JDG Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am not one ordinarily given to wild swings of emotion wanting to cut coaches and fire the GM. Even though I never liked Gregg Williams, I was consistently cutting him slack until the very end. Likewise, although I ordinarily think that it takes three years to judge a head coach and while I considered this year to be a "development year" with the new QB and all - I think that the case against Mike Mularkey has now become so overwhelming that we must bite the bullet and go in a different direction in the offseason. 1) In just two seasons, he has managed to compile two of the most gut-wrenching and embarassing losses in Buffalo Bills history. How confident would we feel in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl with a coach who pulled stinkers like last year's Pittsburgh game and last week's Miami game? 2) Mularkey has given us strong suspicion that he is not able to manage the personalities on the team. Every football team is a mixture of superstars, stars, prima donnas, attitude cases, and any other sort of personality from the human menagerie that you can imagine. Managing that mix is perhaps right at the top of a Head Coach's duties. Yet, Mularkey has clearly run into problems with Sam Adams, and it has become a distraction. Mularkey has publicly called out one of our youngest stars, Willis McGahee, in public - and he clearly is none too happy with it. Moreover, it is very disconcerting that he has let realtions with this teams savviest veteran leader, Eric Moulds, degenerate so much that he ended up benching Moulds in a critical contest. Our best, perhaps only, chance of keeping Moulds as a veteran leader on next year's team, likely at a reduced salary, is with a new head coach. 3) He has shown questionable game-planning. We've seen a lot of a wicky-wacky stuff the last two years. What we haven't seen is any of the wicky-wacky stuff actually work. Seriously, have we even managed to so much as get a first down on a wicky-wacky play, let alone score???? Maybe we have - but surely we have seen far more wicky wacky disasters than successes - Shelton on 4th and Goal, the fake QB sneak, etc. etc. 4) Continuing the questionable game-planning, in nearly two seasons Mike Mularkey's team has failed to make a single 4th Quarter comeback, while at the same time blowing more than a few 4th Quarter leads. That kind of track record is devastating to a team's long-run winning percentage. 5) He has failed to show evidence of getting better. Even accounting for the considerable difference in schedule strength between this year and last, its hard to make any kind of case whatsoever that this team has gotten better. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence that it has gotten worse. And that's scary considering the way last year ended.... I'm disgusted as much as anybody - this opinion goes against almost all of my football instincts - at the thought of having a third different head coach in just four seasons.... and our fourth in just seven seasons. I am a huge believer that improvement in the NFL comes in large part through continuity. You won't see me making absurd calls for gutting the roster except for the Top 10 players . Yet, sadly, it appears that the case against Mularkey is too compelling to ignore - particularly the first point, he's managed to end each of his first two seasons in utter embarassment... and I just can't have confidence in him in the future - even if he were fortunate enough to somehow make the playoffs. So, where to go from here.... My first choice for a new coach would be Kirk Ferentz - he has the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick pedigree, and he has been coaching out of his mind at Iowa, where among other things, he has developed more than a few offensive linemen. We'll see if we can pry him out of there. The Buffalo Bills job shouldn't look too badly to a prospective candidate like Ferentz, who could have multiple opportunities (as well as the choice of staying at his pretty nice current gig) - we have a good amount of cap space to bring in players, and a young core of offensive talent in Losman - McGahee - Evans - Parrish, possibly Everett and hopefully Moulds providing veteran leadership. We have the best special teams in the League, a young star in McGee, a very solid player in Schobel in end, and two decent LB's in Fletcher and Spikes. Overall, despite the heavy turnover under the headsets the last few years, this job shouldn't look like a coach-killer situation.... so maybe we could land a marquee name like Ferentz.... provided that we bite the bullet on Mularkey after just two years based on the evidence presented. JDG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisiskeith12 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 If Mularkey goes, Donahoe will go too. I can't see Donahoe actually getting another shot at searching for a head coach. If there is a qualified man for this head coaching position, Donahoe will surely pass him up. Case in point: John Fox, Charlie Weis, Marvin Lewis, Lovie Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am not one ordinarily given to wild swings of emotion wanting to cut coaches and fire the GM. Even though I never liked Gregg Williams, I was consistently cutting him slack until the very end. Likewise, although I ordinarily think that it takes three years to judge a head coach and while I considered this year to be a "development year" with the new QB and all - I think that the case against Mike Mularkey has now become so overwhelming that we must bite the bullet and go in a different direction in the offseason. 1) In just two seasons, he has managed to compile two of the most gut-wrenching and embarassing losses in Buffalo Bills history. How confident would we feel in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl with a coach who pulled stinkers like last year's Pittsburgh game and last week's Miami game? 2) Mularkey has given us strong suspicion that he is not able to manage the personalities on the team. Every football team is a mixture of superstars, stars, prima donnas, attitude cases, and any other sort of personality from the human menagerie that you can imagine. Managing that mix is perhaps right at the top of a Head Coach's duties. Yet, Mularkey has clearly run into problems with Sam Adams, and it has become a distraction. Mularkey has publicly called out one of our youngest stars, Willis McGahee, in public - and he clearly is none too happy with it. Moreover, it is very disconcerting that he has let realtions with this teams savviest veteran leader, Eric Moulds, degenerate so much that he ended up benching Moulds in a critical contest. Our best, perhaps only, chance of keeping Moulds as a veteran leader on next year's team, likely at a reduced salary, is with a new head coach. 3) He has shown questionable game-planning. We've seen a lot of a wicky-wacky stuff the last two years. What we haven't seen is any of the wicky-wacky stuff actually work. Seriously, have we even managed to so much as get a first down on a wicky-wacky play, let alone score???? Maybe we have - but surely we have seen far more wicky wacky disasters than successes - Shelton on 4th and Goal, the fake QB sneak, etc. etc. 4) Continuing the questionable game-planning, in nearly two seasons Mike Mularkey's team has failed to make a single 4th Quarter comeback, while at the same time blowing more than a few 4th Quarter leads. That kind of track record is devastating to a team's long-run winning percentage. 5) He has failed to show evidence of getting better. Even accounting for the considerable difference in schedule strength between this year and last, its hard to make any kind of case whatsoever that this team has gotten better. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence that it has gotten worse. And that's scary considering the way last year ended.... I'm disgusted as much as anybody - this opinion goes against almost all of my football instincts - at the thought of having a third different head coach in just four seasons.... and our fourth in just seven seasons. I am a huge believer that improvement in the NFL comes in large part through continuity. You won't see me making absurd calls for gutting the roster except for the Top 10 players . Yet, sadly, it appears that the case against Mularkey is too compelling to ignore - particularly the first point, he's managed to end each of his first two seasons in utter embarassment... and I just can't have confidence in him in the future - even if he were fortunate enough to somehow make the playoffs. So, where to go from here.... My first choice for a new coach would be Kirk Ferentz - he has the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick pedigree, and he has been coaching out of his mind at Iowa, where among other things, he has developed more than a few offensive linemen. We'll see if we can pry him out of there. The Buffalo Bills job shouldn't look too badly to a prospective candidate like Ferentz, who could have multiple opportunities (as well as the choice of staying at his pretty nice current gig) - we have a good amount of cap space to bring in players, and a young core of offensive talent in Losman - McGahee - Evans - Parrish, possibly Everett and hopefully Moulds providing veteran leadership. We have the best special teams in the League, a young star in McGee, a very solid player in Schobel in end, and two decent LB's in Fletcher and Spikes. Overall, despite the heavy turnover under the headsets the last few years, this job shouldn't look like a coach-killer situation.... so maybe we could land a marquee name like Ferentz.... provided that we bite the bullet on Mularkey after just two years based on the evidence presented. JDG 522135[/snapback] I agree with your points except we need a proven HC. One that has many years of experience. Steve Mariuchi comes to mind. There must be a few others as well. How about Art Shell ? I always liked that guy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ1 Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 5) He has failed to show evidence of getting better. Even accounting for the considerable difference in schedule strength between this year and last, its hard to make any kind of case whatsoever that this team has gotten better. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence that it has gotten worse. And that's scary considering the way last year ended.... JDG 522135[/snapback] I agree with all your points, but I think # 5 is the strongest. By any measuring stick, the coaching has made no progress from opening day '04 up to the present. In fact, it would be a fairly easy case to prove that the Bills have regressed. Let Mularkey take his Bills's experiences somewhere else. Being fired by the Bills, the somewhere else would be at podunk college level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am not one ordinarily given to wild swings of emotion wanting to cut coaches and fire the GM. Even though I never liked Gregg Williams, I was consistently cutting him slack until the very end. Likewise, although I ordinarily think that it takes three years to judge a head coach and while I considered this year to be a "development year" with the new QB and all - I think that the case against Mike Mularkey has now become so overwhelming that we must bite the bullet and go in a different direction in the offseason. 1) In just two seasons, he has managed to compile two of the most gut-wrenching and embarassing losses in Buffalo Bills history. How confident would we feel in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl with a coach who pulled stinkers like last year's Pittsburgh game and last week's Miami game? 2) Mularkey has given us strong suspicion that he is not able to manage the personalities on the team. Every football team is a mixture of superstars, stars, prima donnas, attitude cases, and any other sort of personality from the human menagerie that you can imagine. Managing that mix is perhaps right at the top of a Head Coach's duties. Yet, Mularkey has clearly run into problems with Sam Adams, and it has become a distraction. Mularkey has publicly called out one of our youngest stars, Willis McGahee, in public - and he clearly is none too happy with it. Moreover, it is very disconcerting that he has let realtions with this teams savviest veteran leader, Eric Moulds, degenerate so much that he ended up benching Moulds in a critical contest. Our best, perhaps only, chance of keeping Moulds as a veteran leader on next year's team, likely at a reduced salary, is with a new head coach. 3) He has shown questionable game-planning. We've seen a lot of a wicky-wacky stuff the last two years. What we haven't seen is any of the wicky-wacky stuff actually work. Seriously, have we even managed to so much as get a first down on a wicky-wacky play, let alone score???? Maybe we have - but surely we have seen far more wicky wacky disasters than successes - Shelton on 4th and Goal, the fake QB sneak, etc. etc. 4) Continuing the questionable game-planning, in nearly two seasons Mike Mularkey's team has failed to make a single 4th Quarter comeback, while at the same time blowing more than a few 4th Quarter leads. That kind of track record is devastating to a team's long-run winning percentage. 5) He has failed to show evidence of getting better. Even accounting for the considerable difference in schedule strength between this year and last, its hard to make any kind of case whatsoever that this team has gotten better. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence that it has gotten worse. And that's scary considering the way last year ended.... I'm disgusted as much as anybody - this opinion goes against almost all of my football instincts - at the thought of having a third different head coach in just four seasons.... and our fourth in just seven seasons. I am a huge believer that improvement in the NFL comes in large part through continuity. You won't see me making absurd calls for gutting the roster except for the Top 10 players . Yet, sadly, it appears that the case against Mularkey is too compelling to ignore - particularly the first point, he's managed to end each of his first two seasons in utter embarassment... and I just can't have confidence in him in the future - even if he were fortunate enough to somehow make the playoffs. So, where to go from here.... My first choice for a new coach would be Kirk Ferentz - he has the Bill Parcells/Bill Belichick pedigree, and he has been coaching out of his mind at Iowa, where among other things, he has developed more than a few offensive linemen. We'll see if we can pry him out of there. The Buffalo Bills job shouldn't look too badly to a prospective candidate like Ferentz, who could have multiple opportunities (as well as the choice of staying at his pretty nice current gig) - we have a good amount of cap space to bring in players, and a young core of offensive talent in Losman - McGahee - Evans - Parrish, possibly Everett and hopefully Moulds providing veteran leadership. We have the best special teams in the League, a young star in McGee, a very solid player in Schobel in end, and two decent LB's in Fletcher and Spikes. Overall, despite the heavy turnover under the headsets the last few years, this job shouldn't look like a coach-killer situation.... so maybe we could land a marquee name like Ferentz.... provided that we bite the bullet on Mularkey after just two years based on the evidence presented. JDG 522135[/snapback] Agreed on all points...I'd rather see the Bills go with an experienced NFL HC... but...there are certain special College HC's who I'm sure could get the Job done... BTW, if you need a pitchfork I've got one you can borrow for a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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