Year 4 of Jauron: An Historic Blunder
by Benjamin Salem on Jan 30, 2009 11:37 AM EST
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PrintWarning- Do not continue reading if you're bored of posts that point out the ineptitude of Dick Jauron and the borderline insane decision to bring him back for 2009. Choose to read draft articles if you wish. Personally, I'm unable to get hyped up about a draft under current team management, both on the sidelines and in the front office. In my honest opinion, Jauron's incompetence casts a shadow too large over this wretched franchise to look away from. I feel as if the context of how inept Dick Jauron is and how insane it was to bring him back for 2009 is the number one storyline for this franchise at this time. If you disagree, that's fine. "Diversity" is not "an old, old wooden ship". If you're tired of the topic simply move on to the multitude of cheery studies out there pertaining to which defensive backs Jauron and the inner circle will take in the draft come April. Personally, I don't have the stomach for it (yet).
In dwelling on how hopeless I feel about the upcoming season (while I get ready to watch the distant memory that is the Super Bowl), I figured I needed to look for context in searching for why I've lost all hope in this franchise. It's one thing to lose when you go out swinging, but I don't get that sense from the owner, to the front office, to Jauron, to his staff, to the players. Frankly, I understand the argument that the team is doomed from the outset because of Wilson, but let's be realistic. He's not selling the team (and I won't get into the ugly and morbid counterargument). Wilson is the Bills. The team needs to win in spite of him and dwelling on his presence is ridiculous because he's the one person in the organization who can't be traded, released, or fired. Speaking of fired, I also hate the front office setup. The "inner circle" is pathetic and the decision to replace Donahoe with Marv (a virtual legend in my esteem, mind you) set this franchise back even further, His lasting legacy as a GM is the creation of the inner circle, a laughingstock throughout the league. That being said, Wilson had the chance to bring in a real GM last offseason and he passed. With that, the only logical move to change this putrid product we've been forced to endure was with a new coach. In a fit of spite or frugality or hubris or some cardinal sin, Wilson defied logic and brought back the completely overmatched Dick Jauron. How historic was this slap in the face? Here's what I found:
I've been following the NFL since 1988. That's a decent sample size since this period now absorbs just about half the league's history since the merger in 1970. I tried to figure out objectively why I was so down on the franchise I've cared about so much since I was in the third grade. For context, I decided to look up how many head coaches that, like Jauron, have begun a tenure with three complete losing seasons in the 15 seasons since Buffalo last made a Super Bowl. (Full-blown free agency started following the 1992 season, so the end of the Bills Super Bowl run following the 1993 season marks a nice cutoff in both team and NFL history as the beginning of the NFL's age of parody). Here are the coaches who had losing records their first three years on the job:
Ted Marchibroda- Ravens (96-98)
Mike Ditka- Saints (97-99)
Dave Campo- Cowboys (00-02)
Dave McGinnis- Cardinals (01-03)
Dom Capers- Texans (02-04)
Dennis Green- Cardinals (04-06)
Mike Nolan- 49ers (05-07)
Rod Marinelli- Lions (06-08)
Dick Jauron- Bills (06-08)
That's it, folks. Only nine total head coaches since 1993 have completely failed by beginning a tenure with their team with three consecutive losing seasons. There have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 head coaching tenures in the NFL during this period and these nine were the most complete in their failure. That alone, would explain my being so overwhelmingly distraught with the state of this team. But here's where the situation gets even worse- Of all these failed tenures, only two of these head coaches were brought back for year four, like Jauron will be in 2009:
Dom Capers: 2005
Mike Nolan: 2008
Dom Capers finished out his failed tenure in Houston by bottoming out with a 2-14 campaign in 2005. Mike Nolan was brought back for 2008 and made it to midseason with a 2-5 record before the 49ers decided to breathe some fresh air into their franchsie. So in the era of free agency, which dates all the ay back to the days where Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Bruce Smith were in their prime, Jauron is only the 3rd coach to completely fail in his first three seasons and get an encore. Both times before, it only got worse.
You can call me pessimistic and I'll disagree. You can say I'm out to bash Dick Jauron and I'll disagree. I'm just at a loss that the Bills would slap their loyal fans in the face by bringing back this failure and delaying the reconstruction of the coaching staff (no matter their motive) and I'm looking for context. Looking at the modern NFL era, Dick Jauron's tenure in Buffalo has been a remarkable failure, but bringing him back for year four is, without a doubt, an historic blunder which will only makes things worse.
Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.
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Well I obviously do not like the whole “inner circle” thing we got going on. But I will say adding Nix and having “the florida kid” having more say in the scouting/drafting process will make us better – so at least they are trying to improve there. Just not how I or most of us would like. but to say they are doing nothing would be incorrect.
something to take into consideration with Wilson and the Bills
From Mark Weiler of afceastreport.com -
Under Wilson’s ownership, the Bills, his franchise, and in the NFL, are 282-314-2 for a winning percentage of .472. If we back out the seasons which were directly influenced by Bill Polian, the Bills are 199-254-2 and a winning percentage of .437.
If we give Polian the same courtesy afforded Levy/Jauron, Donadope/Gilbride/Mularkey, etc., and discount the first two years and make the third season the indicator, then the Bills are 212-288-2 otherwise for a winning percentage of .422.
As such, Jauron is 20-26 and .435 and is simply the norm for this Bills organization under Wilson. The hiccup was under Polian’s reign and Wilson is solely responsible, singlehandedly, for ending that.
Wilson is obviously more of a problem for the Bills than DJ ever could or will be. So you can’t heap everything on him.
Also – I know you think that Marv is a legend – but without Polian (which he has shown many times he can build a winner) I doubt Marv would be anything more than a forgotten coach. Think about how we got out coached in the super bowls or even more recently his drafts. Marv gets way too much credit for things – and i’m not sure why (go ahead and kill me on that – I like him – but he gets far more credit than I think he deserves and Polian doesn’t get enough)
Maybe now you'll never slime a guy with a positron collider
I think everyone on this board would deny that Polian didn’t get the respect/recognition. We’re an enlightened group, and know where the problems stem from. It’s to a point though, that arguing about it does nothing other than keep our collective BP up.
There is no change we see fit (from the executive level) coming that will impact the current “beta” of this team.
"Buffalo Bills Football 2009 (sponsored by Labatt): A Future as Uncertain as the Beer You’re Drinking"
"It's not delivery, it's DiGiorgio!"
by TheAfghanTwilight on Jan 30, 2009 2:51 PM EST up reply actions
Its alll bout the players, then the coaches
GMs get the players, and the coaches have to do a good job of coaching within the division…while Marv was here, the Colts and Pats were always bad (Colts in our division then for anyone who didn’t know), the Jets were okay, but had a coaching/QB carousel which caused much problems, and the Dolphins should have gotten rid of Shula long ago, and never had a consistent running game or powerful defense to match up with the Bills.
Besides that, they had a QB with hella Balls and a zeal for winning so he could call his own plays and make things happen. Unfortunately, the NFC was a superior conference, and our talent just wasn;t enough in the big games, especially XXVI & XXVII, but you know there is a great article on the the last SUper Bowl the Bills were in by Dr. Z, and explains how we “should” ave won that game. Anyway, as much as that all sucks, I think Marv was a coach who knew how to delegate and Polian was so good and getting talent, that everything fell into place.
Anyone know if he was responsible for the Bruce, Reed and Kelly drafts, was he here that long? Because if so, he was here for the two 2-14 seasons of 84 and 85, and those were terrible, but those three players were huge reasons why we were so good, so it might not all be polian. you can’t just look at what he id while he was here, there are other factors. Oh yeah, Talley is in that mix of drafts as well.
The Bills CAN win every game
Polian was in our scouting dept but wasn't GM until 86.
Terry Bledsoe was the guy before.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
Scouting Andre and Talley was an accolpmlishment
Bruce was a no brainer
The Bills CAN win every game
Polian joined in 84
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 5:08 PM EST up reply actions
The Bills owned the NFC from September through December. The talent was clearly there to win it all. I think Jimmy Johnson said it best when he said that he loved coaching against the Bills. The defensive game plan was, essentially, to wait for one of the defensive stars to make a great play. That didn’t work out to well for Buffalo…
by Ron From NM on Jan 31, 2009 11:57 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I guess so
Its too dam bad watching all these super bowls with teams of similar talents as the Bills doing great things. DAMMIT!
The Bills CAN win every game
Similar talent?
These teams have all had SUPERSTAR players. We don’t have a single player of that caliber, let alone 4-5 these SB teams seem to have these days…
~K
"I’m Kurupt with Buffalo Rumblings. I am worth hundreds!"
I'm talking about in the 90s
We had great LBs, Bruce….oi don’t even need to get into it, but I meant that what we had then should have one us a SUPer Bowl. That’s all…it still frustrates me, and unless we win one in the next 50 years, I will always be bitter about it
The Bills CAN win every game
Salem...
Would you mind putting the winning percentages of each coach in there not just that they had a losing season? Like how bad was marchibroda, Marinelli, etc. Cause Marinelli was epically awful.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
Is that really a major factor though? A losing season is a losing season. Really, what’s the difference between a 5-11 season and a 7-9 season? Not a whole lot in my book!
~K
"I’m Kurupt with Buffalo Rumblings. I am worth hundreds!"
Not a whole lot...
I am just curious how it would shake out there.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 2:18 PM EST up reply actions
3 year records:
Ted Marchibroda- Ravens 16-31-1
Mike Ditka- Saints 15-33
Dave Campo- Cowboys 15-33
Dave McGinnis- Cardinals 16-32
Dom Capers- Texans 16-32
Dennis Green- Cardinals 16-32
Mike Nolan- 49ers 16-32
Rod Marinelli- Lions 10-38
Dick Jauron- Bills 21-27
~K
"I’m Kurupt with Buffalo Rumblings. I am worth hundreds!"
ok....
Marchibroda – 34%
Ditka – 31%
Campo – 31%
MCGinnis – 33%
Capers – 33%
Green – 33%
Nolan – 33%
Marinelli – 21% (ouch)
Jauron – 44%
So in all fairness Dick has the best winning percentage out of the whole group.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 5:11 PM EST up reply actions
oh hell yes
of all the loser coaches in the nfl, our loser is king. We should be grateful to be in the presence of royalty. Everyone on this list looks up to Jauron and says “Man, if only I could be a loser like that”
"Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?"
actually I would count Marinelli as the King of the losers...
but you can say what you want obviously
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 31, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions
Of those on this list how many have a Coach of the Year award in their trophy case?
The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.
Even a blind squirrel
finds a nut once in a while. Jauron is a blind squirrel who has no nuts left.
Teach your children about the four seasons: preseason, regular season, postseason, and off-season
Oh right...
anybody could have coached that team to 13 wins…….
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 31, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions
Jauron was let go 2 seasons later.....That should tell you all you need to know.
A coach responsible for 13 wins, etc does not get fired two years later for no reason.
Teach your children about the four seasons: preseason, regular season, postseason, and off-season
yet it happened....
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 31, 2009 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
I disagree it was for no reason
The Bear’s FO came to the correct conclusion that Jauron did not have what it takes to consistently produce a winner. They have been proven correct!
Teach your children about the four seasons: preseason, regular season, postseason, and off-season
and then they hired another one of your one year wonders with Lovie Smith.
If they are so good how come they don’t have a QB? the argument against hte Bills FO is about the same as any argument for 90% of the teams out there. The other 5% are lucky and the other 5% are the steelers.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Feb 1, 2009 8:29 AM EST up reply actions
Not proven correct by hiring Lovie
but proven correct that they got rid of Juaron due to his track record after leaving the Bears.
By the way, how many other NFL teams have not been to the playoffs in the last 10 years? You call Matt Cassel luck? For the most part, you make your own luck!
Teach your children about the four seasons: preseason, regular season, postseason, and off-season
Defies logic. yeah, that pretty much describes bringing back Jauron.
If I was on Jauron’s side, I wouldn’t even be able to argue against you here. But since I’m right there with you in this being such a major blunder, I don’t have a whole lot to add.
Good work drudging up some of those names. All epic failures.
I really see the Dom Capers and Mike Nolan final seasons happening this year in Buffalo. Unless we miraculously improve greatly, I have a feeling the players are going to check out at the first sign of adversity (likely by the end of September) because they’ll know their coach is a lame duck. Well, he already is a lame duck, but it would be cemented with a messy start.
You really did put it in context just by having names like McGinnis, Campo and Marinelli up there….
~K
"I’m Kurupt with Buffalo Rumblings. I am worth hundreds!"
Agreed.....good work Ben....rec'ed
"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path"
Not to mention the schedule that faces the Bills next season.
by thefourwinds on Jan 31, 2009 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
Juaron...
We can go on all day and all offseason talking about this guy and how terrible of a coach we all know he is. Too be honest with you its only the end of January and I am already sick of it. The guy isn’t very motivational, has terrible adjustments at halftime and he isn’t a leader by any means. This is Juaron’s final season in Buffalo unless he pulls a Tom Coughlin and wins it all. Too be honest with myself and everyone here, I really cannot wait until 2010.
"You must play the game to fully understand what it takes day in and day out."
- I did for 12 years!
If the Bills brought him back after 3 straight 7-9 seasons, I doubt it would take a super bowl win to save him. I would think that 10 wins and the play-offs would save jauron. I won’t argue whether that is wise or not just that I think that is what it would take.
The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.
I think 10 wins
I think 10 wins or the playoffs will do it.
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
11 wins – stays
10 wins – stays
9 wins and playoffs – stays
9 wins and no playoffs – doesn’t stay
8 wins and playoff – stays
8 wins no playoffs – doesn’t stay
Playing Eternal Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008.
by MattRichWarren on Jan 30, 2009 7:41 PM EST up reply actions
I hope Wilson sets the bar that high
I am afraid Wilson will keep Jauron for 7 wins and a bottle of prune juice! After all, it is the players fault the Bills didn’t win more games, right?
Teach your children about the four seasons: preseason, regular season, postseason, and off-season
Playoffs should be the benchmark
If we get into the playoffs with only 9 or 8 wins, that practically means we are winning our division. I can live with keeping Jauron if we win the division.
While I agree with your prediction, I just can’t understand how Wilson can set the bar this low. 10 or 11 wins without getting to the playoffs is still not acceptable in my books. From the discussions in this community, I kind of feel that most Bills fans are dragged down by Wilson to this lower level of expectation. It is just sad. How come the fans who help pay for the team by attending games are so helpless? It seems easier to get a change in the government than the Bills these days.
Bills fan half way around the world
How come the fans who help pay for the team by attending games are so helpless?
Because not enough fans are willing to do what it would take to really send a message (i.e. stop going to games, stop buying apparel).
by thefourwinds on Jan 31, 2009 2:22 PM EST up reply actions
I’m always advocating fans to take actions to send a message. But it seems I’m the minority in this community. Maybe most fans are afraid that not going to games and stop buying Bills merchandise will give Mr.Wilson his ammunition to move the team out of Buffalo.
Bills fan half way around the world
Wilson has made it clear over and over he will not move the team. The man is 91 and it’s not a wise move for him, and yes, it would heavily involve him.
If the fans were to stay away, it would work in the short term. But the problem is, if that message is to be sent, it really needs to occur in the near future. New ownership (that isn’t Jim Kelly) probably won’t care too much about regional loyalty.
"Buffalo Bills Football 2009 (sponsored by Labatt): A Future as Uncertain as the Beer You’re Drinking"
"It's not delivery, it's DiGiorgio!"
by TheAfghanTwilight on Feb 2, 2009 1:54 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed
Whether or not bringing him back would be a sane or smart thing to do as sireric said, is best left for the talking heads and psychiatrists!
I told the witch doctor that I was in love with the Buffalo Bills, and instead of telling me to say "Oh eeh oh oh ah, ting tang walla walla wing bang" in order to make me feel better he told me to buy a gun and end it.
Not only did Dick have the best winning percentage among this bunch of losers, ...
…but no one mentioned that he is easily the most consistent! That has to count for something. :)
I’m having t-shirts made for 2009 that have D-I-C-K in large bold letters on the front, and on the back, 7 and 9. It will be an item that is timeless, wearable any year from hereon since it will honor our eternal head coach and our record for that season.
I've been feeling Buffalo ill.
Every time I read a post like this I think of beating a dead horse. Hash, hash and rehash. You are right of course but the light bulb went on in my brain a long time ago. Perhaps it’s like riding ol’ swayback. He’ll get you there but you will probably miss the wedding.
everything goes better with a BIG MACK
HA HA HA
"You must play the game to fully understand what it takes day in and day out."
- I did for 12 years!
FYI: “an” would be acceptable if the phonology of “historic” was “istoric.” Though, “a” is definitely preferred among english ( the non-UK english) language writers/speakers. If the dialect omits the H, you’re good to go.
"Buffalo Bills Football 2009 (sponsored by Labatt): A Future as Uncertain as the Beer You’re Drinking"
"It's not delivery, it's DiGiorgio!"
by TheAfghanTwilight on Feb 2, 2009 2:04 PM EST up reply actions
I hope not because things will go even deeper into the crapper with an interim coach. They made their den, now they MUST lie in it next year.
"Buffalo Bills Football 2009 (sponsored by Labatt): A Future as Uncertain as the Beer You’re Drinking"
"It's not delivery, it's DiGiorgio!"
by TheAfghanTwilight on Feb 2, 2009 2:36 PM EST up reply actions
AS long as we have a strong draft
I don’t care if we’re 1-15, as long as he’s gone, because if we are .500 or above, Ralph will probably keep him
The Bills CAN win every game
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