Why do some people feel Dick Jauron is not a good coach?

[Bill from NYC]

They also apparently don't believe that a football coach can actually learn and develop as he goes along. This, despite the fact Buffalo's winningest HC had an eerily similar record of "failure" before he came to the Bills.

 

There are things to like about Jauron. This team never quit on him, probably because he is a true gentleman. The closest thing to a "mutiny" (for lack of a better word) was when JP called out the coaches, and we saw what happened there. He kept games close, even with lesser talent at many positions. I certainly view him as a coach who has a chance to win it all, given the tools.

 

Now....Jauron will be 58 years old on October 7. It is not impossible, but I have a hard time visualizing him changing to any large degree. He was a defensive back, and a defensive backs coach. Like Levy, he seems almost unable to resist drafting them in bunches with very early picks, as well as signing them as free agents. The numbers speak for themselves.

 

Maybe he will be able to look back and see that in addition to some good players left by TD, this team was essentially built in 2007 when he drafted Lynch, Poz, and Trent Edwards. Not enough? He brought in Dockery and Walker as ufas. THAT my friend is how championships are built. Notice I give credit to Jauron? He deserves it.

 

If the Bills make the playoffs, Jauron will keep his job and rightly so. If not, he probably doesn't deserve to stay, unless guys like Peters, Stroud and/or Trent go down to injury. I think that I am being pretty fair with this.

 

If he stays....hey, the guy went to Yale. Here's to hoping that he will be smart enough to look at the team as a whole, and draft players at positions at which the Bills are thin. Can you even imagine this team with another very good young DT? Or a top flight TE and OC?

 

The f :censored:ing sky would be the limit.

 

GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BillsVet]

Jauron's ability to process what happens on the field is my biggest issue with his style. There are times that it seems he's attempting to overanalyze what transpires on the field that he neglects the "big picture." Almost to the point of perfectionism.

 

The first occurrence that something was wrong was in 2006 in the home game against SD. He used a TO with about 12 min remaining in the fourth to review a Peerless Price catch which was ruled out of bounds. He challenged, and the ruling was upheld. On one play, he used the equivalent of two timeouts and in a low scoring game, couldn't prioritize his TO's above a single pass play.

 

The second time was home versus the Jets last season. He wanted so badly to attempt a FG on 4th down from about the 2, but could not make up his mind, and the game clock got down. This forced a TO, wherein the team decided to go for it.

 

People can criticize that some bring up his career record. They can argue it was a lack of talent, or the front office, or whatever. It's not always going to be so easy, and coaches have to make decisions without the benefit of ample time. I've got to see DJ make better in-game adjustments than they have, particularly against Oakland. It seems he's painfully slow to change tactics, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter when the offense finally did something. He is the HC, and abdicating responsibility for the offense is unacceptable.

[todd]

why do some people think Dick Jauron is not a good coach? Maybe because they are blind? Or stupid?

[Steely Dan]

I think the idea that Dick is a very conservative coach is because he's had a very young team and that's the way you coach a young team. A coach can open things up for his players as the team becomes more experienced.

[The Dean]

I think the idea that Dick is a very conservative coach is because he's had a very young team and that's the way you coach a young team. A coach can open things up for his players as the team becomes more experienced.

 

 

Perhaps, but Dick has always been a pretty conservative, defensive minded coach. I think what you see is what you get, for the most part. But, he certainly could evolve. Look at Coughlin, he made a dramatic change, and it did him a lot of good.

[MartyBall4Buffalo]

Perhaps, but Dick has always been a pretty conservative, defensive minded coach. I think what you see is what you get, for the most part. But, he certainly could evolve. Look at Coughlin, he made a dramatic change, and it did him a lot of good.

 

 

? Just curious Dean O did you happen to ever watch the jags when Coughlin was there? They were anything but conservative. As far as changing with the giants. It was pretty much the opposite situation. Coughlin wanted a more wide open offense that didn't exactly fit the personell they were using. He and Gildbride adjusted, from a pass philosophy to a run oriented grind it out offense, which minimized eli's mistakes, allowing him to grow into his role and the giants leader.

[The Dean]

? Just curious Dean O did you happen to ever watch the jags when Coughlin was there? They were anything but conservative. As far as changing with the giants. It was pretty much the opposite situation. Coughlin wanted a more wide open offense that didn't exactly fit the personell they were using. He and Gildbride adjusted, from a pass philosophy to a run oriented grind it out offense, which minimized eli's mistakes, allowing him to grow into his role and the giants leader.

 

If you thought I said that Coughlin changed from being conservative to being more wide open, I didn't mean to (and don't think I did). I simply noted that, as an older coach with a set way, Coughlin changed.

 

Coughlin's biggest change was the way he dealt with players. He changed his persona.

 

Gilbride changed the way he has ALWAYS run his offense. This may be the biggest shocker of all time!

[Sisyphean Bills]

Usually these debates simply boil down to how people define a relative term like "good". Attempts to quantify or offer various facts as pro or con evidence is discouraged in favor of random emotion laden jousting. After all, what better way to prove one's superiority than to dump sh-- on anybody that can be labeled "the others"?

[My Friends Call Me Tebucky]

This always a fascinating question.

 

Somehow, I think, the jury is still out on the guy. He's proven he can overachieve with a rag-tag group of players, but he's also never won a playoff game in all his time head coaching. At the end of the day, your record is what it is.

 

4 playoff wins in over 20 years of coaching, none at even a coordinator level, no Super Bowls reached, none won.

 

I like a lot of what he does- his teams rarely beat themselves, which is crucial for the undermanned squads he's had before this year. At least they make the other team beat them.

[Guest three3]

i am really really concerned that he is the weak link. look at all the games he has cost the bills over the last year / two years. he always challenges the wrong plays, chooses the wrong defensive matchups - those are my main gripes. he is a poor game manager-he may be good up until sunday but fails to consistently make in-game adjustments, proper use of timeouts and challenges. i like the guy from boise st chris peterson

[Guest three3]

guys i didnt mean to diss the bills-i am a huge bills fan, i just think aside from his trick plays and 'players environment' he seems out of touch and distant - the new england snf game really exposed his inability to assign proper defensive assignments & create mismatches - look at who he had on moss that whole game

[Dante]

He has more losses then wins as a head coach. It's the same here in buffalo. He is close to 500 wins as a Buffalo Bills coach by a game or two but he is still on the losing end.

 

I am not a huge fan but i think he is a huge coach. It's obvious that the players like him and want to play for him. I have never heard any player on any of his teams speak poorly of him. That in itself is a big accomplishment and is probably 90 percent of the job as a HC.

Jesus trucking christ girls I don't believe this thread. This team is looking better than it had in 10 years and you dip$hits are already teeing up this poor sob so you can bring him down

[billsrcursed]

Jesus trucking christ girls I don't believe this thread. This team is looking better than it had in 10 years and you dip$hits are already teeing up this poor sob so you can bring him down

 

 

Thank god!!!

[Pyrite Gal]

Even with the Bills at 3-0, Mike Schopp is still saying he thinks Jauron is a poor coach, like players somehow coach themselves to wins. All I know is what I read. Every player interview talks about playing hard for Coach Jauron. Did anyone ever speak of Greggo or Meathead this way? Not likely.

 

PTR

I think that this is more frustration that our Bills have not been to the playoffs yet in this century than good football logic and analysis. Folks want a football equivalent of Moses to inspire them and lead them to the promised land. All they get from Jauron is a guy in a Tilley hat who is simply stable and a good guy.

 

If you get the right guy this is great for the team but it simply sucks for us outsiders who need a messiah.

 

I through in an apology board for Jauron as a rope to some very good football analysts on TSW who for whatever reason have chosen to analyze his past record as being 3/4 empty rather than 1/4 full.

 

Sure the numbers are accurate in that the facts simply are he has a losing record as an HC, his Bears team went from glory under his guidance to foundering, the Lions were foundering when he got the job as interim and foundering when he left and he has yet to HC the Bills to a +.500 record.

 

However, an analysis which simply labels Jauron a loser ignores the reality that he did HC a team to 13-3 record, he has a record of showing pretty good game feel and buildings a fast acting and accurate (though nobody is perfect in this regard) play challenge ability, and he is generally considered to be a well-liked and solid professional (getting 3 HC gigs in the NFL while never even have smelt the SB is an indicator of something.

 

Like any HC this is a public job and when you take the big bucks for the contract you are getting paid to stand up and face the public when your team has failed utterly. You are well-compensated for welcoming folks to second and third guess you and this comes with the territory.

 

However, I think the main answer to your question for many is that their frustration with a sorry Bills record over much of the past decade has caused them to overlook the facts that:

 

1. This team was not a very good team when Jauron oversaw them as HC to a 7-9 record his first year. It seems to me to be overlooking reality for anyone not see that there was massive improvement in a team which finished 5-11 the year before and in such disarray that a team leader for several years (Moulds) through a hissy fit and ended his career as a Bill, the GM got canned and the owner was too chintzy to fire the HC but the situation was so bad the HC walked out on a million bucks rather than hang around.

 

2. In a mere year, the house cleaning began in earnest and the recruiting of quality replacements through the draft and FA bean to happen and produce better results.

 

3. Jauron oversaw a number of clinkers in terms of game management and choices, but these choices for the most part were tests which the players could have succeeded at (McGahee blowing a 4th down run or JP calling himself out in the Jax game) and the ax came down on players when they failed to produce. He also exhibited good game control overall in that he recognized and produced to 7-9 for two teams not 7-9 good (due to so-so players his first year and due to leading the league in IR'ed players last year.

 

Still folks seem to want to measure Jauron on the Bills over W/L (a legit thing to do actually) but they simply fail to look at some of the objectively and subjectively showable intangibles that add up to this outside analyst is saying Jauron clearly deserves an extension because he has this team improved and on the right track to produce some very good things.

 

The oddity here is not the calculus that Jauron is not perfect (he ain't) but the total disregard for all the things which have gone well for this team right here and right now and for his career as an HC.

 

The simple fact is that as an HC Jauron is not great (yet) but he is good and he looks very good after 3 games this year.

[The Senator]

I think...

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...he looks very good after 3 games this year.

fixed

[Mooshocker]

....but, Trent has what JP will never have...brains. JP may have a great arm, great legs and escapability, however, he will never have the intelligence or ability to read defenses that Trent has.

[Pyrite Gal]

....but, Trent has what JP will never have...brains. JP may have a great arm, great legs and escapability, however, he will never have the intelligence or ability to read defenses that Trent has.

From what I have seen JP has actually shown a good football brain as evidenced by his ability to read and react incredibly well while running for his life. The best single example of this that many folks should remember is a play where our center hiked the ball over JPs head. He not only had the athleticism to catch it on the bounce (a feat which is merely like walking and chewing gum for a good athlete except you are doing it while crossing through traffic in the Indianapolis 500 as opposing defenders smelled blood in the water and were looking to sack him while our OL has their backs turned to this whole exercise).

 

JP showed excellent football awareness as he not only kept his head up and looking downfield on this busted play but read who was where in terms of our receivers running their routes and the D covering and changing up on the play. he hit Gaines for the 1st.

 

JP's limitation is that while he can read and react incredibly well as his skills were honed with a performance behind the turnstyle line at Tulane that earned him a 1st round pick that involved the Bills having to trade up as it looked pretty clear he would not make it to our early 2nd round pick, but the Bills have tried to mold him into being a standard NFL QB reading the play and throwing based on the preliminary read rather than throwing based on his reaction to what works.

 

I think JP has shown through his collegiate work, episodes of success as a pro (such as the win streak he lead the team to last year which kept Trent on the bench after his recovery from injury though the braintrust wanted to play) and how he has carried himself as a pro, that he does have a good sense of the game and very good athleticism.

 

Where he falls short (and which I think folks mistake as a lack of brains) is that his style if more like one of a Favre in GB where he can read, react, and improvise quite well (and act that takes some good football brains to do and win much at all in the NFL) and simply does not fit well with a team which bases its attack on a WCO style offense with initial reads, disciplined routes and quick releases.

 

I think folks have made the mistake of reading JP as having happy feet (Todd Collins is a classic example of true happy feet where he was so afraid of getting sacked he would stop looking and bail out on the play and not simply bail out of the pocket). JP is antsy to get out of the pocket but the evidence (where he actually produced a QB rating that exceeded Edwards last year) is that he is trying to get out so he can read and react and make plays.

 

Yes, there is a difference between JP and TE and TE is a much better fit for the WCO style O we are running, but there is also a difference between a Todd Collins and a JP.

 

I think folks who for some reason think JP will suck anywhere he goes may be right (particularly if JP makes the mistake in FA of choosing a team running a WCO style O), but I think they could easily be wrong if JP chooses a situation with an OL and WRs who never give up on a play when it breaks down and who help JP make productive use of what I think is really an extraordinary ability to throw downfield accurately (as seen with his many hook-ups wiht Evans on huge gains), his ability to run well (and toughness as a runner as seen by the Bills actually needing to tone down JP and get him to go OB at end of successful runs rather than to try to hit the DB for meaningless yards, and the fact he is always looking and reading even when running for his life.

 

The Bills are quite fortunate that even after he kept a healthy Edwards on the bench he called himself out declaring Jax a make or break game for him.

 

He broke and essentially is done as a Bill.

 

However, I am pretty sure that in the right situation he should do quite well because he has the football brains to read and react well though he does not have at all the football discipline to read and operate according to a plan.

[San-O]

fixed

 

 

Thanks. I just can't devote the time read a post longer than a couple paragraphs unless it's really good.

[San-O]

JP showed excellent football awareness as he not only kept his head up and looking downfield on this busted play but read who was where in terms of our receivers running their routes and the D covering and changing up on the play. he hit Gaines for the 1st.

 

However, I am pretty sure that in the right situation he should do quite well because he has the football brains to read and react well though he does not have at all the football discipline to read and operate according to a plan.

 

???

 

How is JP that different than RJ?

 

JP = RJ Light.

[The Dean]

Isn't it obvious that Mooshocker is a troll? Best to ignore his asinine posts.