Red

I agree. All of this contacting coaches first stuff is @$$ backwards, IMO. Alot of GM's want to bring in their own guys and philosophies when they start. The Redskins brought in Bruce Allen first, now Shanahan is rumored to have a contract all in the works at Redskins Park. GM first, then coach. Picking the coach before the GM is going to limit whomever may be viewed as a GM for the Bills. I have never heard of a team doing it this way. Anyone else?

Wouldn't it be a great statement if nobody showed up? I mean, NObody?

This is a great reason NOT to extend the regular season any longer. The Bills would play 2 more games every year.

You know, add me to the list. I would be so happy, I would personally pick up Polian and drive him to OBD to help relieve Indy of their "burdensome" GM. Then I'd duct tape Ralph's mouth shut and let Polian go to work.

Cale, I think this is what swayed Shanahan, Holmgren, and everyone else away from the Bills. Methinks a certain overlord of the Bills purse strings by the name of Jim Overdorf is the organizational obstacle Wolf was referencing. Perhaps if by "major change" Ralph also means installing a true football department subservient only to the owner, then our fortunes will change.

My brother-in-law in Raleigh, NC states that Cowher's home has been up for sale for the past year. What does this mean? Perhaps nothing. OR Perhaps he is leaving NC for snowier pastures....hmmm...... (I personally don't see it happening- I think Tampa will sweep him away)

No offense rubeo, but this article was already posted...when it originally came out.

Your statement needs some expansion. If you have a team that is already in the playoffs or competing for the Super Bowl, then drafting a project is not a bad idea. A project is considered to be a luxury pick. When you are winning, you have more luxuries than others. You basically have the key element (TIME) necessary to build for tomorrow's team. Now, I don't know what team you are watching, but the Bills have no luxuries, as they can't win. It makes absolutely no sense to plan for the future, when you need production today. Orakpo would have been the better choice. Word now is that Maybin was a Jauron idea.

How about neither...

Wow! Does anyone else seriously question if the Bills are recoverable? I get the feeling that despite all of the pomp and gossip, that nothing will really change.

What a waste. How can Modrak explain these picks? Doesn't Maybin look like he rode the short bus to school, too? I think I now know why Modrak lives in FL. Kinda makes it hard to be accountable to anyone living a good 24 hours away...

Considering he had limited exposure to the playbook during his short tenure thus far, I would give him a 7 or 8. It is only 1 game, but he threw with authority and a crispness I have not seen at the QB position since Flutie. He did not stare down his receivers nor hold onto the ball like Losman and Bledsoe, he has a stronger arm than Holcomb, Fitzpatrick, and Edwards, and was not indecisive like Losman and Edwards. There was a speed to his game. Give this guy a solid offensive line, and a coordinator to build some plays, and we might actually have something here.

Yeah, somebody solid. I hate the 'what if' 20/20 thing, but what would be if we had drafted Oher and Wood with our 1st round picks this past season? Even Orakpo and Wood. Ok. I'll stop...

agreed. Everything on the Bills this decade has been, well...mediocre. Parcells is a wizard at what he does. For him to look at the injury list of the Dolphins from the year before, and use that as an integral step in improving the players output, speaks volumes. And I'm sure Ralph can't be happy paying millions of dollars to players who are on IR. Players who should be on the field helping to win games. I think the key phrase from the Sullivan article today is Parcells stating: ""Either the athletes aren't good enough to keep from getting hurt, or they're not in good enough condition to avoid them,". Reminds one of our current Buffalo team, eh?

Jerry Sullivan's article in todays Buffalo News does shed some light on this. Parcells, when coming onboard with the Dolphins, looked at the injuries from the year before. "ATLANTA — Two years ago at this time, Bill Parcells became executive vice president of the Miami Dolphins — their football "czar", if you will — and undertook a thorough, unsparing review of the franchise's foundering operation. One of the first things Parcells did was ask for information on injuries. Parcells is an old school guy. He favors big, strong, well-conditioned players. He said he didn't know all the reasons for the injuries. But something had to change. "Either the athletes aren't good enough to keep from getting hurt, or they're not in good enough condition to avoid them," Parcells said at the time. A few days later, Parcells fired Miami's strength and and conditioning coach, Matt Schiotz, and his assistant Brad Ohrt. Thus began the Dolphins' one-year transformation from a 1-15 season to the '08 AFC East champions. Miami put 16 players on season-ending injured reserve the year before Parcells arrived. This past week, the Bills put Jairus Byrd and Terrence McGee on injured reserve, increasing the season total to 18. Two years ago, they led the NFL with 19." Now, when someone who knows what they are doing speaks, it would be wise to listen. I wonder if Rusty would come back...

Those are some good points. I like the Johnson from KC one. Another to think about is Aaron Kampman in Green Bay. Rumor is he's not happy playing LB in a 3-4, and is best suited as a DE in a 4-3 scheme. Our current D-line coach is also very familiar with him.

Agreed. I don't know about Ralph, and I no longer live in WNY, but it still p!$$es me off that the Bills are treated this way. I'm mad. I don't respect Holmgren anymore for his outright 'No' when asked about the Bills job. I don't appreciate Shanahan using Buffalo to simply test the waters- knowing full well that he was not coming to the Bills anyways. Atleast Cowher has some class by deferring to the end of the year. Gruden too eluded to his contract with Monday Night Football. In the end, nobody owes Buffalo anything, but is the organization really viewed so horribly to be so disregarded? I think finances may be a part of it, as I don't believe Shanahan wanted to be shackled by a small market allowance. I also wonder if the personalities in the front office that control the purse strings (Jim Overdorf) and his relationship and power in the organization may also have influenced things. But we need to start at GM. I, for the record, would prefer someone who has done it before like Floyd Reese or Parcells. I don't know- not saying that it would happen, either- but would the Bills ever be able to pull off a trade with Indy for Polian the way Tampa did to get Gruden from Oakland? I wonder why they are looking at coaches when we should be looking at GM's...

Yeah, but that's just it. Now that GM Bruce Allen is with Washington, the rumor is that Shanahan did NOT want additional GM duties, and that he actually wanted to be part of a package deal that included Allen as GM. If this is true, I don't understand why the Bills did not pursue Allen first before the 'Skins job opened up, and then went after Shanahan. Why are they pursuing coaches when we should be getting a GM?

I don't think any of those things influenced his decision. I think he can get all of those things from any other franchise. I think 2 things influenced it more: Buffalo's payroll structure for the roster, and the man in charge of the spending: Jim Overdorf. Why would Shanahan want to be shackled with 'Cash to the cap' when he get a free wheelin' deal from Snyder or Dallas?

I agree. I must admit, living here in DC, I was bummed when the 'Skins got Bruce Allen. Now the talk is that Shanahan stated he wants to be a part of the project with Allen as GM. That threw me for a loop, because all of the clamoring of Shanahan had him also taking on the role of GM along with coaching duties. Now what? I was thinking that the Bills approached all of the big name coaches first because they were rumored to want more control of the football operation. Now, it seems that is not the case as Shanahan wants to work for a GM, Holmgren does not want to coach and outright said 'NO' to the Bills inquiry, and Cowher is also on record as stating that he does not want to be a GM. This makes it look like an @$$ backward search to me by Brandon, as hiring a GM usually should be the first step in the process of rebuilding. The GM usually wants to bring in their own guys, and having a coaching staff already in place could be a deterrent. Floyd Reese is still out there. Parcells is not bound by a contract in Miami (I know, I'm dreaming). I don't know why we aren't STARTING at GM and working from there.

What is Overdorf's role, exactly? Isn't he in charge of the purse strings?

I still think Jeff Garcia has a solid 2 years left in him. I never understood why he was chased out of San Fran, did not catch on in Philly, and was given the raw deal in Tampa. He only wins (and kicks @$$ while doing it).

I don't agree with your last statement. I'm not jumping to defend our minor league linebacking corp, but stud defensive tackles make your linebackers look like All-Pro's. If your D tackles are doing a bang-up job, your linebackers will look like masters. Remember Pat Williams and Ted Washington? Or Pat and Sam Adams? Now, clearly Fletcher, Spikes, Crowell were better than what we have now. However, Big Pat and either Mount Washington or 'The Keg' were monsters on the defensive line. They tied up blockers, thus freeing up the linebackers to blow up the opponents running game, rush the passer, etc. If your linebackers are stars, then most likely you have good defensive/ nose tackles.

I agree that we are woefully short at a number of positions. Schobel's contemplation may be truthful, but there also may be some desire to give the front office a kick in their collective @$$es that time is growing short on his career and he would probably like to see the playoffs before he rides off into the sunset and settles in Texas. The Bills owe him that much. Now with all of the promises from Thurman, well, Christmas has now come and gone. Aren't we supposed to be seeing some radical changes in Bills land? Something about under our tree as fans? Thurman?

I personally feel the best, proven available GM is Floyd Reese. He built the Titans through drafting players such as George, McNair, Kearse, Mason, Haynesworth, etc, etc. Under his rule, the Titans were a perennial tough team that got to the Super Bowl and was a consistent threat for the playoffs.