL O lineman, O line coach, OC for the Saints, and he is in the process of FAILING!

 

 

Bottom line is people like Chip Kelly who come into the NFL and make that jump from college HC to NFL HC while having great success are rarer then hens teeth, and are almost non existent. Dallas Cowboys HC Jimmy Johnson is about the only one I can think of who made the jump direct from HC in college to HC in the NFL. I can recall him winning a national championship with the Miami Hurricanes, and with his time at OSU he had both Barry Sanders & Thurman Thomas on his rosters.

 

I would not have any problem hiring Malzahn or Briles as an assistant coach OC under Schwartz, Harbaugh, or Cowher. As a direct jump from College HC to NFL HC with no prior NFL experience I'd say 3-5 years...maybe.

Edited November 15, 2014 by FeartheLosing

[reddogblitz]

 

Dallas Cowboys HC Jimmy Johnson is about the only one I can think of who made the jump direct from HC in college to HC in the NFL.

 

 

Barry Switzer

[thewildrabbit]

Dude, they will likely finish 7-9 or 8-8...in these days were some teams go worst to first it's not very impressive.

 

Marrone chose Hackett, Marrone seemed satisfied with the OL acquisitions...it's his team, and the offense is awful, even with a defense that gives them great field position.

 

Marrone is mediocre at best. He is a terrible game manager, and gets his shorts handed to him by upper echelon coaches....

 

"Thanks, Doug. Great game..see you in a few weeks"- Bill Belichick)

 

I can't even imagine what Belichick could do with this Bills defense swapped into Pats jerseys. A game like the Jets game with 6 turnovers, would have been some historical scoring binge.

Good post, and response to someone who seems out of touch with whats currently transpiring at OBD.

 

Marrone, and his offensive staff are embarrassingly bad, (26th in the NFL), and far worse then Gailey or Jauron's teams. I'll be surprised if the Bills beat the Jets & Browns over the next two games. You can't win in the NFL scoring under 15 points a game.

[thewildrabbit]

Barry Switzer

Yup, forgot about him.

 

Although many feel (myself included) he did that on the heals of what Jimmy Johnson built in Dallas, as he did win with the exact same stars on the team. Switzer's last season in Dallas his team went 6-10.

[#34fan]

Up in the air whether Reich would leave SD to return to B-lo.. I always knew he would make a decent OC... Probabaly still needs another year in that capacity before he makes the transiton to HC... I wouldn't mind giving him his first shot at it, though.

[Wayne Cubed]

You seem to be missing the point, and its not a stupid argument either. Every single one of those people you mentioned were on the payroll of some college before entering the NFL. Then when they first took a job in the NFL it was as an assistant coach. But, none you mentioned made an immediate transition from head coach in college to head coach in the NFL, NOT ONE! Huge difference as each one of those people learned the ropes of the NFL over time, and didn't jump right to an NFL head coaching job.

 

The numerous people I previously mentioned all were great head coaches in college, and failed in the NFL at the head coach level. Allow me to reiterate. Nick Saban didn't- Steve Spurrier didn't-Lou Holtz didn't- Butch Davis didn't- Bobby Petrino didn't-Dennis Erickson didn't- Frank Kush didn't- Bud Wilkinson didn't- Dick MacPherson didn't- Rich Brooks didn't.

 

The Buffalo Bills just recently hired 2x head coaches in from college in Chan Gailey with his 5 years of being the head coach at Georgia Tech, and numerous years of experience in the NFL as an assistant and previous NFL head coach, and he FAILED! Doug Marrone a HC in college at Syracuse who has previous NFL experience as an NFL O lineman, O line coach, OC for the Saints, and he is in the process of FAILING!

 

 

Bottom line is people like Chip Kelly who come into the NFL and make that jump from college HC to NFL HC while having great success are rarer then hens teeth, and are almost non existent. Dallas Cowboys HC Jimmy Johnson is about the only one I can think of who made the jump direct from HC in college to HC in the NFL. I can recall him winning a national championship with the Miami Hurricanes, and with his time at OSU he had both Barry Sanders & Thurman Thomas on his rosters.

 

I would not have any problem hiring Malzahn or Briles as an assistant coach OC under Schwartz, Harbaugh, or Cowher. As a direct jump from College HC to NFL HC with no prior NFL experience I'd say 3-5 years...maybe.

 

Paul Brown. I can name coaches who didn't have ANY NFL experience and came into the NFL and had success.

 

And I don't mean to speak for Kirby but you are missing his point and you keep pointing to these past failures.

 

Yes college coaches have failed, but the game is different now. The college game is influencing the pro game more than it ever has. That's why these guys can have success. Look how offenses have changed in the past couple years. These ideas weren't thought up by NFL guys who had been earning their stripes in the NFL. They borrowed the ideas from college ball.

 

And you keep rallying on about guys who have NFL experience. Guess what? Those guys fail miserably too and they fail just as much, if not more. Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Wayne Cubed

[Buffalo Barbarian]

There have been scattered posts about this all over today. This should be an opportunity to state the person that you want on the sidelines in 2015. If you vote for other please specify the person that you want in the comments. Pease try to be realistic (ie Bill Belicheck isn't an option)

 

My vote is absolutely going to Gus Malzahn. I think that he is a better Chip Kelly. His teams play an attacking style of offense (similar to the way that Pettine plays D). I want a team that plays aggressive and with pace. He does the exact opposite of what we do now; he wins with scheme.

 

sounds good but Harbaugh is a proven winner at then loser Stanford and then dysfunctional San Fran, he would really be saint Jim here.

[Rob's House]

Don't care

[Kirby Jackson]

 

 

Paul Brown. I can name coaches who didn't have ANY NFL experience and came into the NFL and had success.

 

And I don't mean to speak for Kirby but you are missing his point and you keep pointing to these past failures.

 

Yes college coaches have failed, but the game is different now. The college game is influencing the pro game more than it ever has. That's why these guys can have success. Look how offenses have changed in the past couple years. These ideas weren't thought up by NFL guys who had been earning their stripes in the NFL. They borrowed the ideas from college ball.

 

And you keep rallying on about guys who have NFL experience. Guess what? Those guys fail miserably too and they fail just as much, if not more. Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey.

Yes, that's kind of the point. There are coaches from different backgrounds that have had successes and failures. There are examples of good and bad former head coaches, assistant coaches and college coaches.

 

On a side note why do people think that Malzahn or Briles would leave a HC job at top 10 teams to be an OC? Do they think that it is a step up? I'm not sure that the Bills job is anywhere near as high profile a job as Auburn. It may be a better job because you don't have to compete in the SEC West but not higher profile. In addition, Malzahn's contract is $1M more a year than Marrone's.

[simpleman]

When discussing Head Coaches people keep confusing the skill set required to be an OC or a DC with the skill set required to be a head coach. Schwartz for instance, may be a good DC, but it does not necessarily mean he has the other required skills or temperament to be a good HC.

In a company, you can have a sales manager who is incredible at creating sales, or a financial guy who is a wiz at finance. But that does not mean they have the skills to coordinate all those from other fields they are less familiar with and get all those aces working together as a finely tuned machine as the company's CEO.

A head coach has to bring all the specialists together in coaching, training, conditioning, scouting and elsewhere and get them all working toward the same goals. He needs to be the one that provides common directions and goals. He needs to gain their respect and their faith in his ability to do so. He has to be the one who provides discipline and motivation. He needs to be the buffer between the coaches / players and the business / management side of the organization, whom often have very different backgrounds, missions and often-conflicting goals.

He needs to be comfortable being the one ultimately responsible for overall success. He needs to be highly flexible and innovative while not allowing his own personal goals, ego and biases to get in the way of the ultimate needs and goals of the team itself. He needs to be able to work hand in hand with the GM to achieve those goals. He needs to be a good communicator and be good at creating compromises among the various factions which don't negatively affect the team's success at achieving their overall goals.

You can be a great OC or DC and not have those qualities. Those are the qualities we need in our next HC. We can a hire quality OC to fix the offense, or a DC that can keep the defense at the high level it is now if we need one. The HC should not be hired to personally solve the offense or the defense, that is the job of the coordinators. His responsibility is to hire the right coordinators to do so.

Edited November 15, 2014 by simpleman