Now that Schottenheimer has left the door open…

I was reading an article by Floyd Reese the other day, a closer look at the coach/gm relationship and it made me realize that it’s not easy to find two individuals that can co-exist in such a situation. It definitely explains why so many GM/Coach situations become unstable. I certainly am not convinced that the right individual cannot perform both functions better. It certainly reduces the finger pointing and the buck stops in only one place.

I have added Cowher or Schottenheimer or Holgrem to my X-mas list!

From my perspective, that entire article could be based off of recent public comments made to the media. The “sources” could be Chris Brown reporting Jauron having said he understands the severity of situation, and that it falls squarely on him. Was this “envious eye” Ralph has casted just him acknolwedging the Dolphin’s turnaround? (Doesn’t cite a source there…). Phrases like “could tempt” and “He may be” leade me to believe its just one writer’s speculative opinion. There’s nothing to base this on.

Although I don’t think DJ will ever turn us into a Dominant team and I think some decisive action is required, I don’t see these wholesale changes happening.

I actually think that Ralph would consider Cowher even after the Donahoe fiasco. The reason is that Cowher has proven himself over decades. Everyone in the league knows what he brings to the table. He is PROVEN. Donahoe was seen as good but Cowher is a hall of famer and it is known what he would do. It is very very unlikely anyone in the league would think Cowher would fail anywhere. hopefully Ralph sees this as well.

as far as the reports – it could all be speculation as Brian points out – but it is out there now

Wilson has cast an envious eye toward the job Bills Parcells has done in his first year as the Dolphins’ executive VP of football operations, molding a roster that was 1-15 in 2007 to the brink of the postseason in ’08. He may be looking for his own Parcells.

We all know Wilsons infatuation with Miami and this could be the reason anything happens.

Wilson wanted the Bills to stay in the AFC East instead of going to the AFC North because of the rivalry with Miami. The Toronto game with Miami was probably Wilsons suggestion.

the fact that Miami was able to turn things around so much after a 1-15 start probably eats Wilson up considering his history with Miami.

If so then that would be a good thing. Follow Miami’s role and take his own Parcells (or Cowher)

One reason that Cowher might do it. He hates Tom Donahoe That may have cooled a bit over the years, but Donahoe got the ax from the Steelers because he and Cowher couldn’t co-exist. I’m willing to bet that Bill Cowher would love to go into Buffalo and succeed where Donahoe failed.

Worth noting anyway.

have to let this play out. I just am still a little shocked about this Edwards injury…it doesn’t add up to me. He played that whole friggn first half and how bad is this injury? We have heard nothing about it. It just doesn’t make sense. Its like they are protecting him. But I won’t start a conspiracy here, but I do believe Edwards could be playing

Ralph, you have to be jealous. Your team has been out of the spotlight for 9 years! I mean heck they had their first MNF game last year at home in 13 years. We need a saviour in Buffalo. We need someone to turn us into Pittsuburgh’s model. Who better than Cowher? Of course that is and will be a pipe dream. Ralph struggles to bring in someone from outside the organization, but how bad would it be to interview some people? To put out some feelers? can you imgaine the staff Cowher could assemble though??? Wow that would be great

its sad when the most fun and excitement i have as a Bills fan comes from off-season rumors, whether they be coaching, player or draft related!

Still interesting though, as a proponent of change, i welcome any sort of hint of it. Maybe the old man has some fight in him after all. We shall see…

It’s one of the most enjoyable parts of blogging. That said, it now comes down to the BIG question – Will Ralph be willing to pay the piper? You get what you pay for and $1.5Mil does not get squat anymore. Anyone have any idea on what Parcells gets? Cowher would be fantastic, but he will command, my guess, $5-6Mil per.
Please, no Shottenheimer. The last thing I need is for us to go 10-6 or 11-5 and lose EVERY first round playoff game. Talk about deflated expectations. God. He has bad karma.
If this comes to pass, I hope we do not bring in a coach who wants to play the 3-4. We have the makings of a good 4-3 and if we bust that up, there goes another 3yrs.

I’ve heard the Wilson is gun-shy argument and I can understand how it might prevent him from going after any of the big name GMs because after all the Donahue experiment was a disaster.

But Cowher is very different, he is extremely loyal and his ex-owner who is also extremely loyal loved him dearly. Cowher is a “hot commodity” by any standards and has had a lot of success. I certainly think that if Wilson was to entrust his baby with someone, Cowher would be the guy he’d feel the most comfortable with.

to talk about right now.

Do you have any idea how bad its going to be if this team loses all of their next 3 games? DJ has to be gone I think at that point and the mess someone comes to clean up will be rough…..For the sake of my heart, bills nation, the players, and the ownership I just hope we an stop the bleeding and win a friggn game for once….i need to have hope and see that some guys on this team can still make plays….

That hope goes to the meadowlands on sunday….i hope it comes back with some results

Here’s an excerpt from their December 5th entry:

"Rogers had been instrumental in facilitating the deal that would bring eight Bills games to the Rogers Centre over the next five years, a deal that was believed to be the first step toward the Bills permanently relocating to the Canadian city.

Jumping the gun a bit early aren’t they eh? I hope they have better sources for the article we’re currently discussing.

Please let that change bring back Rusty Jones. This team DESPERATELY needs someone to toughen them up.

Maybe Ralph is staring that great oblivion in the face and realizing this is his last chance to see the Bills do something. He’s got nothing to lose. His kids don’t want the team, and obviously, he’s not selling because he still loves owning the team. Is it really that ridiculous to think he might loosen the purse strings to bring in a proven guy to lead the team?

Cowher would be freaking awesome.

Hoping…

that means….

darn is it the off season again?

Is Ralph looking to go out with a bang in his twilight years, or is he looking to secure the team in good enough shape with enough cap space to make it a very desirable team for sale?

Thats it folks, thats the question, and it is VERY simple in every sense.

If Ralph wants to go out with a bang, I think we see some major shakeups in the organization over this off season, and may have new staff and coaches to learn about.

If Ralph wants to keep this team somewhat competetive to make it a sellable product, DJ and Co. will be here till Ralph dies, plain and simple. DJ is an older coach, may not want to coach anymore after his time with the Bills so makes a perfect caretaker till the sale. Why? Becuase any new owner will clean house and restart from the bottom up, though some guys like Modrak and Guy, and Brandon will hang around, alot of others will go. Right now we have some good young talent and that makes for a good incentive in a sale.

I don’t know why the idea of Cowher has been shot down around here so much. We are team that hasn’t won anything in a decade. A DECADE. While the Bengals of the 90s were terrible for a decade the Bills of the 00s have been mediocre for a decade.

Wasn’t the purpose of the Toronto game to give the team extra cash to play with. Isn’t Wilson getting old in a hurry? So let’s add it up. He’s got a little time to spend a lotta cash and he’s got one a sure fire hall of fame coach with fire that Jauron can’t touch considering coming back. His current staff has utterly collapsed but hes got a young team. I think its worth $6 million and I’m sure Wilson does too.

Cowher likes control of his team, thats a reason everyone uses to put down the idea of him coming to Buffalo. Well Cowher would have plenty of clay to play with in Buffalo, especially on the field which is what a guy like Cowher loves. If we pay him $6 million to mold a team of talented youngsters, in a blue collar football town that is dying to win, and a place where the man who does it will become football lore, in a cold weather outdoor location you REALLY DONT THINK COWHER WOULD WANT THAT JOB?

I think it is far more a possiblity than you all realize and if its legal, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bills already were testing him out with phone calls or what not.

Forget the article, its possible

Anyone want to talk draft while we’re at it?

If there is a coaching change imminent… Cowher and Schottenheimer are the obvious prospects.

CIN, CLE, HOU, KC, OAK, PHI, DET, MIN, STL, SF, and SEA (maybe SD as well) are all teams that may be competing for coaching services next season. Are any of those places more appealing than Buffalo? Maybe… I remember when Buffalo was looking for coaches 3 years ago I was crushed we went with Jauron over Mike Sherman. Then Jauron won me over (sort of) with his impeccable drafting. Everyone just needs to remember that there’s a lot that’s going to happen in the next 2 months or so and we need not to get our hopes up because it will hurt when the cards don’t necessarily fall right.

And if Mr. Wilson is serious about landing Bill Cowher, he’d better be doing something about it soon… because there are going to be some serious dollars thrown at the man to lure him out of being a retired coaching legend.

As an aside, some criticized Schotty for losing in the first round of the playoffs every year… well…. it’s pretty much a consensus that Marv Levy was a great coach… a little hypocrisy there?

I live in Raleigh, Bill Cowher attended Nc-State and wants to spend more time with his family and daighters. He was rumored to be a candidate for the NC-State job, but turned that down. Last I heard, he might be going to Cleveland if he decides to get back into coaching, but he likes his gig on the pregame show. Shottenheimer is also a candidate to be rumored for the Cleveland job. I have not heard of any candidates for the Bills job, but why not Mariucci? Former Niners coach. There is no way a big name candidate will coach in Buffalo, possibly Shottenheimer if he doesn’t go to Cleveland.

Adding another rope in the bridge to mediocrity between Detroit and Buffalo would be a HUGE mistake.

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