Peter

Rachel or Monica? There are a lot of questions that could have been asked that were not. In part, this was the media's fault. In part, this was the result of not having a separate press conference with Doug Whaley addressing Rex being fired. If they had that last week, I suspect that this press conference would have gone a bit differently.

I am going to bed in a minute. As I have mentioned before, I do not have photos or a recording of the conversation with LaCanfora. In my view, there would be three sources of leaks in general: Rex and the coaches; the Pegulas; or Doug Whaley and his people. I think that we can all agree that Rex did not leak this. I think it is a very safe bet that the media shy Pegulas did not leak this. That leaves us with the most likely suspect in any event: Doug Whaley or people close to him. Typically, you would follow the money. In this case, you consider who would most benefit from placing the blame at Rex's feet even though you have been around for more of the losing. Who now has more power? Again, I think it is both a reasonable and fairly safe bet that Doug Whaley was the source of these leaks. In case some of you guys still think that the leaks did not undermine the team, Jerome Felton has this to say: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/jerome-felton-bills-media-leaks-rex-ryan-firing-2016-season-struggles/wlv5tnlo5pro1oiwtr9bwidij?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter As for crusades, I do not recall starting one thread on this issue. Over the course of the past several weeks and months, there have been multiple anti Rex threads (many on the same day). I am not shy about responding. At one time, I was told that I was one of only two people that supported Rex staying. Of course someone else started that poll and we discovered that that was not true. Interestingly, I came across this thread in which Fred Jackson says that Whaley is the only guy in the organization who was dishonest with him. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/180434-fred-says-whaley-dishonest-with-him/ As an aside, it is interesting who started that thread. There also is this from that time: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/01/report-bills-g-m-went-rogue-in-cutting-fred-jackson/ Hmmm. As I have mentioned on several occasions, I have no love for Sullen, Bucky, et al. I am embarrassed about how Doug Whaley handled himself even with all of the extra time he had to prepare. Compare this to the Sabres end of year press conference from a few years ago when I was shouting at my computer in favor of Darcy and Ted Black when the guys from TBN went on the attack. For those of you that are happy that Rex is gone and the way things have gone down at OBD, reality is going to set in. I just watched Louis Riddick (Rob's brother by the way) say a lot of the same things that Bedard, Jason Cole, and I have said about the way the Bills job will now sadly be looked at by others around the league. You guys will say, who cares what anyone says. I think that potential candidates will care. Rex is gone. You guys should celebrate. Good for you. Rex apparently was the only impediment to the Bills 11-5 roster competing for the Super Bowl. Now that Rex is gone, I fully expect that we will be competing for the Super Bowl for several years to come, we will defeat world terrorism, and there will be world peace.

Sadly, it was that bad and Doug had extra time to prepare for it because he did not want to speak to the media last week. To repeat for those that do not realize it. I have little respect for most of the guys at TBN and others in the Buffalo media. I have made this clear in many posts in the past. My natural inclination is to root for the guys being interviewed in these confrontations. I remember the cluster f*&k year end press conference with Darcy and Ted Black v. the snarky guys at TBN. That was an embarrassment for the local media, and I was shouting at my computer in favor of Ted Black and Darcy while listening to it. Today was different. As much as I do not like many in the Buffalo media, it was impossible for me to feel sorry for Doug Whaley even though that is my natural inclination.

There are people who posted incessantly and started multiple anti Rex threads. Yes, they got what they wanted. Rex is gone. The scapegoat is gone and already under the bus. Doug is the last man standing on the football side. God speed Doug. We shall see whether you have the same fate as Darcy after Lindy was fired. That is one of the reasons why I point out that PFF rates the Eagles defensive starters above the Bills players. I would not bring up Schwartz but for the fact that his name is incessantly brought up here by others.

They probably do. I have not been shy about expressing my opinion. I also have wasted an inordinate amount of time on my vacation posting about this. I go back to work tomorrow. I am going to try to not waste my time here going round and round. I will say this. My Dad was a charter season ticket holder. I am a season ticket holder even though I live in Miami currently. By nature, I am a glass is half full kind of guy. That is what kept me going through all of the down times before and after the Super Bowl years (and the Super Bowls). I typically give people (coaches, players, GMs, etc.) the benefit of the doubt. I even defended Doug Marrone until he quit on this team. I love Terry and Kim Pegula and cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for keeping the Bills in Buffalo, the Sabres, and Buffalo in general. Having said all of that, I do not think that I ever have been as down about some of the things that are going on with the Bills as I am now. You guys should be happy. You got what you wanted. Given that Rex apparently was the only impediment to reaching the Super Bowl with our 11-5 roster, we should be competing for Super Bowls for years to come now that the Bills have gotten rid of him. I hope you guys are correct and I am wrong.

Yes, well said. He was illustrating the difference between saying you have guys lined up to interview and not having guys lined up or not having anyone particularly in demand in line to interview. Again, I know you do not care what Bedard has to say or others in the national media, but you should if this is the prevailing opinion around the league about Whaley and this job. I also you do not care about season ending press conferences. Press conferences do not win games etc., but we saw what kind of guy Doug Whaley is first hand. You clearly believe that he is great while I think that he embarrassed himself (even without considering his communication problems). Doug Whaley does not inspire confidence. As I mentioned, I do not think this played well with potential candidates and what has happened will negatively impact our ability to get a qualified, in demand coach. It does not help that this job is now rated the worst of the openings . . . even less than Jacksonville (which I find truly embarrassing). I love the Pegulas and have a tremendous respect for them. I do not understand what they see in Whaley or why they chose to listen and go with him. We shall see how it plays out. I hope I am wrong and they are able to hire the latest Bill Belichick even though I suspect it will be someone who is beholden to DW for the job because he had few if any other HC opportunities.

Witty line. Yet again, Rex's defense was better than the defense of Svengali Schwartz against common opponents. Rex was the most successful Bills coach in 17 years even with the injuries, suspensions, and QB play. Unless the potential candidate is desperate to become a HC or the Pegulas overpay, I suspect he is going to be troubled by why the prior guy got less than two years and why there were leaks to the media literally minutes before the most important game of the season up to that point that were clearly designed to undermine the coach and his authority with the team. We will see who Doug Whaley is able to hire, whether the guy is in demand, and what the Pegulas have to do to convince the guy to take the job. We shall see . . . . Well said.

That word is the key word. You believe he did. I believe he did not and actually was trying to save his own job and throw Rex under the bus. According to Doug, you and I are both wrong because he claimed that he had nothing to do with any of this . . . at least until Terry contradicted that thought in his interview with John W.

Someone else already tweeted a sergeant Schultz reference. I wish I could take credit for this.

So? Big deal. We can have any number of candidates. Are they any good or in demand? The question is if we are competing with another team, how does that candidate look at this job versus the other one or ones. Take Rex out of the equation. If you are a candidate for the job and the prior guy (Coach McCoachy) was fired in less than two years even though he was the most successful coach in the prior 17 for that team notwithstanding injuries etc, it would at a minimum cause concern. Guys like Bedard already have written about this. If you knew that there leaks to the media minutes before the most important game of the season, it would cause concern - understandably. If you watched the press conference today, Doug Whaley would not inspire leadership or confidence both as the GM or someone who is going to have the candidate's back with ownership. Understandably.

That must be why this has been so well received by the national media and the league. Let's hope you are correct that anyone who is in demand and has options is not concerned about this. I suspect we will end up with a HC who is not particularly in demand and is simply beholden to Whaley for giving him a chance to be an NFL coach (unless we overpay). Right now, it appears that the best we can hope for is Anthony Lynn . . . who ironically was chosen by Rex.

i suspect potential candidates care about how the guy before was treated, the circumstances, and the current GM's role in that and going forward.

Indeed . . . and despite all of that, Rex's defense did better against common opponents with players that PFF rated lower than Schwartz's defense did.

Rex is gone. Unfortunately, Doug is still with the Bills. Doug, you, and others can celebrate. It is going to get worse before it gets better. Firing Rex and its aftermath have gone so well so far . . . .

Context: Rex's defense was better against common opponents than Schwartz's defense even with all of the injuries/suspensions and even though PFF rates the Eagles's starters higher than the Bills' defensive starters. As far as I know, Rex was not there on Sunday and that was the biggest cluster f*&k I have seen. It looks like Rex was keeping it all together. Pittsburgh had Jay Ajayi run for 200 yards against them the week before the Bills and had problems with the wrong number of players on the field against the Bills . . . . In the end, less than two years is not enough, and I would like to see how he could have done without the injuries, suspensions, whispering campaigns, and leaks to the media minutes before a game . . . .

With respect, I disagree.

The sad thing is that I have a feeling that Doug and ownership thought that they would be placating the vultures at TBN and in the twitterverse by firing Rex. Ownership should not have listened to Doug. Little did Doug and ownership know that it would get worse . . . much, much worse. Sullen speaks of DW talking points. How my times have I read the word "dysfunction" recently (it emanated from Sully and the guys at TBN). How many times have we seen photos of dumpster fires today? When all is said and done, Terry and Kim are going to think back and ask themselves who was it that they listened to and got them in this mess? Unless Doug hits the lottery on the next coach and in the draft I suspect it is not going to end well for him. I have a vision of a new version of the Odd Couple with Doug and Darcy living together and arguing and Darcy complaining that he was fired relatively sooner even though he never foolishly gave up so much for a player like Doug did with Sammy.

Anyone who has read any of my posts knows that I think the decision to fire Rex was horrible. I disagree with it 100% and think that the Pegulas listened to the wrong guy. Having said that, Sully undermines his article (almost as much as Doug undermined Rex) with his hatred of the Pegulas. Sully and Bucky have a personal enmity toward the Pegulas. It should not come as any surprise that the Pegulas have no interest in speaking to Sullen or Bucky because they will not be treated fairly by them . . . whether they consent to one or 100 interviews. That is why they went to John W and Sal C. John and Sal may disagree but it is not going to be laced with hatred toward the Pegulas. Sully, Bucky, and Mike H burned their bridges with the Pegulas long ago. It should not come as any surprise that they have no interest in speaking with them.

That is a witty line. I doubt that anyone who may be an HC candidate will appreciate it though if he has other options (or unless he is overpaid). As for what we know, we know that the former coach got less than two years while the GMS was "whispering" to the owner. We know that someone was "whispering" to Jason LaCanfora and it was leaked that Rex would be fired literally moments before the biggest game of the year to that point. That has to be great for the team morale and the coach's authority. We know that Rex's defense performed better against common opponents than Schwartz's defense even though PFF rates the Eagles starting defenders higher than the Bills starting defenders. We also know the highest paid player on the team (and the guy who is supposed to be the best) missed multiple games through injury and suspension. We know the heart and soul of the defense (Kyle) missed multiple games these past two years. Same for Aaron Williams etc.

On this we can agree. The TBN guys are a freaking joke. They love a good circle jerk on twitter. As I have said, no one circles the wagons like the Buffalo media - in particular the guys over at TBN

God forbid that the Bills and GMDW treat whoever our new coach may be the way Rex was treated by Idzik and Whaley. As for your last paragraph, I can turn it around and say that he took a job that was essentially a grave yard for NFL head coaches and was the most successful HC for that dysfunctional franchise in the past 17 years notwithstanding injuries, suspensions, and bottom half QB play. He was only given 31 games. Even the Chargers gave McCoy a full four years even though he had a lesser winning percentage with Philip Rivers. COYG The last time was because of concussion protocol. Unfortunately, this happens and, as we saw, it happened to Mike Tomlin when we played Pittsburgh. It should not have happened, but I dare say that somebody on the medical staff or among the defensive back coaches did not make sure that the information flowed up.

Is that you Bucky?

I noticed what you did not address - whether they will be able to compete with other teams for the best coaches who are in demand. Again, I fully expect (and hope) that Doug will be able to get someone better than Ron Rolston, but I do not seen an in demand coach with other options taking this job given what happened with the former guy . . . unless the Bills overpay or something else changes. I expect the Bills to hire Anthony Lynn or some other guy who may be perfectly "fine" and could end up being a great HC (if given the time). I expect that the new head coach will be someone who will be beholden to Whaley and that is just the way Whaley will like it. I could be wrong, but I am sad to agree that recent events make the Buffalo Bills' HC job the least desirable of the ones available. We should be embarrassed that we even rank lower on that list than Jacksonville. To be clear, I do not fault the Pegulas so much as think that they have been given poor advice and whispers etc. I actually think that the Pegulas can be (and have been) positive factors as both owners and persons in the recruiting process (as they were with Rex and Bylsma).

Succinct.

At least Darcy helped the Sabres get to the finals and got a first round pick for Gaustad rather than giving up more for Sammy than Miami gave up the prior year to move up more spots and even though the Bills had many other options with great players if they stayed where they were in the draft.