Two Bills Drive

'Owner Terry Pegula and general manager Doug Whaley have not offered comments beyond a statement when Ryan was fired earlier this week. Whaley is scheduled to meet with media Monday, the day after the season ends with the Bills out of the postseason for the 17th consecutive season.'

'When pressed about his role in the decision to bench Taylor, Lynn responded, "I can't speak for the owner. I can't speak for the GM. They'll have to speak for themselves."'

'"Sure, he doesn't have to work," Abate said. "But him and Rob were on a mission this year. Do they want to start their legacy over or say, 'That's it,' and do the TV thing?'

'The big thing going in Lynn's favor is that the Bills have already announced that general manager Doug Whaley will be leading the coaching search. That's good news for Lynn because Whaley's probably going to want to hire someone who's not going to threaten his power in the front office.'

'For the most part, Lynn handled his first presser as a head coach fairly well, but Whaley and owner Terry Pegula did him no favors by hanging him out to dry with the team’s quarterback situation. He was forced to dance around questions about Taylor’s benching, which only makes the entire organization look bad.'

'Lynn explained it was a “business decision” to bench Tyrod Taylor in favor of Manuel, adding “we want to look at the depth of our quarterback position. We’re out of the playoffs. So we want to see what these tour two guys can do,” referencing both Manuel and Jones.'

'When it came to the question of who would be starting quarterback in the upcoming game against the Jets, Lynn said starting EJ Manuel is a business decision.'

'When asked about Taylor, Lynn responded that he saw a young quarterback with potential, and “it would be interesting to have him for an offseason to see exactly where he can go.” Now, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee that if it’s Lynn coming back as the full-time head coach in 2017, Taylor will be brought along with him as his quarterback. But it at least shows that one man that could have a stake in the game is at least intrigued by what Taylor can become by working with him for a full offseason.'

'Watch Jennie Fagen parody "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" from The Sound of Music as the Bills continue their playoff drought for the seventeenth year in a row.'

'“As far as the permanent head coaching job I’m really not thinking that far down the road because I don’t want to miss out on anything right now,” Lynn said. “I want to stay in the now and I want to get this team ready to go out and play the best we can to beat the New York Jets.”'

'“It’s a great opportunity to go out there and win,” Manuel said. “There’s no better way to end this season, even though it’s not where we wanted to finish, but to finish 8-8… as a team we want to still band together and show that we still have unity. For me personally I just want to go out and execute and do my job.”'

'Lynn has interviewed for head coaching positions at least two times over the last two years, with the Dolphins and the Jets, and removed himself from consideration for the 49ers job last year after an interview was scheduled.'

'The Bills general manager was part of the process two years ago and made his recommendations, but indication now is Whaley will take a lead role in the search for a new head coach.'

'No high-profile candidate would take the job without Bill Belichickesque power. And, if such a coach was hired, Whaley would figure to be one of the first to go … so he’s not hiring one.'

'But now, with that top-five defense a shell of itself and that postseason drought having reached 17 years, the Bills concluded that Ryan no longer is the right man for the job, announcing Tuesday that he has been fired.'