thewildrabbit

I know I'd feel a whole lot better about the future of the team going forward had the owner hired a czar or Polian first, and then they made the decision on Ryan. Right now it looks to me like Brandon, Whaley helped push the new owner into this decision for obvious reasons. I get that Ryan will have the Bills defense playing as well or even better then Schwartz / Pettine had them playing. In my view this doesn't equate to beating the Patriots 2x, winning the division or even a winning record. Look at Ryan's record against Belichick, 3-9 over 6 seasons, and 1-7 over the last 4. This was with his Jets defense being in the top ten every year. Whats mind boggling to me is how many are jumping on the bandwagon for a 4-12 coach. I look at Ryan and see a loud mouthed buffoon who didn't keep his promises to win a super bowl with the Jets. At the end of his time with the Jets he was just a fading soundbite with no credibility.

Now if the Bills only had that 49ers offensive line, and Russell Wilson at QB... championship!

I agree, and those two onside kicks were really bad. Carpenter had a better record of making those work, and yet wasn't used. Talk about the Denver game when the special teams were pretty bad. The Bills had only one start past the 26 yard line all game, and were mostly pinned back at the 20 or behind it all game.20-20-19-40-20-10-20-26-20-8-10 Denver OTOH had most of their drive starts past the 33 to 40 yard line 46-39-37-40-39-20-33-40-25-44-44. Marrone had players like WR Mike Williams inactive so he could bolster special teams with more players on kick off coverage's. Which kinda made no sense considering the offense was so bad at scoring TD's in the red zone, and he had an extra kicker on the roster just to make sure to kick it out of the end zone.

Great post and it certainly misrepresents mine too. Now the entire job of producing a decent offense will be on the new OC's shoulders. I only hope he is up to the task.

Neither actually. I would have liked to have seen a team president hired for the football side, and then let him make the decision. Now we are caught up in the very same situation that has plagued the team for 50+ years with the owner making decisions (or in the loop with Whaley, Brandon). Considering the interview was at the owners house in Boca...Same Stuff, different city. If Bill Polian had been hired he stated he would have needed to make changes to the scouting dept, and probably brought in ex Charger GM AJ Smith who is a senior executive with the Washington Redskins. What does that tell you about the current situation with the Bills FO? I don't see how a man (Ryan) who is literally clueless about the offense / QB's helps in any way with the area of the team desperately needing help. Greg Roman had arguably the very best O line in the game in San Fran, and those players we all very good run blockers. Now fast forward to the Buffalo Bills with arguably the very worst O line in the NFL that has great difficulty in run blocking. Exactly how does the line get improved when the man in charge only made things worse for two years now. This entire scenario is exceedingly frustrating to me.

You know whats completely ridiculous? The 9-7 HC quit, and the Bills hired a 4-12 HC to replace him. Now that is ridiculous!Then thinking a HC that just went 4-12 because he had a good defense, and no QB is going to change anything with his new team....that has an already good defense, and no QB. Like I said, new Uni's, new zip code, same situation. I was just laughing at big mouth Rex this past season when he announced that his Jets were a "zillion ways" better in then their first game against Buffalo. Then his Jets team came to town and was destroyed 38-3. "The Jets were walloped a few short weeks ago, 43-23, by the Bills at MetLife Stadium. This time the Jets won’t have the comfort of their own stadium, but neither will the Bills, as the NFL decided to relocate the game away from Buffalo on Thursday." “Let’s see how much better we are, because we think we’re a lot better, and we’ll need to be,” Ryan said. “The proof will be in the pudding.” In what ways does Ryan think the Jets are better? “In a zillion ways,” he said. “Almost every way.” http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-insider-team-zillion-ways-better-article-1.2018534

big whoop... Will he suck again when Marrone is no longer helping him? We shall see.

Rex Ryan, different zip code, different uni, same situation with a good defense / bad offense. To those not comprehending why some are complaining about this hire, allow me to reiterate. The defense was already a #3 unit in the NFL. A championship caliber defense, so the only thing Rex Ryan adds to the equation is a big mouth!

I just don't get the love for a loud mouthed jerk like Ryan. I loved watching the Bills beat his team 2x this year, and I would have preferred to give Schwartz a shot at HC instead. For the record I would have preferred Pettine as HC over Marrone. Like I said, "Although, I can see the defense being just as good this year without Schwartz, and yet I'm not sure how it helps that 20th ranked offense. You know, the one with the bad line, no first round draft pick or veteran QB. " The Bills lose the HC that took them to 9-7* mostly because of the #3 defense. Then just hired a coach that went 4-12 and gave him a million and a half dollar raise, and with a 5 year contract no less. Only in Buffalo...

"Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz will not return for the 2015 season, a league source said Monday night. The reason, according to the source, was due to differing defensive philosophies." per ESPN http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/

The sole reason people are complaining is because the defense was ALREADY the #4 defense in the league, and was desperate for offensive help. While I concede that the team is better without Marrone / Hackett. I feel it could have been so much better with hiring a team president, and then letting him make the proper choice. Then at least we would know the offense might actually be improved this year. The Pegula's hiring Rex Ryan, a 4-12 coach smacks of owners meddling...again. Its like 50+ years of that wasn't enough for Bills fans? I feel badly for Jim Schwartz, and hope he finds a top job with a winning team. Denver perhaps.

The highlight of the 2014 season for me was to see the Bill lay waste to Big Mouth Rex's teams 2x. I particularly liked it when the blowhard stated his team would play 1000% better against the Bills in the second game, and the Bills then whooped the Jets 38-3. While destroying both their QB's, Fun stuff... I sure hope Terry Pegula knows what he is doing.

I'll be sick if Schwartz leaves. He is the one that deserved the chance at the Bills head coaching job, and not the guy who just went 4-12. Although, I can see the defense being just as good this year without Schwartz, and yet I'm not sure how it helps that 20th ranked offense. You know, the one with the bad line, no first round draft pick or veteran QB.

I agree he is a much better option then Doug Marrone, no question about it. Just not what I envisioned as a great Buffalo Bills coach. He is the anti-Marv Levy from what I see. Should the Bills beat the Patriots 2x, and gain a playoff berth this year... then I'll change my tune.

It really is amazing to me that so many, many Bills fans absolutely love this hire. They don't see the man that just went 4-12 with a worse QB situation then the Bills coming into Buffalo. A team that has no 2015 first or fourth round pick, no veteran QB along with arguably the worst offensive line in the league. An OC in Greg Roman with arguably the very best O line in the league, and with one of the supposed best young QB's. A top TE in Vernon Davis, a good WR corps with Anquan Bolden, Michael Crabtree, Brandon Lloyd, Stevie Johnson. A bruiser in Frank Gore at RB. The 49ers were 20th in the league on offense in 2014. Buffalo was 28th. The 49ers were 30th in passing. Buffalo was 18th. The 49ers were 4th in rushing, Buffalo 25th. Man, i don't know what to expect from that Buffalo offense this year, and all I can hope is the Bills bring in some quality offensive talent to help Roman. What I do know is I'm so very glad Nathaniel Hackett is gone

Hey Derek, you won't get any argument from me. I don't get the Rex Ryan hire either. Ryan has been 1-7 in his last 4 seasons against the Patriots, and 3-9 in his six years. He did well in his first few years taking over an already 9-7 team loaded with talent, and went downhill hill after that. To me this is like Ralph Wilson reached out and just hired a big mouth baboon 4-12 head coach, and gave him a 1.5 million dollar raise... typical old Buffalo Bills. I can't help but think this is another Russ Brandon move. On the opposite end of the spectrum the Broncos fired their HC after going 12-4 and winning the division. All I can think is Big Mouth Rex must really get into a room and take it over with his exuberant personality, as he wooed the Pegula's over. Jets owner Woody Johnson loved him, and hated to fire him. Falcons owner loved him, but sensibly let his underlings have their way, and didn't hire him. Had the new owners waited they could have had a shot at John Fox. I'll be sick if Jim Schwartz leaves as he is the one that deserved a shot at the Bills HCing job. That game against Green Bay & Aaron Rodgers was a legendary win against one of the best passers / offenses in the league. If the Bills had even a half way decent O line this year they easily make the playoffs. The Bills retain the same GM who brilliantly brought in really good players to help special teams, and the defense. Yet he failed miserably for two years to build a decent offensive line, and it graded as the leagues worst. This was a big reason the offense was again in the top ten worst. Some strange trades, and player acquisitions on the offensive side by trading away Stevie Johnson who could have helped that #31st worst in scoring red zone TD's. Trading for WR Mike Williams & RB Bryce Brown to not use them. People only want to see the good he did and not the bad. The one thing the new owners tried to do was to reach out to Bill Polian to get someone at the top of the org with real NFL knowledge. Polian stated he thought it was going to be a "light lift" with just making some moves in the scouting department. Obviously the revamping the scouting dept was to help the offensive side. Plus there was talk that current GM Doug Whaley might be gone should Polian be brought in as he stated he would hire ex Chargers GM AJ Smith. These new owners must have realized that they needed help with the upper football decisions by wanting to hire Polian, and then when he turned down the job they went ahead, and did their own hiring. This is "their" team, and they started off doing the exact same thing we couldn't stand from the previous owner in meddling in the football operations process. Now perhaps is was a consensus decision between Pegula, Whaley, Brandon, and this was the very same process that hired Gailey, Marrone. Now, the hiring of Rex Ryan helped the team rid themselves of one of the worst offensive coordinators in the league. But at the same time how much can Greg Roman accomplish if Whaley doesn't have a clue about the talent level of players on the offensive side? That offensive line still needs upgrades on 3 of 5 positions just like they did two years ago. Roman can't run a power run game with some of the worst run blocking players in the league. Perhaps they can be coached up to some degree, and yet the current Bills line players are so very far removed from what Roman is used to with the 49ers. The new owners apparently have a plan / vision for the team, and are running with it. We Bills fans can only hope for the best.

The Rams have already stated that they want Bradford back, or at least Jeff Fisher does anyway. Rex Ryan still has his tattoo of his wife in a Sanchez jersey

NFL network stating they think Gase is the front runner for HC. OTOH, I've also heard that Manning has been calling various teams championing Gase for a head coaching job. So, after hearing that I have to wonder if Elway already has a plan with someone in mind. I can't help but think its Gary Kubiak. Broncos said to want to interview Dan Quinn, Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 57m57 minutes ago Also, one HC candidate the Broncos want to interview is Seahawks DC Dan Quinn (who doesn't?). This entire scenario is quite bizarre.

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora · 15m15 minutes ago Also. I am told Broncos have told all coaches under contract they are free to explore other options but have not been terminated Now that I think of it John Elway does love Gary Kubiak and credits him with helping him develop into a super bowl winning QB. I wonder if this is who Elway has in mind. From Rotoworld, yikes! CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reports the Broncos are not expected to promote OC Adam Gase to head coach, and it "would be a surprise" if they went in-house. La Canfora continues and says "all coaches under contract are free to explore other options" after the Broncos and coach John Fox mutually parted ways Monday afternoon. It appears GM John Elway is prepared to blow this thing up, especially if he has some knowledge of Peyton Manning not wanting to come back for 2015. It's also possible Elway simply doesn't want to bring Manning back at his non-guaranteed $19 million. The Broncos still have enough to "win now." http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/nfl/305856/report-broncos-not-expected-to-promote-gase

I'm still holding out hope that the team hires a president of football operations while keeping Whaley. The Bills still need to fix that scouting dept. Perhaps Bill Polian will now look at the Bills as a "light lift" again.

It wasn't Greg Roman who wanted Kaepernick. It was all Harbaugh who told his father after they drafted Kaep that the 49ers just drafted the best player in the entire draft. Probably a big reason as to why Baalke didn't want to give more player control to Harbaugh. With only 16 mill caps space, Kaepernick, Jerry Hughes, or Darrelle Revis?

If not Adam Gase, it should be interesting to see who is on John Elway's radar as better then John Fox and a 12-4 record.

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 32m32 minutes ago Harbaugh and Fox hired in 2011. 90 combined regular season wins. 7 playoff appearances. 2 Super Bowl appearances, both no longer with team. This really is crazy stuff when both head coaches have recently taken their respective teams to the super bowl, and yet are no longer wanted. Here us Bills fans, and all we want is a stinking, lousy playoff appearance. 0 for 15 years

All I see from the perspective that the entire staff has been let go is that John Elway to the entire staff that they are free to seek jobs elsewhere. Pretty sure Gase is already slotted for the Denver HCing job, and if not he has an interview with the 49ers. Denver probably figured they would lose Gase, so this is why they made this move.

I'd rather not use up all the cap space on a QB we already know has trouble throwing from the pocket.