AP: Wilson says Bills ready to go all in

Interesting quotes from Wilson. It gets me excited. I want the GM to be different than the HC, too. But I can live with Shanny or Cowher or Holmgren wearing both hats. Not Marty.

Cha-ching, Mr. Wilson.

Brian -

Is there any chance they don’t want him to wear two hats? What is the possibility that maybe they are contacting shanny for a gm job and not for a coaching job?

Why can’t Russ be named GM, and then someone like Shanahan or Cower be named Coach/VP of Player Personal? Isn’t that an option also?

I just hope money isn’t an issue and they get the very best out there. No matter which route they go.

this is the first we are hearing that there are things that are attractive about Buffalo. Having a team that is in very good salary cap shape, has lots of younger players, and has the money to make moves, is something that has to be appealing for a HC/GM to come into. They can make their own stamp on the team, get paid handsomely for it, and have total control.

However, as Brian states a GM/HC title for one man is not ideal. I want the HC to focus on football, scheme, developing players. The GM and his team of scouts and pro personnel should take care of that side. Overall though, what needs to happen is a BUFFALO BILLS ORGANIZATION PHILOSOPHY. If Shannahan can bring that, and have the authority to remove FO people, and bring in his own staff, I could live with it. However, again I’d rather get a GM, and have that person hire his own coach. But it doesn’t seem as of yet Ralph is leaning that way

though I agree that the two-hat approach of a HC/GM isn’t a totally appetizing choice. I really want a GM, a proven talent evaluator that can concentrate on personnel and not coaching duties too. I guess the two-fedora approach is still better than the no-hat apporach we’ve had in place the last few years.

I have a feeling Shanahan and Cowher won’t be totally into the Bills job. But money talks, so you never know, if indeed Ralphie is willing to pay whatever they’d want.

There is hope in all this though, something we never really had with the Jauron regime.

Who is making all the hiring and firing decisions, Ralph on his own? Russ Brandon? This is one of the bigger questions we need to have.

I’m going to remain reserved – i’ve gotten excited about this team too many times over the last 20 years to do it again.

Actions, not words, will only get me excited.

I still think we can screw this up

Im holding out hope till I see the walk……….Im actually more excited about seeing how PF Flyer does in his coaching debut more than “the big bear hunting extravaganza”

 I am all in favor of bringing in a Football smart GM first, however that might not happen. I have a question for the knowledgable football fans out there. I know the Bills can’t talk to any coach or GM candidate that they might consider to take over that is currently under contract. However, does that rule also apply to the CFL? Also there has been talk about Jim Haslett currently coaching in the upstart new league and the GM of that new league. Does that rule also apply to them?

I’m also a proponent of a separate GM and head coach, but lets me honest, would Buffalo be able to attract a Shanahan or Cowher if they just offered them the head coaching job straight up? It appears that Wilson knows that he wants a big name coach and is willing to pay for one, but also knows that it may take more than money to entice a Cowher or Shanahan to take the job.

It appears Buffalo has a two-tier plan:

1. Attempt to hire one of the "big dogs’ (e.g. Shanahan and Cowher) as a GM/Head Coach, using money, young talent, a good salary cap situation and full control over player personel as selling points.

2. If they strike out with the big names, they take a step back and go after a GM at the end of the season. Once the GM is on board, he can start the process of finding a coach that fits what he wants to do with the team.

From an strategic stand point it makes a lot of sense, but it also ‘ups the ante.’ Can Shanahan handle the front office responsibilities? it didn’t seem like it in Denver. How about Cowher? Are there any others on Buffalo’s ‘short list" of big names that they’re willing to give more than one hat to? Holmgram? Shotty?

At the very least, it will be an interesting few months!

aside from being cheep

this is the only way that we are going to turn this team/organization around

winning is not always about money, but it takes some to get started. you need a strong base for anything

The whole debate of first hiring a HC or hiring a GM is very intriguing in my opinion. The way I see it, the Bills will try to strike a deal with one of the three big names out there, Shanahan, Cowher and Holmgren/Gruden. If they are successful with that plan, they let him get his guys in here in the scouting departments etc.
However, if they aren’t successful at attracting them, I fully expect them to go the GM-route with guys like Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Holmgren, Eric DeCosta or Kevin Colbert as the prime options.

My preferred options is obviously Bill Cowher, as I think his mentality is the absolute perfect fit for this tough-nosed city and this toughness-lacking football team. This being said, I would be very, very forthcoming as far as bringing in Mike Shanahan, as he’s one of the most brilliant offensive minds ever to have stepped foot in the NFL. The one issue I would potentially have with Shanny is his drafting, but suffice to say, he still found some terrific talent in Denver (Jay Cutler, Ryan Clady, Tony Scheffler, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Ryan Harris).

I know the prevailing opinion on here is that two folks for two roles is the best way to go, but I wonder if for a team like Buffalo, landing a big name head coach would have the additional advantage of making it a more attractive place to play. At the end of the day, money will decide who we sign (for a coach/gm and players), but I have to imagine that if a guy like Cowher or Shanahan lands in Buffalo, a player or agent might give the Bills a little bit longer of a look when comparing potential offers.

If Buffalo is big-game hunting I hope Cowher’s the one in their sights. Shannahan seems like too much of a mad scientist. And he had trouble being a legit contender without John Elway. Cowher fielded contenders with guys like Neil O’Donnell, Kordell Stewart, Tommy Maddox, and a rookie in Roethlisbooger. Also, the guy knows defense, the Steelers have rarely been sorry on that side of the ball. And as a bonus we won’t have to watch this craptastic zone-scheme the Bills run anymore… it drives me bananas every Sunday. You need to be aggressive on defense.

I like Perry’s energy and my heart would like to see him remain with the organization, but when you look at the Bills defensive stats under his reign, they’re anything but inspiring. You can throw in a lot of excuses: offensive ineptitude, injuries, poor talent, inconsistent strategy, etc; but the bottom line isn’t pretty.

Year Pts.Yds.
2009…22…26
2008…14…14
2007…18…31
2006…10…18

The new coach will have to do a careful assessment, weighing output versus extenuating circumstances. By the way, Shanahan has had a top-ten defense 5 out of 10 of his post Elway years.

about Wilson changing from his 50 year history of being cheap and a bad judge of talent. Talk is cheap and so far we have one cheap sentence. Most things that don’t get done remain undone because the person responsible is either unwilling or incapable of doing it or both. In Wilson’s case I fear it is both. Do you actually believe that he had an epiphany this week? I doubt it.

(and more likely the 2-cent crowd) feel if he wasn’t given the long-term job over a Cowher or Shanahan that it was simply because he didn’t have the history and pedigree they did?

I understand and applaud the efforts made to allow everyone ( but why, it appears, not women?) an opportunity to contribute at all levels of this league, but sometimes things take on way more meaning than they need to.

Just speculation because we might not get either. But as much as I feel Cowher would be my dream coach, Shanahan is one of the best offensive coaches ever. Where do we need the most help? Offense plain and simple. Shanahan is capable of outcoaching even Bill Belichick and always gives the Patriots fits. On the GM front everyone is terrified of, I have to admit that he’s outright bad at drafting defensively, but Offensively especially with high picks he’s been able to get decent talent probably the most impressive being Clady.

It’s good to hear Ralph is willing to loosen the purse strings (and as he mentioned, he already did it for players in the contracts for Derrick Dockery, Langston, TO, Kelsay, McGee, Evans, . . .). I just hope he realizes that “doing things right” means more than just spending megabucks on one coach. It means having high quality everything: front office, scouts, coaching staff, locker room, training facility, training staff, stadium, field surface, . . .. And it means the people working in the organization should love to work there because they know their dreams can become reality.

I’m not saying that that stuff is not true now, but the locker room interviews show a much shoddier room that what you see around the league.

I’m trying to imagine what it would be like to have a billion dollars and decide to let one person control $30 million of that for a year. I’m not sure how willing I’d be to give up that kind of control to someone unless I was really comfortable with them. For me, that’s where I would rely on someone like Russ Brandon who has consistently made money for the Bills and knows how to keep costs in line. I might just suggest that he could do whatever is needed to win.

then I wouldn’t mind seeing Marty as GM with Cowher as HC

Hire Marty as GM…………..
and Dick Labeau and coach. Doesn’t anyone see this? The guy is a hall of famer, and he’s never been a head coach. Can you imagine how pumped our players and fans would be with hiring the greates Defensive coach ever?
I know, I know, Dick is happy just drawing paychecks and designing awesome defenses every year……………. very comfortable in Pitt.
But, what if Ralph “went a court’in” with his wallet out. Would Labeau bite?
Thoughts?

I still maintain that bringing in a GM who hires his own head coach – big name or small name – is the best possible decision the franchise could make. It might not be the quickest road back to respectability, but it’s been proven to be the most successful route time and time again.

I can’t agree with this strongly enough.

What matters about Cowher and Shanahan and for that matter Holmgren, too, is that they’re all proven winners, who played huge parts in building successful teams. They all had the final say, so with these guys this wouldn’t be a problem. Of course, they’re going to bring in ‘their guys’ in the scouting department, so they don’t have to do all the work in terms of scouting, but they’ll be the ones calling the shots. DJ essentially had the same influence, but he sucked so badly that we were never really close of becoming competitive (Larry Tripplett, Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, Robert Royal, Peerless Price, Anthony Thomas, giving Kelsay a big extension, letting go of our Pro Bowl LT, revamping the entire line in one off season and expecting it to gell immidiately and I could go on from now to next Summer)..

Note: The fact that John Guy and Tom Modrak sucked certainly didn’t help either

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Most-Emailed-Photos/ss/1756/im:/091118/480/1e73a5012fce4591b28cea8390f4d8c9 This is the link. I’d swear that its Ralph Wilson. Trying to score some extra cash for the new coach perhaps. Check out the pic.