Brandon

That was nothing more than Ralph's poorly worded attempt at saying 'No comment' regarding Shanahan.

Even at 5-2, I still think it depends upon how the team is actually playing. If they look competent, he might actually hang onto the job, but if they win five games in the manner that they beat the Jets and Panthers, where both teams took turns trying to give the game away, it probably won't matter much.

If they're willing to give Shanahan what he wants, I suspect he'll be on the payroll in some capacity by the end of the month, even if perhaps not officially as head coach until the season ends.

Yeah, that's a terrible track record alright. And if you believe Adam Schefter, Shanahan doesn't even want total control.

I doubt it. Shanahan had a top 10 defense for 7 of his 14 seasons in Denver, including from 2001 to 2004 and they were in the top half of the league in 2005 and 2006. His defense finally fell apart in 2008, but Shanahan's overall defensive track record is actually pretty good.

I doubt they ever had any interest in those guys to begin with, but it was a case of a reporter pulling a few names with Bills' ties out of his backside. If Ralph Wilson is willing to spend for Mike Shanahan, and raise expectations in the process, his 2nd choice isn't going to be a bunch of has-beens or guys who only aspire to be has-beens. Even Ralph isn't that dumb.

I think it depends on who the head coaching candidate is. If your plan is to hire someone else's coordinator as a head coach or to go for a 2nd tier retread, yeah, I think its probably a wise idea to have the GM in place and involved in that decision. A proven, elite head coach is another matter, and I can't think of many GMs who would object to having someone of the caliber of Shanahan or Cowher as the head coach of their team. If they go that route, I don't think it matters all that much if they hire the coach first, as long as they make sure both guys have the same general philosophy towards building the team.

Possibly, but I think the Bills are probably targeting coaches who specialize on offense, particularly the passing game. Shanahan is the best available in that regard and its not really close.

No disagreement. He is. On the other hand, people around here said the same things a few years ago about a guy named Tom Coughlin.

Not yet. We still have to see who they hire. Although I couldn't be happier that they've finally shown Jauron the door, they could still screw it up royally by hiring some third rate coordinator as a replacement and the same holds true for the GM position.

In an ideal world, Shanahan would be my top choice to be the Bills next head coach. They certainly need someone who is capable of turning around what has possibly been the league's worst offense over the last seven seasons. The question is whether or not Ralph would be willing to pay him, but even more importantly, whether Shanahan would even want this job.

We could only hope. This team, particularly the offense, needs to be torn down and rebuilt almost from scratch. Its well past time to take out the trash and not just in the coaching staff and front office.

No sh*t? Who would have thought that if the Bills hired a career loser that he'd keep losing in Buffalo. Yep, this is a real 'I told you so' moment. Did anyone honestly expect this to end differently the day he was hired?

Perhaps the hiring of a real GM?

Again, Schottenheimer is not a long-term answer. For the next 3-5 years, I think he'd be an ideal head coach to oversee the rebuilding of this team back into a contender. Its not going to happen overnight. If I thought they were even close to being capable of making a run deep into the playoffs right now, might choice would certainly be different.

Considering his age, Marty Schottenheimer is not a long-term answer, anyway. If he can rebuild the Bills and return them to respectability in his 3-5 year tenure, I could live with a first round playoff loss or two. It beats the hell out of what they're doing now.

Agreed. I really don't care who the interim HC is. Its not like they had much to choose from. It was either Fewell, AVP or April. As long as they don't keep him in that capacity after this season, I can't see any reason to complain.

I'm not really sure that's a negative. The defensive line is in major need of an overhaul, anyway, with three starters on the wrong side of 30. At linebacker, Mitchell will be 31 and is coming off major injury, Posluszny has never been able to stay healthy and guys like Ellison are a dime a dozen. They have big problems, anyway, so if they think that its in their best long-term interests to switch back to the 3-4, this would seem as good a time as any, IMO.

It may help some. At least the Bills know they're in the market for a HC now. Usually, they fart around for two weeks following the season before they actually fire the guy, then it takes another three weeks to hire someone to replace him. By that time, all of the decent candidates are gone and we get stuck with guys like Jauron. This should, at the very least, cut down on the time they need to make their hiring decision at the end of the year and hopefully that will pay some dividends in the form of a better hire.

What's this!? Could the nightmare of the Dick era FINALLY be ending? Its about time!

I think he should be banned for life. He's such a terrible, terrible example for those other guys in the NFL.

Honestly, I don't think our drafts have been particularly bad. The front office has failed to find elite difference makers, but they have found a good number of solid contributors in every round. I don't think they're the best in the league or anything, but the college scouting staff seems fairly low on the list of problem areas, IMO. The fact that they've retained relatively few of their draftees over the years is a testament both to the cheapness of the front office and the lack of stability in the coaching staff and the tendency of new staffs to clean house. The pro personnel department under John Guy? That IS a total mess, I'll grant you that.

Those numbers shouldn't surprise anyone, particularly offensively. The Bills have finished 25th or worse in total yardage offensively for seven straight seasons (yes, I'm counting this year).

The head coach is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on that field. He may not be missing the blocks or throwing interceptions, but he made the decision at the end of training camp to keep the players who are and he has significant input into offseason personnel moves. He's had plenty of time to bring in guys who can play. Four years into this steaming pile of dogsh**, it seems to me that the excuses are running pretty thin.

We'll be lucky if he gets fired at the end of the season.