thewildrabbit

While I agree that SF has the better dominant defense, the Falcons have the much better QB who hasn't fallen on his face recently. Rex Ryan was said to have been seriously pissed when Mike Smith got the job over him for the Atlanta HCing job back in 2008, and he desperately wanted that job. Its also noted that the Falcons owner loves Ryan. Both Dimitroff and Pioli are pushing for Josh McDaniels. So, who knows.

Why does everyone think Gary Kubiak would even make a lateral move to a team with no QB, and a bad line? Then the Bills FO haven't said anything about even interviewing the man whatsoever. The only two remaining people the Bills have waiting to interview * that haven't scheduled and interview are both teams still in the playoffs. Pep Hamilton Indy- Josh McDaniels- NE. The Bills have requested an interview with both, and have yet to receive acknowledgement AFAIK. http://www.buffalorumblings.com/bills-news-notes/2015/1/7/7507573/buffalo-bills-head-coach-search-2015-updated-interview-list/in/7223924 No Gary kubiak on that list, sadly

No, not really. Shanahan is noted to want control over the roster like Belichick, Carroll, and now Chip Kelly. Just allow him control over the offensive side, as he excels in that regard. Same with Whaley in excelling at the defensive side, and both appear to have difficulty one side of the ball.

This is exactly right as the 49ers wouldn't give Jim Harbaugh player control, so I highly doubt GM Trent Baalke gives up any power to Shanahan. Same thing with Oakland, and Reggie McKenzie, and in fact the way the FO is structured in Oakland is giving people who have already interviewed second thoughts. The Bills could give Mike Shanahan player control power over the offensive side, and keep Whaley for the defensive side. The best of both worlds, as long as Whaley stops bringing in scrubs for the O line.

"Reports indicate that Shanahan is a favorite of president Russ Brandon." http://www.wgr550.com/pages/9034669.php?pid=447850 All I could find quickly, and I know I've seen more references. Now I've heard different speculations about this hiring in Buffalo that Shanahan would want more player control, and might want to bring in his own front office people. If you stop and think for a minute this might be a truly perfect world idea for the offensive side of the ball. Keep Whaley for the defensive side, and let him and Jim Schwartz run that side. Then let Mike Shanahan and his cronies (son, scouts) run the offensive side. There is no question in my mind that Shanny is brilliant with his offensive blocking schemes, offensive player acquisitions, and his ability to recognize QB talent, procure it, and develop it. Shanahan would be able to work with EJ and definitively tell you if he is salvageable or isn't, and if not dump him and find a QB that can be developed. This way the team doesn't spend years attempting to develop a QB unworthy of investing the time into him. What killed Shanahan's time in Denver was the owners impatience, along with his Chan Gailey like choices for his DC's in Larry Coyer- Bob Slowik ?? Jay Cutler was in his third season, second year starting in Denver when they fired ole Mike. Meanwhile Cutler threw for 4526 yards, and made the pro bowl. Although both the 49ers, Raiders have a young QB on their roster that might be appealing to work with. My personal take is I highly doubt 49er GM Trent Baalke is going to give up player control to Shanahan when he wouldn't give it to Harbaugh. Same thing in Oakland with Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie who I doubt is going to give up any player personnel power to anybody. As a matter of fact the Raiders want an experienced NFL HC who has past experience as a HC because they have interviewed 8 different individuals all with previous HCing experience. What is scaring a lot of them away however is learning about the way the Raiders FO is structured. I think the Bills have a solid shot at Shanahan if he doesn't get overly greedy this time around.

Does it make sense to you that Whaley wants EJ to work out and yet builds one of the worst O lines in the history of the franchise. I can see missing on players drafted because that is a crap shoot at times. But knowingly bringing in two of the very worst free agents possible in Doug Legursky, and Chris Williams. Then Colin Brown with Sam Young replacing Andy Levitre was a complete WTF moment. This was another aspect that bothered Marrone as he wanted to replace Urbik and was to no by the FO, and then started Pears at RT because he had nobody better. That said, I'm glad Marrone is gone, and hopefully his OC & O line coach are soon history. I'm fairly certain Hackett is done because Whaley stated he wants someone who can develop EJ, and he stated Marrone failed in that aspect. Also hopefully Whaley learned something the last two years, and makes corrections in this years free agency / draft. I'm hoping Marrone doesn't get an NFL HCing job this year after the scathing articles about him in the NYC newspapers.

All I know is that Russ Brandon wants Mike Shanahan, and if he gets his way we could see both Shanahan's in Buffalo. Then a trade for a QB somewhere along the way. I'm actually hoping Brandon gets his way with this choice, along with giving Schwartz a big raise, and promotion to assistant HC.

Jets- Doug Marrone - "If" Mike Maccagnan is the new GM. Bears- Gary Kubiak 49ers- Vic Fangio Falcons- Josh McDaniels Raiders- Jack Del Rio Bills- Mike Shanahan, If Russ Brandon gets his way

Wow, can't believe all the hate for a great HC. But then 328-156-6, and 6 super bowl appearances says why. I got nothing but respect and admiration for the man. The man built a super strong power run game with a dominate defense to win super bowls, and when he drafted Dan Marino he adapted his team around one of the best passers in NFL history. Then went to the SB 2x with Marino Like Bum Phillips said, he could take his and beat yourn, and he could take yourn, and beat his. I'm just glad the Bills found a HC in Marv Levy who had his number. Now the Bills need to find a man who has Belicheats number.

What bothers me a great deal is that the Bills FO was very high on Odell Beckham Jr several weeks before the draft, and as we got closer to the draft that changed. I don't know why that changed either. Listening to the Seattle Seahawks scouts before the draft they were also very high on Beckham and stated he could be the best rookie WR to enter the draft since Julio Jones. Its going to bother me even more on draft day when the Bills don't have a #1 and a #4 pick. I didn't like the trade then, and I still don't like it only because the Bills weren't 100% sure they had their franchise QB. Most NFL analysts say the Bills took a huge gamble on Watkins and lost, and even Bill Polian stated if he had taken the job in the Bills FO he would have hired GM AJ Smith. Buddy Nix may have gotten rid of Tom Modrak, and yet there is still lingering bad scouting going on with the offensive side of the ball. "Why didn't the Bills' scouts recognize Beckham's ability, stay put at No. 9, and select the LSU standout? We've been asking that question about Bills' drafts for a long time, haven't we?" http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2015/01/06/bills-wide-receiver-grades-sammy-watkins-sal-maiorana/21355277/

Russ Brandon wants this to happen, and I agree with him as EJ would finally be working with coaches that could actually help him develop. The Bills do this, and I can see them in the playoffs this year.

He shouldn't frighten you, as he was able to get his team to 11-5 with (who?) Brian Griese at QB in 2000, and had the #2 offense in points, and yards that year with Mike Anderson at RB. Then he made the playoffs three years running with (who?) Jake Plummer at QB, 2003 (10-6), 04 (10-6), 05 (13-3). while fielding a better then top 10 offense every year. He had only gotten two years with the QB he wanted in Jay Cutler, and in Cutler's second season he went to the pro bowl after throwing for 4526 yards, and 25 TD's. Look what the Shanahan's were able to do with RG3 in his first season (10-6) and RG3 makes the pro bowl. What did him in with the Redskins was injuries to RG3, and then wanting to bench him because he wasn't listening to directions. RG3 won that power struggle due to the owners stupidity. Then the next coach he hires in Jay Gruden says the very same thing If anything, it was Shanhan's inability to hire the right defensive coordinators that did him in both Denver, and Washington. During his entire time in Washington as DC Jim Haslett never fielded a defense better then 20th, and some years it was 30th. He is now gone from there as the Redskins wanted to interview Jim Schwartz for their DC job, and were told no by the Bills.

or completely bullsh!tted like Marrone managed to do. He sold snake oil to the snake oil salesman. That regime ran exactly what they wanted to run despite what players were on the roster, and had no real clue on exactly how things work in the NFL. Hence the 71% of the runs up the middle, and most of those runs were right into the backsides of the linemen because there were no holes to be found.

This isn't a waste of time as it allows the new owners to understand the interview process, and listen to some of the brightest minds in the game. The interview is about that person giving their vision, and plan on what they would do for the teams future. The schemes they would run, and the assistants they would hire, and how they would go about building a winning team. These candidates also have to look over the Bills roster, and give their ideas on how best to utilize the current players, and what they would want in future players. This is very interesting because I'd wager Doug Whaley wants more then anything to see his first rounds picks at QB & WR have great success. IMHO, his future with the Buffalo Bills basically depends getting those players, and the team to the playoffs asap. Hence a quality QB tutor with an ability to build a good passing attack. I've read that Russ Brandon has been pushing to get the Shanahan's hired as the next HC & OC, and that would work well to get the offense on track right away. What bothers me is all this is some really good people are getting overlooked in someone like Gary Kubiak, and Tom Cable. The former did build a good playoff team with a very dominate running attack, and has a noted excellent offensive background

Holy crap, what is this man smoking, ingesting, imbibing? Something bad happened to his brain cells recently to even think about recommending some of those people. Then even giving Mr Can't Hackett an interview would be a slap in the face to the people who actually deserve consideration for the job.

C'mon guys, exactly how many of you out there would actually trust Nathaniel Hackett to develop a QB properly for the NFL level? I thought so, and neither does Whaley. Bringing in someone to tutor EJ isn't a bad idea because he needs to be developed properly, and running up the middle 71% of the time nor 50 passes a game is the best way. If the player in question is not the #1 overall and has holes in his game then just look to how the Ravens slowly developed Joe Flacco behind a great running game, and that is the proper way IMO

The one thing for certain is that Gary Kubiak will build a power run game that will support the QB, and in doing so will build a powerful O line. Its his MO. Kubiak was John Elway's backup QB for a lot of years, and then became his QB coach. Elway gives Kubiak a ton of credit for helping him develop into a better player. He then became Denver's QB coach / OC under Mike Shanahan for 10 years. In 2011 the Texans went 10-6, and In 2012 he took the Texans to a 12-4 record, and then in 2013 starting QB Matt Schaub (2-6) suffered a foot injury, and missed eight games. The team then imploded with Case Keenum (0-8), TJ Yates at QB. Their starting RB Arian Foster missed 8 games due to injuries, and even backup RB Ben Tate missed games. Kubiak (2-11) suffered a mini stroke midway thru that season, and Wade Phillips (0-3) took over. He was fired on Dec 6th. Dunno why the Bills hasn't even stated they will interview Kubiak, and he could be the man needed to build that power run game that the Bills have been missing for years. He also knows how to tutor a QB. Look what he did in Baltimore with Flacco. In 2013 Flacco 19 TD, 23 INT's and that Ravens offense was ranked 25th in points, and 29th in yards with Jim Caldwell as OC. In 2014 Joe Flacco 27 TD's, 12 INT's, and that offense is 8th in points, 12th in yards. Plus Kubiak built a power zone blocking scheme that made backup RB Justin Forsett a star, and he is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. If you look at Justin Forsett's history he has been a bit of a bum bouncing from team to team as a backup, Indy, Sea, Houston, Jacksonville, and in 2014 Baltimore! Not even getting a look.

This makes perfect sense to me in hiring Mike Shanahan as HC, and then letting him hire his son as OC. Current GM Doug Whaley has shown an inability to determine top offensive talent and ole Mike excels at just that. Mike will probably want some control over player personnel, and the Bills could give him that for the offense. It was his really bad defenses that did him in at Denver. Plus his choices for DC's weren't very good in Denver or Washington either, as Jim Haslett never did field a top defense his entire time in DC. Geez, with an even somewhat decent offense in the top 15 I could see this team contending for the division this year.

It looks like the Pegula's are interviewing anyone that is recently at the NFL HC level, and has a pulse. Make Schwartz the HC and Rex the DC. Better also hire a top OC too.

Haven't we had enough of the college puke assistants over the last 5 years. i know I've seen enough on the job learning to know...forget that!

I read that also from Rotoworld http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/nfl/football/ I wouldn't mind Mike as HC, and Kyle as OC, and eventually Mike making the move upwards towards GM after he has proven he knows wtf he is doing on the defensive side. As GM, HC i dunno

Of course, as everyone is throwing Marrone under the Bus so why not his OC. I'm going to go with the same thought that just like Marrone had no idea that Jerry Hughes was benched by Schwartz. Marrone lets his assistants do what they want, and that offense was all that arrogant prick Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett sucks, and called 50 passes a game when he wasn't running 71% up the middle.

Before becoming the Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff was a national scout for the Patriots in 2002, and was promoted to director in 2003-2007. In 2008 the Atlanta Falcons tabbed him for their new GM. He hired Mike Smith, and drafted Matt Ryan. That year Dimitroff built a solid team with free agents, and thru the draft. 11-5 their first year in 2008. (9-7 in 2009). (13-3 in 2010). (2011 in 10-6). For 2011 the Falcons traded 5 picks for WR Julio Jones, and as good as Jones has been it set the team back in other areas. Most notably the O line and defense have suffered, and after a 13-3 season in 2012 the team went 4-12 last year, and 6-10 this year with that "elite" franchise QB. In 2013 that defense under Mike Nolan went 27th in yards 27th in points. In 2014 that defense went 27th in points, and 32nd in yards. Scott Pioli was the VP of player personnel of the Patriots until he took a job as GM of the KC Chiefs, and after he was fired by the Chiefs he joined the Falcons as assistant GM to Dimitroff. Dimitroff is about to be fired depending on if he is wanted by the next new HC. Stating that, both Scott Pioli and Dimitroff have been trying to get Patriots OC Josh McDaniel's hired as the Falcons next HC to save their backsides. There are better people out there for Buffalos new Czar / president of football operations, like Green Bay GM Ted Thompson who has had extraordinary success in Packerland.

The people who think very highly of Doug Marrone are not scrubs or stupids. Saints HC Sean Payton spoke very highly of him, as did many, many others in the Saints Org. Ex Redskins GM Charley Casserly thinks the world of him. Bill Parcells spoke very highly of him, as did Bill Polian. His players from his days as the Jets O line coach literally love him, as did the RB's at that time. Curtis Martin thinks Marrone was the best line coach he ever played with, as do a lot of his ex line players. Marrone would be out with the players working with the blocking sled long after the rest of the teams practice had ended. Marrone's problems in Buffalo stem from being handed some very bad players for the O line. The most experienced starting WR on the team this season was Robert Woods in his second year. Plus most of all was his extremely poor choice for his offensive coordinator.

That's one way for someone who signed and agreed to that contract in the Bills FO to not look so bad. Because whomever that was should now be looking over his shoulder IMO. Anyway, I think all this hate for Marrone is a little off the charts. St Doug did after all field a winning team in Buffalo this season, and he did hire both Pettine, and Schwartz. If had hired a decent veteran NFL experienced OC then the team could have been so much better the last two years. Although It probably wouldn't have been that much better considering how bad the acquisitions have been for the O line the last two seasons. While we are all laughing at Marrone, and wanting him to be the next Jets HC if he takes Nathaniel Hackett with him. Just think if the guy does hire another DC like Schwartz, and then hires a really good NFL experienced OC while he is at it. It won't be so funny then now will it. That Jets O line is far superior to the one in Buffalo. A smart, legit OC might even make Geno look good. I can see why past employees don't like the guy as he is a task master, a strict disciplinarian, and a control freak. Just like Bill Parcells was. Don't get me wrong as I'm ecstatic that Marrone is gone, as it means that more then likely OC Nathaniel Hackett is gone. If O line coach Pat Morris leaves and the line looks just as bad it might shed some light on the fact that the Bills need more quality talent for the line.