Kryk: Firing Rex Ryan not enough, it's time to clean house

[Jerry Jabber]

 

You need to fact check yourself. irrespective of what any of these writers believe, they aren't going to run the organization with the 17 year drought perspective of a fan. Link all you want, it's not happening.

 

Littman and Overdorff are part of the "we've always done it like this" crowd. For any business to have the "we've always done it like this" mentality is the wrong mentality to have as there are other businesses that looking to beat out their competition by doing things newer, better and more efficient. Businesses with the "we've always done it like this" mentality lose money and go out of business.

 

Brandon has been here all 17 years. While he did a great job of marketing the team and helped with the sale of the team, he's been here for every year of the playoff drought. His tenure as GM was absolutely terrible. He ranted and raved about how the Bills brand was tarnished and that he "would leave no stone unturned" in finding a new HC, but settled on the third guy he interviewed [Marrone]. Next, he was infatuated with Rex and gave Rex hints on how to woo the Pegula's over.

 

While I highly doubt those three will be fired anytime soon, I feel they should be. If the Pegula's want to be a highly successful organization, then they need to clean house and have better people running their organization. If you're organization delivered a terrible product for 17 years, would you just fire the low-man on the totem pole that's only been here for two years, or the people that have been around for the entirety of when the bad product began?

[26CornerBlitz]

Well, I'm not going to blame the Bills' problems on John Murphy! LOL...

 

But he is so God awful at his job of play by play man I'd love to see him ****-canned too.

Yes, but you're the guy who believed in EJ and thought he just needed more development...

 

...and who said Rex would never be gone after just 2 of 5 years on his K...

 

..and...and...and...

 

 

No. I'm a guy who was wait and see on EJ as I was with Rex and Marrone. In the end all three proved they were not up to the task.

[Nihilarian]

 

Amen!

 

But not going to happen.

 

I really Hope Whaley can turn this around, however if he doesn't Pegs needs to clean house once and for all !

Yea, not gonna happen as these owners are still listening to both Brandon and Whaley. Plus, they probably feel bad about the Ryan hire and want to give Whaley an honest chance to hire his guy. Sadly, I think it will be just another missed year as Whaley can't even build a solid team with decent depth.

 

Something tells me the next HC is going to be Anthony Lynn and things won't go very well unless he hits a home run with OC & DC special teams coach. Something tells me that Whaley now wants to move away from Tyrod Taylor too.

[May Day 10]

I'm not arguing that Whaley has found them a Qb. He hasn't. But do you think, a different coach, could have got victories against the Jets, Dolphins and Seahawks? Those games would have been won, imo, with better coaching.

 

 

I don't think they are capable of getting a good/complete coach due to the atmosphere/structure there. If they had hired Andy Reid and given him the capital of influence he requires, the Bills would be preparing for a playoff game once again. The Bills FO structure is not agreeable to giving an outsider influence over the roster and structure.

 

They wont do it. They are built on promoting from within and keeping things in the family. The coach will be Anthony Lynn (who would not be a HC if not for the Bills). Faults will emerge with this one too and we will be right back here.... right after year one "Lynn needs his guys to fit his systems and players need to adjust to new coaches". year two "continuity", and year three "this guy sucks but the Bills need a QB, well, screw it, let these guys try to pick a coach again".

Edited December 28, 2016 by May Day 10

[BillsVet]

I got the point and it's the same blow it up theme from the usual suspects on TSW. I just don't agree with it based upon the last few seasons.

 

Most fans see that something more is wrong than just the 3 HC's who were hired and subsequently left since 2010.

 

Most fans become impatient when the team wins 4, 6, 6, 6, 9, 8, and 7 games their last 7 seasons.

 

Most fans are impatient when the same people remain behind the scenes pulling strings.

 

Most fans see the big contracts handed out placing the team closer against the cap that 3/4 of the league and don't understand why the Bills ride the rails of mediocrity for so long without every getting into the playoffs.

 

Not all fans...but most fans.

Edited December 28, 2016 by BillsVet

[JohnC]

Yea, not gonna happen as these owners are still listening to both Brandon and Whaley. Plus, they probably feel bad about the Ryan hire and want to give Whaley an honest chance to hire his guy. Sadly, I think it will be just another missed year as Whaley can't even build a solid team with decent depth.

 

b]Something tells me the next HC is going to be Anthony Lynn and things won't go very well unless he hits a home run with OC & DC special teams coach. Something tells me that Whaley now wants to move away from Tyrod Taylor too. [/b]

The biggest mistake that Whaley can make is to make a quick judgment on the HC. Even if he currently favors Lynn he should wait until the season ends (including the playoffs) so he can interview a wider range of candidates. Is Lynn a serious candidate for other jobs? I doubt it, even though that notion has been promoted.

 

I disagree with your assessment that Whaley's opinion on TT is already made. There is no doubt that Whaley is aware of TT's limitations but he is not foolish enough to prematurely ditch his best option at qb right now. The TT sit down in this meaningless last game is a smart business decision that is simply a money decision. The owner ate a lot of money under Rex's nonsensical contract. Whaley and the owner certainly don't want to risk a situation where TT gets hurt, like Carr and Marriota, and then might result in a mountain of money being handed over just because of an injury.

[PromoTheRobot]

Here is Kryk's article in a nutshell:

 

Whaley and Brandon should be fired for agreeing to hire Rex.

 

The Bills D sucks because Whaley didn't sign enough players who played college where it snows.

 

Overdorf should be fired too. No reason given why.

 

I'm starting to think Kryk reads TBD for story ideas.

Edited December 28, 2016 by PromoTheRobot

[What a Tuel]

To me, there is a chasm. This team was really bad against teams with .500 or better records. The schedule for them really was favorable. 6 of their games were against the worst 5 teams in the league (and they got blasted by one in their home opener). Add in the fact that Arizona and Cincinnati were pretty bad. I also believe that the 'window' of this team is closing as players are aging and the contracts will be catching up to them. QB also seems like it is going back to the abyss

 

A chasm? Really?

 

We went into Seattle and played a fantastic game. Is Seattle less of a team then? They surely didn't blow us away like good teams do to bad teams, amiright?

 

We were up 15 points against the 12-3 Oakland Raiders in the 3rd quarter, and then proceeded to blow it defensively.

 

Baltimore was a close game.

 

Miami were both close games.

 

There were only 2 games that weren't even close this year. Patriots 2, and the Steelers.

 

I'm starting to get the feeling you guys think the good teams never have close games? They just blow every team out each week.

I'm starting to think Kryk reads TBD for story ideas.

Edited December 28, 2016 by What a Tuel

[May Day 10]

 

A chasm? Really?

 

We went into Seattle and played a fantastic game. Is Seattle less of a team then? They surely didn't blow us away like good teams do to bad teams, amiright?

 

We were up 15 points against the 12-3 Oakland Raiders in the 3rd quarter, and then proceeded to blow it defensively.

 

Baltimore was a close game.

 

Miami were both close games.

 

There were only 2 games that weren't even close this year. Patriots 2, and the Steelers.

 

I'm starting to get the feeling you guys think the good teams never have close games? They just blow every team out each week.

 

 

 

1-7 against teams .500 or better

 

6-1 against teams under .500

 

that is a pretty big chasm. you either win or you don't. The performance against good teams vs bad is reflective of what we have been watching for nearly 2 decades.

[What a Tuel]

1-7 against teams .500 or better

 

6-1 against teams under .500

 

that is a pretty big chasm. you either win or you don't. The performance against good teams vs bad is reflective of what we have been watching for nearly 2 decades.

 

That's a pretty narrow view to look at the games and say there is a chasm in the talent of the team. It really isn't "you either win or you don't"

 

To illustrate:

 

The Steelers are 2-3 against teams .500 or better

 

The Steelers are 8-2 against teams under .500

Edited December 28, 2016 by What a Tuel

[PromoTheRobot]

 

 

1-7 against teams .500 or better

 

6-1 against teams under .500

 

that is a pretty big chasm. you either win or you don't. The performance against good teams vs bad is reflective of what we have been watching for nearly 2 decades.

The Dolphins have one win against a team .500 or better. Should they revoke their playoff berth?

[May Day 10]

The Dolphins have one win against a team .500 or better. Should they revoke their playoff berth?

 

 

no, let me comment on that in the Miami Dolphins thread

 

 

they dont have a sustainable model either, and likely wont be a perennial contender. If the Bills win this week, the Dolphins suddenly have 3 such wins.

Edited December 28, 2016 by May Day 10

[K-9]

Ah, a Littman reference. Bills fans: always on top of their game.

[PromoTheRobot]

 

 

no, let me comment on that in the Miami Dolphins thread

 

 

they dont have a sustainable model either, and likely wont be a perennial contender. If the Bills win this week, the Dolphins suddenly have 3 such wins.

 

So I'm confused. Do the Bills still suck?

[May Day 10]

 

So I'm confused. Do the Bills still suck?

 

The Bills aren't a good team. I do not believe the Dolphins are either. Eeking into a playoff spot by beating the dregs of the league and losing a Wild Card game someday in some future season is not my aspiration for the Bills.

 

The Bills are painfully average, just like they have predictably sat for what seems like a lifetime. Am I supposed to believe that another phony deck-chair realignment.... allowing Doug Whaley to move from GM that somehow wasn't allowed to make decisions, to a "real" GM and promoting a coach from within will change this organization's course? The Bills have been playing this accountability shell game for years, and people still fall for it.

[John from Riverside]

Oh here is a gem;

 

 

"So, knowing this, when the Pegulas decided to interview Ryan a second time in January 2015, did either Whaley or Brandon interrupt to say: “Uh, that would mean blowing up the one and only thing that has worked around here for a long, long time?”

No. Quite the opposite.

The new-to-football Pegulas relied heavily on Brandon in that head-coach search. On Whaley, too. And both heartily endorsed Rex Ryan as Marrone’s successor, as an in-house story and video chronicling the hiring process — posted on the Bills’ own website — confirmed.

“It was funny because at the start of the process …,” Whaley is quoted as saying, “I said: ‘You can’t go in with any preconceived notions of what you want and what you like. You’ve got to go in with an open mind so you don’t have any biases.

“And at that point, Kim said: ‘Well then how do you know?’ I said: ‘Unfortunately, it’s like when I asked people who were married and I was single. How do you know? You just know.’ And when we got to that point (with Rex), we all looked at each other and knew that Rex was the guy who we wanted to be our next head coach.”

 

 

Im gonna say this and your gonna have a lot of fans that say "I knew it all along"

 

- Lets say Rex was actually Whaley's second choice (I really dont care the order of Brandon's pref because he should not even be involved in this)

 

- What is Rex Ryan's calling card.......D.E.F.E.N.S.E.

 

- So yeah....he has ran "multiple" offenses in other places....but our defensive talent was SO GOOD......to me it was unbelievable that a supposid defensive genious could come in and SCREW UP such a good thing.

 

- Im gonna say right here right now....I did not think that a defensive genious could come in and ruin such a talented group....not a top 5 defense no way.

 

- He did.....and he did it in CONSECUTIVE years

 

- It is my hope.....that the bills will not make the same mistake twice. Keep a offensive group together that had a fine year......and bring in defensive coaches that actually understand know how to use the very good defensive talent we have on this team.

[PromoTheRobot]

 

The Bills aren't a good team. I do not believe the Dolphins are either. Eeking into a playoff spot by beating the dregs of the league and losing a Wild Card game someday in some future season is not my aspiration for the Bills.

 

The Bills are painfully average, just like they have predictably sat for what seems like a lifetime. Am I supposed to believe that another phony deck-chair realignment.... allowing Doug Whaley to move from GM that somehow wasn't allowed to make decisions, to a "real" GM and promoting a coach from within will change this organization's course? The Bills have been playing this accountability shell game for years, and people still fall for it.

 

I know people are frustrated and grieving right now but ideas are being tossed around that make no sense at all.

 

Average is one step below being good. Why do you want to go to rock bottom? Fans are besides themselves over another playoff-less year. How would they feel about buying into 3-4 more years guaranteed? Why blow the team up when it's just one side that is dragging things down?

 

We watch the games. We know what went wrong. Fix those parts.

[What a Tuel]

 

I know people are frustrated and grieving right now but ideas are being tossed around that make no sense at all.

 

Average is one step below being good. Why do you want to go to rock bottom? Fans are besides themselves over another playoff-less year. How would they feel about buying into 3-4 more years guaranteed? Why blow the team up when it's just one side that is dragging things down?

 

We watch the games. We know what went wrong. Fix those parts.

 

They can't help themselves on the "what-if" scenarios of blowing the whole thing up. They imagine blowing it up and building a dynasty, I think it's just a "if everything changes, then we can't possibly be the same old bills" thing.

[PromoTheRobot]

 

They can't help themselves on the "what-if" scenarios of blowing the whole thing up. They imagine blowing it up and building a dynasty, I think it's just a "if everything changes, then we can't possibly be the same old bills" thing.

 

Well then you go down the organization chart, find someone who's been here for 20 years, and blame them.

[Nihilarian]

What the Buffalo Bills have is a toxic mess and it starts at the top in who is still influencing this owner. Kryk is correct in that a toxic situation still exists because Russ Brandon and Doug Whaley are still in charge of this team.

 

Very few NFL head coaches actually walk away from one of the most coveted jobs in the world and the Bills have had two head coaches do just that in the past 17 years.

 

Mike Mularkey left because he didn't want to be micro-managed by owner Ralph Wilson, a man who didn't hire him and as Mike stated it was Donahoe that hired him and he didn't feel the Bills FO was headed in the same direction. Tom Donahoe left Mularkey alone to run the team his way and after Wilson fired him he hired Marv Levy and then wanted Mularkey to make changes on his staff.

 

"Mularkey didn't think the way the Bills were being set up would create an environment in which he could be successful." "It is believed that Wilson also suggested, but did not mandate, changes in the coaching staff. Mularkey subsequently dismissed five assistants."

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=2289987

 

Now fast forward to the end of 2014 and another coach walks away from Buffalo and this time he gets paid to do so because of a lame clause in his contract.

 

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2015/01/01/buffalo-bills-doug-marrone-bill-polian/21165875/

 

Bill Polian was in talks with the Pegula's to become that football czar ..."As Tim Graham reported, Marrone ripped the Bills to Polian as he walked out the door, telling the former Bills GM that people inside the building were trashing Polian because they felt threatened by his possible return."

 

http://buffalonews.com/2015/01/04/pegulas-are-learning-the-hard-way/

 

 

I have to wonder if Doug Whaley wanted Rex Ryan gone after last year and that is the reason as to why there wasn't more depth and better talent at the S, WR and RT positions. I get the impression that Whaley didn't like it that Ryan was able to report directly to the owner and I'm thinking some infighting started to take place between Whaley and Ryan. Only this time it wasn't shown to the media as a screaming match like it was between Marrone and Whaley.

 

The Buffalo News was reporting a power struggle between Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley as the two were at odds over the starting QB Tyrod Taylor, http://buffalonews.com/2016/12/11/power-struggle-behind-bills-potential-coaching-change/

 

"According to NFL sources, coach Rex Ryan and General Manager Doug Whaley are at odds over the future of quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Ryan wants Taylor to remain the Bills' starter for the balance of this season and beyond, the sources said, while Whaley would like to see rookie Cardale Jones start the final three games after Sunday's clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers."

 

 

It almost looks like Whaley didn't like Rex Ryan getting credit for Richie Incognito and Tyrod Taylor so I gotta wonder if Whaley will move on from Taylor because he wasn't "his choice" for QB.

 

It looks like Doug Whaley will hire Anthony Lynn because then he will have the power over the roster and the coach will report directly to him. This may work out, but I kinda doubt it because there is such a steep learning curve in learning to be an NFL HC! So much will depend on who Lynn hires as his assistants and not many experienced veteran coaches want to work for a first time HC.

 

It looks like Bills fans will need to wait one or two more years until these new owners wake up and fire the real problems with the team. Let's hope they do at some point.