first_and_ten Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 Thanks for the time-line. BTW, tomorrow is Sunday, and Monday is Labor Day. Your point? FYI, the report clearly stated... Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. summoned head coach Dick Jauron, along with general manager Russ Brandon and two assistant coaches, for a conference at his Detroit home on Saturday after a tumultuous preseason that resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, according to team sources. Wilson conducted a give-and-take session on the team's direction after the Bills' offense sputtered during a 1-4 preseason, sources said. In addition to Jauron and Brandon, Wilson also met with the Bills' new play-caller, quarterback coach Alex Van Pelt, and Eric Studesville, running back coach and running game coordinator. Maybe there is a time machine involved
stuckincincy Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 I don't agree Cincy. The flight to Detroit is about an hour. The final cuts were well known (by the coaches) Friday morning - except for two or three. It always works that way. It's not rocket surgery, but it definitely can be as argumentative as the Draft. Coaches lobby to keep their guy by making a case why they should be kept over another player. The final roster has to be filed with the NFL office in NYC by cutdown time. Clubs are not required to publish it to the media by that time. The Bills have never to my knowledge ever published cuts at the strike of the hour. They didn't lose precious time and weren't missing precious scraps of player information squirreled away on office stickies and clipboards. They need to convince the HC and GM who the best players are and why they should be on the squad. That's all. Ralph simply conducted a level-setting head-check in the comfort of his home. See, it isn't personal. It's about business. I find nothing wrong in Ralph calling everyone in on the carpet. The mission is clear - win or else. He wanted to make certain they all got the message, loud and clear. Yes, the flight is about an hour. You'll have to add in time for embarking, disembarking, and some more getting to and from destinations on the ground. I feel it is better to be at a known address on cut-down day. You never know when somebody calls about offering up a player - even on a Saturday. There's much to be said for mobile communications, but hunting down someone on the road vs. contacting a known address aren't always the same. I think that all the coaches and front office types should be on duty in the same location, with access to all information, no matter how trivial. I didn't imply anything wrong with Ralph calling his employees on the carpet. Quite the contrary, I believe the meeting was personal in fair part. I simply question the timing. The NFL is an entertainment business. Even in pre-season. Ralph had every reason to be angry about the poor performance(s) given to his paying customers.
Maddog69 Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 Ok, lets for a minute assume that DJ was telling the truth when he said it was 100% his idea and his call to fire Schonert. This meeting could indicate that Ralph was not 100% on board with Jauron's plan to have AVP call the plays with input from Studesville. It's possible that Ralph wanted to sit down with the coaches to get a better feel for whether or not AVP could do the job or if he would force DJ to go an experienced OC. Think of this meeting as a job interview for Alex. My guess is that if the offense struggles over the first few games, Ralph will make DJ hire an experienced OC (someone who could replace DJ when he is fired midseason).
Endzone Animal Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 Van Pelt should have turned them down. This is a lose/lose career move for him, not a promotion.
BillsGuyInMalta Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 Van Pelt should have turned them down. This is a lose/lose career move for him, not a promotion. Not necessarily, it all depends on what AVP wants to do with his life. Getting any sort of O-Coordinator experience is a plus to any young coach I'd imagine, especially at the NFL level. If he fails, I'm 100% positive there will be a DIV 1 college out there who would love to have someone with that experience run their offense or even be their HC. Lets remember that Joe Pendry kept getting coordinator jobs even after bombing out with the Bills AND Texans offenses.
Geno Smith's Arm Posted September 6, 2009 Posted September 6, 2009 This reminds me of the supposed conversation Peter King overheard before the 07 season at the owner's meetings in which RW asked DJ and Levy if they'd be able to stop the run. I'm sure they didn't tell him they weren't better, even if they weren't confident. I think in some ways RW is similar to Al Davis in Oakland. Not so much in the strange personnel moves or conferences held to refute fired coaches' claims. He has surrounded himself with yes men who cannot tell him something they know he doesn't want to hear. I'm referring to DJ and RB, who make up possibly the worst GM and HC tandem in the NFL. Not that I don't think it's a problem, but I bet you could say that about a majority of the owners in the league. Especially the older, long-time owners that have collected a bunch of employees over the years (lots of vice-presidents or assistant of this or that). Like many corporations, eventually they are all just trying to keep staus-quo. I like SOME of the things Ralph has done, but I think new ownership (at least good new ownership) would breathe some fresh air into the organization (I know thats not news to most people).
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/coordin...uffalo-tampa-k/ Not everyone got the Friday comes before Saturday memo, looks like.
Flbillsfan#1 Posted September 7, 2009 Posted September 7, 2009 Not necessarily, it all depends on what AVP wants to do with his life. Getting any sort of O-Coordinator experience is a plus to any young coach I'd imagine, especially at the NFL level. If he fails, I'm 100% positive there will be a DIV 1 college out there who would love to have someone with that experience run their offense or even be their HC. Lets remember that Joe Pendry kept getting coordinator jobs even after bombing out with the Bills AND Texans offenses. I would gladly take Pendry over the last few OC's the Bills have had. Good Luck to Alex.
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