May Day 10

Not to mention, 4 games against the 4 wirst teams on the power rankings

Pegula's "style" is hogwash. Lindy ruff was hung onto through an offseason, a half season lockout, only to be fired early in the lockout shortened season. Crowd was becoming ugly at games. Bad timing and wasted 9 months a coach could have been in the fold and preparing. Regier was a similar thing. Crowd was getting belligerent, and was getting national attention and regier was fired in November, after another season was pretty much shot. Both moves reeked of indecision and seemed reactionary.

wow. This is so Bills. Is he going to waddle off the field with his index finger in the air?

We are saying "fans" wanted Ralph Wilson to sell the team to a winner, and to fire Polian during the Super Bowl runs.... but what percentage is that? <1% I am sure. I don't remember hearing that. I do remember a larger percentage calling for Reich to start over Kelly near the end... but again, that was like <2% and had the mouthpiece of calling WGR and WBEN, etc... At this point, fans, I would say a large majority... >90% are pretty fed up and would welcome a wholesale change with open arms and excitement, even if it meant taking an initial step back. Fans of other teams I know feel like major change is needed (and laughed about Rex Ryan initially). I think any neutral observer would see that the Bills and the Pegulas could use a large amount of guidance at this point.

The article is a bit cherry-pickey This season.... IF they win the final 3 games and finish 9-7 is held up as a success. I disagree. This schedule broke the Bills' way and was a cake-walk. They have the current consensus bottom 4 power ranked team on their schedule, as well as the #26 or #27 team on there twice (Jets). New England with a hurt 3rd string QB was a tomato can too. Yeah, I guess we should congratulate them for not being in that group. They have a total of 4 current playoff teams on their schedule, and outside of the Seattle game, they folded up against each other one (New England, Oakland, and Pittsburgh). Then you have the 'similar' non-playoff teams of Baltimore and Miami, and they got beat up there too. Every time things mattered, they folded badly. Out by late November/early December. Same identical pattern. It also says: "Look at it this way... if you took over a business that had failed for years (which is essentially what the Pegulas did), hired some of your own people to leadership positions but didn’t see profits crawl out of the negatives in the two years, would you start firing and re-hiring again?" l don't think they hired anyone for leadership positions.... at least on the side of the operation that matters to me. They kept everyone who was there for pre-Pegula. Nobody there involved on that side has proven to be worthy of continuing IMO, and an organizational rebuild is about 12 years overdue. I would be in support of giving everything 1 more year.... actually moreso than just replacing the coach and hoping for the best again and going through the cycle of "new coach, new system needs personnel" to "continuity" to "he sucks get him out of here it is all his fault"

While it will certainly be better than before because the resources are available... a potential hang-up is what kind of influence does the new HC have. Does he have control of his own destiny/career/legacy... or is he going to need to capitulate to Russ Brandon in cut meetings. The power structure here has been a turn-off as much as the $ aspect. We have had 2 coaches (our best 'drought' coaches) voluntarily walk the plank here in 10 years. That should ring alarms. To get a white whale coach, you need to offer influence/power as much as the $.

Thats where i am. If they want to give him the keys to the car and full authority to build us a football program, thats great. The one thing that puts me off though is how chemnelly says he is friendly with many in the organization. He has the qualities i would like to see instilled in the bills organization. Hard work, detail oriented, professional...

I would much prefer not. I strongly suspect that Wilson, and by an extension, Brandon employed a practice of identifying familiar, weaker, and even 'desperate' executives and coaches. Having these people in place makes it possible for decisions to be made unchallenged from ownership and top execs (Wilson, Brandon, Littman, Overdorf). I want the kind of executive who would kindly tell Russ Brandon to get him coffee if he had a suggestion. I would like it to be solely Pegulas, with the guidance perhaps of their own relationships/acquaintances. I want an unsullied person, truly from the outside, who will be given the keys to the car in its totality

Whoever is doing it (if it is an intentional leak) would probably be sensing that ownership is becoming impatient/unhappy with the results/ROI. Trying to drive a narrative that Rex is the one on thin ice because he is failing to utilize "superior talent" is exactly what team Whaley/Brandon would want

What I want, is someone from outside the organization (the organization who has won 1 non-88-95-Kelly era playoff game in 51 seasons) to come in and start to guide the process. Brandon as president cant do it. Pegulas are inexperienced and have already made critical, unforced mistakes. Whaley is too indoctrinated in the way things run at OBD... Brandon leaving the room or being banned from the room still does not cause good decisions to start happening.

There seems to be a repeat offender in that front office. This garbage has been going on since Mr Wilson passed away. I have the feeling it is Brandon and/or Whaley.

I loved Ted Black. I got a couple chances to meet him and was invited to participate in a really cool pre-game forum with STH. He was very down to earth, friendly, and receptive. Also enjoyed and respected his radio spot on WGR. He would always take abuse and not shy away or sugar coat. Fans were also able to communicate with him directly with any issue or suggestion. I was experiencing many things in the arena improving. Now, the Sabres have lost a little charm without Black.

Team president should be in on those meetings. The problem is, the most influential people on the call are clueless in winning in the nfl.... and id argue that all the participants are a whack pack of sorts. What i would like is a john elway (pres), maybe acting gm, coach go over game. John Elway reports to the owners. Winners from outside the organization need to be brought in. The program needs to be more cohesive and focused.

I guess we should wait to see if there is an interview process.

He has some sort of magic dust for sure. Is his style translatable to the NFL? If so, count me in

I would love to see Washington win the NCAA tournament

The silence from the Bills thusfar is deafening. It may change, but it is of note. If I know the Bills and Pegula... they usually meet these things with a fire extinguisher pretty quickly.

I am kind of pulling for Oakland *gag*. I like Mack and Carr. I also would like their fans to enjoy a run in case the team bolts... also, success and bandwagonism will make it more difficult for the NFL and Davis to slide out

Oakland I believe. I think they also will play at the giant rectum in Atlanta. Very likely will be the Bengals (on the road) Right now its the Cl0ts, but could easily be Tennessee or Houston. (at home)

I agree 100% and this is where I have been. I am a clean-house guy, re-do the thing as an expansion team like the Browns are doing... but make sure we have good management running the machine. But, the second best option is to leave everything along another season or 2. Let everyone in the current structure sink or swim. Then in 1 or 2 years, nuke it... or alternatively, success is coming. Changing out the coach and especially promoting from within only continues/slows the cycle we have been experiencing. As it is now, they will get lightning in the bottle eventually and get a playoff spot. I want a sustainable model though and to become a Pittsburgh/Baltimore, NE, NYG, Philly, Denver, etc... Maybe a year or 2 dip here and there, but more often than not a contender.

I noticed Murphy and Jones were also kind of somber about it which screams. Usually they would be putting out fires caller after caller with 'continuity' talk

They lost last night. Same games played.

The Sabres are last in the conference.

Yeah, I want someone with no ties/history with the Bills.

Pegula started off with the same errors. Throwing money at bad management. This didn't fix problems, but magnified them (sounds familiar). Did the same things like blaming injuries. Blew up into the need to completely 'tank' They had the right idea with LaFontaine. His philosophy was right on. Also brought on Craig Patrick as a consultant. LaFontaine brought in who looks like a pretty good GM prospect in Murray. Meanwhile, there was apparently some sort of struggle between "Pegula's guys" and LaFontaine. LaFontaine left in what appeared to be a 1-day mysterious blowup. Batista eventually walks away. Ted Black (who was doing a great job from my view of a fan) has been removed for Russ Brandon (fan experience has been diminished). Craig Patrick was not retained. So after the mess shakes out, we have Tim Murray standing alone as GM. Not sure how I feel about that. He seems like a good scout (even though we are yet to see any fruits of that)... but seems to lack interpersonal skills. Has made some trades that do not look so good and has burned through a lot of assets. The farm team stinks and is barren. Things havent really stopped churning in management for almost 6 years now, and I suspect we aren't even at the "stopping point. I cannot fathom why someone who is in the process of buying a pro sports team would not have someone lined up to install directly underneath ownership. Especially in the case of the Bills and Sabres. The Sabres IMO still do not seem even-keeled or well-oiled. Toronto did it the right way and appear to be surpassing the Sabres, even when they started the process well after. There is a whole lot more to what Pittsburgh, LA, and Chicago have done than "get a top pick". The thing that really scares me, is if Murray doesnt pan out at GM... we are going to have Pegula and Brandon looking for a Sabres GM.