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Winners win. Period. Russell Wilson is a winner.

I know..it is awesome. (I live in Houston) :-)

The Bills are in no way set at RB. Don't over value the Anthony "Boobie" Dixon Greg Roman 49ers connection. He was used more of a FB in SF and was seen much like he is seen in Buffalo - a fill in at RB who has more value as a ST player. Towards the end of his time there, they really questioned his effort. Spiller is no guarantee to return, Fred Jackson is not a feature back anymore, Bryce Brown who really knows...? I really think the Bills will make a major move at RB based on what Roman/Ryan want to do. It may not be right away but they will be very interested on what happens via waivers. By the start of training camp there will be an obvious feature back in Buffalo and he is not currently on the roster.

And GB hasn't beaten Seattle yet, either...

No team finishes games like the Seahwaks: http://nypost.com/2015/01/14/the-biggest-reason-why-the-seahawks-have-a-shot-to-repeat/ Why so much Seattle hate?

Thank God Marv Levy took a handout from Bill Polian.

Or the plan to replace Marrone had been in place longer than you think or has been made public. I stated in another thread that I think addressing the coaching staff was made priority one for Polian. Polian publicly endorsed Marrone for Coach of the Year consideration so rather than look like a hypocrite he respectfully declines the job. The best evidence for this is Marrone being declined extensions for he and his staff. Granted, this may have been a fishing expedition by Marrone to see where he and his staff stood. Basically, the best case scenario was he was going to be coaching for his job in 2015 and worst case he was not going to be coaching in Buffalo at all. How can anyone be shocked that Marrone chose to opt out? Wasn't that his best option? "Always been very collaborative?" You really think John Butler wanted to sign Rob Johnson? You really think Wade Phillips (and the rest of North America) wanted to start Rob Johnson over Doug Flutie? There are a lot more where that came from. I think there is a good likelihood that the team will be more collaborative in the future. I hope everyone has clear goals and roles and that they are held accountable for their performance.

I think the dysfunction was sourced from three main areas: 1. Marrone was likely promised more control during the hiring process. When his "lifelong friend" Russ Brandon seemed to partner with Doug Whaley, Marrone felt frustrated and possibly betrayed. Marrone could have handled it better. 2. The veteran players Marrone was handed were likely sourced through the Pro Personnel Director - Jim Monos. When Whaley asks who the best QB available is, he walks into Monos's Top Secret hole and asks him. Whaley trusts Monos, Whaley gets the guy, Marrone knows who made the recommendation and gets PO'd - just cuz. The relationship between Marrone and Monos was not good. Monos has Whaley as a shield...Marrone felt that he did not have anyone. Marrone could have handled it better. 3. Russ had Mr. Wilson's proxy vote so the power was never divided in thirds. The rest of the organization knew Russ had the power so guess what happens - they publicly agree with Russ out of survival. Marrone definitely felt like he was on an island and for a reported control freak he forgot what he was there to do...shut up and coach. It would have been interesting if Marrone did not opt out and Polian was hired as the Godfather of One Bills Drive. Marrone would probably have been rewarded for his patience because Polian would have surrounded himself with his people and either marginalized the existing decision makers or outright removed them. Polian clearly endorsed Marrone as a quality Head Coach so of the three his job would have been the most secure. I like that Polian gets to walk away knowing that, in the end, the Bills really wanted him. It was like he was signed to a one day contract and retired a Bill. I wish him all the best. There's a simple rule I try to instill inside my company - "We don't have to like each other but we WILL respect each other." It really seems like there was a respect vacuum at One Bills Drive primarily sourcing from the Head Coach - Marrone. Hiring Rex Ryan as your Head Coach - a guy who demands respect and accountability - solves that problem in the best way possible. Ultimately, the Bills organization has the upper hand and they will continue to say how much they liked Marrone and were "shocked" at his opting out. Talk about external unity... The reset button has been pushed and dysfunction is no longer going to be tolerated. Everyone will be evaluated fairly going forward. Everyone knows who the ultimate decision maker is - the owner(s). I really don't think it could have been handled any better. Kudos to the owners. Editorial Note - What if, as part of the job, the new owners wanted Polian to "address" the coaching situation as his first priority. Rather than accept the job and look like a hypocrite (remember, he thought Marrone was worthy of coach of the year consideration), Polian respectfully declines - in spite of rumors that he was already assembling his staff. Think about it. Plan B - leak the $4,000,000 opt out clause and report that Marrone is bad mouthing the organization to Polian and THAT is why he did not take the job. Think about it.

Talk about "blame"...only three guys were actually fired in Chicago...Trestman (HC), Kromer (OC), and Emery (GM). Trestman is a weak HC. If that happens under Rex, (1) he has a little off the record discussion with the reporter and unofficially excommunicates him and (2) deflects the attention toward himself while (3) spanking Kromer in private. Trestman hung Kromer out to dry for saying what everyone else believed. Maybe give Hackett some credit for not cracking under the pressure and throwing others under the bus...

1. Do not allow teams to trade draft picks in any way, shape, or form. The desire and pressure to acquire skill players is very distracting and leads to mistakes that can impact franchises for multiple years. It also makes for a very boring draft for team's lacking high draft picks. Once the draft order is set, based on previous year's results, it does not change. 2. One month prior to the draft, each team must designate one QB as their "franchise/starter" and one QB as a "developmental/backup" QB. 3. Each team can only designate the same QB as their "franchise/starter" for a maximum of 5 consecutive years. After that, they have to re-enter the QB only draft. 3. Create a one round QB only draft for college "rookies" and QBs with less than 5 years in the league that were not designated as per #2 above. Draft order is the same as the non-QB draft. 4. The non-QB draft will be reduced to 6 rounds. 5. If a team selects a QB in the QB only draft they lose their 6th round pick. All teams below that team then move up in the 6th round. 6. The non-QB draft commences, without trades, as per usual following the QB only draft. 7. Undrafted QB's immediately become FAs and are able to sign with any team. This allows each team to reload their developmental QBs. 8. QB's do not count against the 53-man roster or the salary cap. 9. Each team can have a maximum of 6 QB's on their roster...max 3 on the active QB roster and max 3 on the QB practice squad. 10. QBs can only be traded for other QBs with max ratio of 2:1. For example, the Bills could trade EJ Manuel and Jeff Tuel (a "starter" and a "backup") for a designated single starter on another team - let's say...Eli Manning. Have at it...it's rough...but (a) it could be very exciting and (b) finally acknowledges what everyone already knows - QBs are different, let's just call it for what it is.

Leigh Steinberg...remember him?

Garrett Gilbert...currently on the Patriots practice squad. Son of Gale Gilbert (former Bills backup QB during glory years). Garrett was born in Buffalo. He was a sixth round pick so maybe he can be kind of the Bills Tom Brady. I figure if Matt Simms comes in why not load up on multi-generational QB's? Add one or both of the Mannings and maybe we are on to something. All this after we bring in BJ Daniels, of course.

Thank you...I have been posting everywhere and it does not seem anyone is aware of him. I agree...bring him in. He also knows Roman's system from his time in SF where he also had a very good preseason.

BJ Daniels http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/12/seahawks-put-paul-richardson-on-injured-reserve-call-up-qb-b-j-daniels/ It's no coincidence he plays for Seattle. He can be compared to Russell Wilson. Actually drafted by Jim Harbaugh and 49ers in 2013.

You're right...I had not thought about that. It'll take Harbaugh 3-4 years to turn the roster over in Ann Arbor. Hopefully, they will stick around.

Not just Marrone...he was Schwartz's Special Teams guy in Detroit.

I am not saying he would go but you KNOW someone will offer him stupid money.

How long before someone like Daniel Snyder offers Urban Meyer 10 years and $100M to coach in the pros? I am sure he has been approached in the past and his health and commitment to his family are all well documented. It is amazing what he has done at Ohio State. Is it over or under 4 years? Note: He is only 49. Three National Championships with two different teams.

I was hoping Rex would opt to be more like Mike Tomlin and embrace the gameday "CEO" role. I have stated in a few different places that now more than ever the Bills need an assistant coach feeding Rex information over the headset. Otherwise he is going to get too focused on the defense and that leads to the bad rep around overall game management.

Most people would stop after making their first billion. The goal is to be the best and continue to improve.

There is a common thread here - loyalty. Marrone was probably asked to make changes to his staff before an extension would be considered. It is likely he refused which led to him opting out. Rex comes here and brings his staff with him which squeezes Schwartz out. Loyalty. I am sure Harbaugh was asked to fire Greg Roman in SF (among other things) and he chose loyalty to his staff. Hard to be angry at anyone for exhibiting such a quality.

Sucks for Schwartz...the Bills deny requests from other teams to interview him and then they ultimately squeezed him out. I am thinking he pops up and gets some late interviews. Oakland? I wonder if there was any awkwardness between Roman and Schwartz after that dust up Schwartz and Harbaugh had with the post game handshake. Now more than ever the Bills needs a "Game Management Coach" keeping Rex focused on the entire game...not just the defense.

Greg Roman is highly thought of across the league. Many thought it was just a matter of time until he got a shot at being a HC. Harbaugh relied on him heavily and attributes a lot of his success to Roman. It is always the HC's prerogative to alter play calls as they seem fit. Some coaches sit back and make the call to go for it on 4th down and when to challenge...some intercept calls on the fly. I don't see Rex intercepting offensive play calls. It has been widely reported that he leaves the offense completely in the hands of the OC. This is where he gets himself in trouble with overall game management...game planning for the next defensive series while the offense is on the field. Think Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh...everyone knows he is in charge but I don't think he was telling Dick Lebeau what to do on game day. I think the concept of an assistant coach operating as an administrative aid/advisor on game day would be great. Think basketball when their is an assistant coach constantly feeding data to the head coach..."we have two timeouts left...X has four fouls..." Thunk of spotters in Nascar... For Rex someone needs to be in his ear asking him on 2nd down if we are going for it on fourth down, for example. There needs to be one clear decision maker. Keeping Schwartz as DC is key to pushing Ryan to game manager. I feel he would be less likely to intervene on Schwartz and I don't see Schwartz deferring to Ryan like Dennis Thurman has in the past. There should be a dedicated channel on his headset where he can get that situational data from free from the chaos of the other channels. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/jets/rex-needs-bench-coach-on-sideline-1.1089528 I would not have been thrilled with Roman as the HC but I really like him as OC. Based on his (reported) relationship with Terry Pegula, he very well could be being groomed as the eventual successor to Rex Ryan (long live Rex). Whether Rex really wanted (or even had considered) Roman as his O/C, or was aggressively encouraged to endorse Roman by the owner (Ryan backed off Trestman quickly), it shows that Rex is flexible, just wants to win and be part of a collective with the same goal. It also shows that Pegula and Whaley have an organized big picture plan for the entire organization and have identified the position of HC as just a component...not the single answer to a complex equation.

Bingo

I live in Houston...come on down, Peyton. One more good year. All American Boys Peyton Manning and JJ Watt on the same team.