RIP: Dick Jauron

[Big Turk]

RIP...he wasn't very good at being a head coach but he was a good man.

 

 

8 hours ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

I was probably his number 1 defender and his teams played some awful football to watch. But read those rosters he had and it’s absolutely amazing they would win 7 games. I fully believe he would be a SB winning coach if he ever had Allen. Great guy and prayers to his family.  RIP Coach. 

 

No way...dude would be punting on 4th and 1 from the opponent 39.

Edited Sunday at 12:14 AM by Big Turk

[Bferra13]

4 hours ago, stevewin said:

Sad.  Remember when he first came, there was at least some optimism to have a 'steady' competent presence at HC.   Remember Chicago fans remarking how eventually he would drive us crazy when his 'calmness' became infuriating and of course that came true.  I even remember some chigago DJ had put out this slow sleepy song that just repeated 'Dick Jauron Jauron Jauron Jauron..." - that could equally be used to celebrate his steadiness (in good times) and mock his calmness (in bad times)  RIP

I dont remember many people being optimistic about the hire. A classic Ralph hire. He was a good guy though no doubt. RIP coach God bless.

[May Day 10]

Just looked up some stuff.

 

I hadn't realized he was a DB coach for the Bills in 1985.  His first gig.

 

He played at Yale.  Was a 3x all American.  I knew he played S for the Lions in the 70s.  He also had a stretch with the Bengals.  

 

He won coach of the year in 2001 for the bears.  Lost his only playoff game.  

 

Jauron was a Marv Levy pick.  It makes a lot of sense.  A really smart and even keel coach.  Levy also was on record saying he wanted him as his DC in 1992 and 1993

Edited Sunday at 01:44 AM by May Day 10

[Rhyno716]

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2025/02/08/dick-jauron-death-lions-nfl/78360298007/

 

"We are so incredibly devastated to share the news that my dad has passed away," Kacy wrote on Facebook. "The past week has been one awful nightmare after another. What we thought was some early signs of memory issues turned quickly into cancer in his brain, specifically a tumor that was causing some very out of character behavior."

A scan found cancer in his lungs, liver and bones, and Kacy said the situation escalated so quickly her dad never knew what was going on nor was he in pain.

"The very best son, brother, friend, teammate, husband, father, coach, HUMAN that we were all so lucky to love," Kacy wrote.

[2003Contenders]

Yes, Bill Belichick quite often made him look bad back in those days (as did most coaches who faced BB in those days), but Coach Dick Jauron was a better coach for the Bills than many of us remember.

 

I always thought that Dick Jauron was a really good coach for a bad football team. That is, given the poor roster he inherited back in 2006 (with JP Losman at QB!) it was a miracle that the team finished 7-9. The following year with a team that set the record at the time for the most players on IR (and was under-talented to begin with), he still led them to another 7-9 start. Then in 2008, the team got off to a great start -- which landed Jauron a contact extension -- then trip to Arizona happened, and the team never fully recovered.

 

He always struck me as a good person who really cared about his players. He will be missed. RIP.

[Orlando Buffalo]

He was a good guy and that is much more important than anything else. RIP.

[NORWOODS FOOT]

Outlived by Marv Levy… 

 

RIP Coach Jauron 

[eball]

RIP Coach Jauron. Great player, good man. 74 is too young. 

 

[cale]

Jauron was a class act and a great human. He was just a bad fit for the Bills in that era. Every one who played for him, loved him.

[BADOLBILZ]

9 hours ago, The Frankish Reich said:

Imagine what we'd think of Sean McD if we'd drafted Darnold and then had a revolving door of Trubiskys and Case Keenums as starting QBs ... some coaches get lucky, some don't.

 

Not a fair comparison though because the Bills hired Jauron after he had already proven his limitations as the HC of the Bears for 5 full seasons.  McBeane would have been just another first time, 1 and done if Allen had busted.   The Jauron era in Buffalo started with exasperation at the terrible hire.  

 

Also, you had a chance to reach a SB with middling QB play back then.   The Bears made it with Rex Grossman not too long after canning Jauron.  Jake Delhomme lead a team to a SB appearance in that time.  That's just not the case since 2020(a couple years after Mahomes/Allen/Jackson arrived then more studs followed).   Too many teams have really good one's to be able to negotiate thru the playoffs without getting taken out by them.  Both QB's in these SB's every year now are guys who have proven they can put up MVP numbers.

 

It's just unfathomable that Jauron got 9 chances(seasons) as an NFL HC.    

 

That shouldn't have been his legacy.   It should have been his career as a player.   Being remembered as a disaster of a HC for 2 franchise's is on the owners and GM's that let him stay far too long at those jobs.

 

[Thurman#1]

Very sorry to hear this.

[Thurman#1]

18 minutes ago, cale said:

Jauron was a class act and a great human. He was just a bad fit for the Bills in that era. Every one who played for him, loved him.

 

 

He wasn't a great fit, but there wasn't a good fit, not with that deeply flawed front office.

 

The roster was bad.

 

Those were the years when Trent Edwards looked good for a brief shining instant. The Derrick Dockery period. The era they fought and fought over the decision about whether to pay Jason Peters the amount the Ravens gave him three hours after they acquired him. The times they went Donte Whitner over Ngata. The days when they moved Langston Walker to LDE. The days when they felt they needed a tall receiver so they picked James Hardy at #41 while DeSean Jackson went at #49 and Calais Campbell at #50.

 

A bad bad time, and I don't think any really good coach would have been successful, or interested in joining for that matter.

[T.E.]

8 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Also, you had a chance to reach a SB with middling QB play back then.   The Bears made it with Rex Grossman not too long after canning Jauron.  Jake Delhomme lead a team to a SB appearance in that time.  That's just not the case since 2020(a couple years after Mahomes/Allen/Jackson arrived then more studs followed).   Too many teams have really good one's to be able to negotiate thru the playoffs without getting taken out by them.  Both QB's in these SB's every year now are guys who have proven they can put up MVP numbers.

 

It's just unfathomable that Jauron got 9 chances(seasons) as an NFL HC.    

 

That shouldn't have been his legacy.   It should have been his career as a player.   Being remembered as a disaster of a HC for 2 franchise's is on the owners and GM's that let him stay far too long at those jobs.

 

Rex Grossman was an MVP candidate for the first half of 2006, and Jake Delhomme was legitimately good during the Panthers' runs. The NFL was already well into the era where you had to have decent QB play to have a chance, and Jauron was saddled with JP Losman and Trent Edwards while he was here.

 

A "disaster of a HC" is ridiculous. He went 13-3 in Chicago with Jim Miller as his starting QB.

Edited Sunday at 01:08 PM by T.E.

[Bill from NYC]

8 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

He wasn't a great fit, but there wasn't a good fit, not with that deeply flawed front office.

 

The roster was bad.

 

Those were the years when Trent Edwards looked good for a brief shining instant. The Derrick Dockery period. The era they fought and fought over the decision about whether to pay Jason Peters the amount the Ravens gave him three hours after they acquired him. The times they went Donte Whitner over Ngata. The days when they moved Langston Walker to LDE. The days when they felt they needed a tall receiver so they picked James Hardy at #41 while DeSean Jackson went at #49 and Calais Campbell at #50.

 

A bad bad time, and I don't think any really good coach would have been successful, or interested in joining for that matter.

Levy's 2006 draft destroyed any chance of the Bills being a strong team. That draft was loaded with good players (seemingly unlike 2025). Levy had 5 picks in the first three rounds, to include the #8 in round one. He wound up with these 4 players:

Donte Whitner (DB)

John McCargo (DT)

Ashton Youboty (DB)

Ko Simpson (DB)

This horrendous draft set back the Bills for 5 years or so and I posted at the time just how screwed we were. Jauron was far from my favorite coach but he was given little to no chance to win, given Levy's drafts and Mr Wilson's "cash to cap" (for those who remember).

Edited Sunday at 01:40 PM by Bill from NYC

[CNYfan]

Good guy.  Dry interview, boy your eyes could gloss over after about 45 seconds of the Skeleton Coach's response.   Posters made jokes about Dead Man Walking on the sideline, and we had a Poster with the Skeletor as a username at the old message board.  

 

He could cobble together some mediocre players to play a great defensive game and usually keep games competitive.  But that was deep drought era.

 

Rest peacefully and god bless his family.   

 

 

6 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Levy's 2006 draft destroyed any chance of the Bills being a strong team. That draft was loaded with good players (seemingly unlike 2025). Levy had 5 picks in the first three rounds, to include the #8 in round one. He wound up with these 4 players:

Donte Whitner (DB)

Josh McCargo (DT)

Ashton Youboty (DB)

Ko Simpson (DT)

This horrendous draft set back the Bills for 5 years or so and I posted at the time just how screwed we were. Jauron was far from my favorite coach but he was given little to no chance to win, given Levy's drafts and Mr Wilson's "cash to cap" (for those who remember).

John McCargo, not Josh and Ko was a safety.  Terrible draft, the entire country gasped when Whitner was taken 8th, Ngata and even Cutler were on the Board.  Moved up for McCargo who was the 3rd or 4th lineman taken from NC in the first round, and NC had won about 5 games that year.  Dumb

Edited Sunday at 01:39 PM by CNYfan

[Bill from NYC]

5 minutes ago, CNYfan said:

Good guy.  Dry interview, boy your eyes could gloss over after about 45 seconds of the Skeleton Coach's response.   Posters made jokes about Dead Man Walking on the sideline, and we had a Poster with the Skeletor as a username at the old message board.  

 

He could cobble together some mediocre players to play a great defensive game and usually keep games competitive.  But that was deep drought era.

 

Rest peacefully and god bless his family.   

 

 

John McCargo, not Josh and Ko was a safety.  Terrible draft, the entire country gasped when Whitner was taken 8th, Ngata and even Cutler were on the Board.  Moved up for McCargo who was the 3rd or 4th lineman taken from NC in the first round, and NC had won about 5 games that year.  Dumb

Thanks, my mistake. I will edit it.

[PromoTheRobot]

10 minutes ago, Bill from NYC said:

Levy's 2006 draft destroyed any chance of the Bills being a strong team. That draft was loaded with good players (seemingly unlike 2025). Levy had 5 picks in the first three rounds, to include the #8 in round one. He wound up with these 4 players:

Donte Whitner (DB)

John McCargo (DT)

Ashton Youboty (DB)

Ko Simpson (DB)

This horrendous draft set back the Bills for 5 years or so and I posted at the time just how screwed we were. Jauron was far from my favorite coach but he was given little to no chance to win, given Levy's drafts and Mr Wilson's "cash to cap" (for those who remember).

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Jauron insist we draft Aaron Maybin at 11 in 2009? Not that it was that great a draft, but what a waste. 🙄

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NFL_draft

 

[Bill from NYC]

8 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Jauron insist we draft Aaron Maybin at 11 in 2009? Not that it was that great a draft, but what a waste. 🙄

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_NFL_draft

 

The 2008 draft was also shockingly bad.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/2008_draft.htm

[SoTier]

RIP

 

 

 

[Sweats]

RIP Dick.

 

I think a lot of Bills fans were always upset with Jauron for his lack of urgency in game play, his awful game time decisions and his poor post press speeches........"we punted well".

At that time, we all wanted more than that, we wanted a HC who could get us over the hump, however, the lack of talent on the field was a huge obstacle for him and how he would pull out even 7 or 8 win seasons is astounding when you actually look back at it.