Maguire's Beer

It is. Count me among those who are concerned that Frazier may be a product of his player personnel rather than any great talent on his part. I hope that's not the case, but it's a legitimate concern.

If he categorically states "I will not coach in 2010; I will work for CBS next season," some folks here will still refuse to believe it. If he announces that he's flying to Buffalo on Monday to sign a contract, some folks here will still refuse to believe it.

I've lived in DC for about 10 years, and I'd move back to Buffalo in a second if it weren't for the fact that I can't do the work I do anywhere but DC. Cheap cost of living, beautiful houses, great food, burgeoning arts scene, sailing, skiing . . . what's not to like? Sure, the local government is a joke, but where isn't that the case? The quality of life in Buffalo is pretty damn good, so long as you're employed. It'd be a helluva place to live if you were making $8-12M/yr.

I don't think that was ever credibly sourced. As I recall, someone said that the Bills would have to offer him $10M/yr plus equity to get him, not that they in fact made the offer.

Billick is the only name out there that really bothers me. (Oh, Cam Cameron too -- but I know Russ Brandon is too good at marketing to hire a guy who went 1-15.) Billick is the only serious name that really bothers me. If I wanted a cocky, entitled douchebag who can't develop quarterbacks as my HC, I'd go with Kim Jong-Il.

Harbaugh.

If the NFL at any point cries poor to back up the demand for financial concessions, then the owners will have to open their books.

I dunno. It's a classic, cheap Ralph hire, and I could see it if Cowher passes on the job. That said, Nix did indicate that he wants someone with HC experience, so I'm less concerned that Ralph will default to Perry. But I certainly wouldn't rule it out. Unless Cowher has already agreed terms -- which I suppose is possible -- this isn't necessarily a pro forma Rooney Rule interview like Jerry Grey's phony interview with the Skins. After all, we're also interviewing Rivera, thus putting us in compliance . . .

Translated: @DarrylTalley Darryl, I just wanted to let you know than Mr. Wilson has offered a substantial sum of money to Mike Shanahan to serve as the General Manager and Head Coach of our former football team, the Buffalo Bills. At the behest of Messrs. Wilson and Brandon, I picked Mike up at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport this afternoon, and I had a pleasant conversation with him about the merits of the spread offense during our 30 minute drive to Orchard Park. He remarked that he was impressed by the relatively low cost of quality real estate in the area, and that he relished the opportunity to build a winning tradition at a club with the devoted fanbase of our Bills. I believe that Mike will accept Mr. Wilson's offer, and will lead our beloved team back to glory. Regards, Thurman. You see, it's Twitter. You gotta know the shorthand.

Except for Marty, who went 14-2 in his last year with SD.

Well, that is good news.

But it's an entertaining, well-mannered, and non-retarded crusade, which differentiate it from the vast majority of crusades. The rule was undoubtedly drafted to stop boring, offensive/adversarial, and retarded crusades -- the admins probably weren't contemplating the Pirate Campaign.

We need a real GM. If it's a GM/HC, fine. But there has to be accountability in the front office to move forward.

Great day in the morning. Russ knows hoe to prolong the buzz: 1) Fire Jauron now to avoid total alienation; 2) Hire new GM in February to boost interest; 3) Hire new coach in March to peak the interest.

For his career, Bironas was 8-13 from 50+ before today -- and he was 5-6 from 50+ since 2007. Given that an FG would turn the game into a two-score affair with less than four minutes left, and given that Bironas's chance of making the kick from 51 was probably better than 50/50, they probably should have taken the penalty and tried to stop 'em on D. This is not a team that is capable of scoring twice in 3 minutes at a greater than 50/50 clip.

Don't ever quit with the crusade, Senator. I have no idea whether Leach would work in the NFL, but even if he failed, he'd fail spectacularly. And he'd find value, in that he makes use of player types who come cheaply in the NFL. I'd prefer a proven NFL coach, but there's no question that with Leach, win or lose, it'd be pirrrrrrrate crazy fun! Arrrrrrrrrrr.

Right. A decent marketing exec would advise Ralph to wait to fire Jauron till the offseason, to gin up ST interest at that point. A brilliant marketing exec, like Russ Brandon, might advise RW to stretch out the excitement -- fire Jauron now for an immediate jolt of adrenaline, then hire a GM after the season to build interest, then hire the coach to drive ST sales through the roof. Or not. But there's a chance we get Jauron's head on a plate as a morsel to keep us interested before the end of the season.

Same here. I couldn't figure out where the post was going. "When do we hear about the ersatz tea's absence from the WNY market?"

He owns one of 32 NFL teams. So he has a theoretical chance of building an SB champion. That's a start.

How about the fact that, without a GM and a clear hierarchy, there's no organizational accountability?

Bills, Sabres, Nationals, Wizards. Yup. And I didn't go to a big sports college. I'm 33, and I've never seen one of my teams win a championship.

He would. That said, this thread probably belongs in PPP, as it's pretty obvious where the discussion is going.

Hmm. Here's one idea of what realignment would look like if the Bills moved to LA. Changes in bold. AFC EAST: NE, Jets, Mia, BALT AFC NORTH: Cin, Pit, Cle, IND AFC SOUTH: Hou, Jax, Ten, CAR AFC WEST: Unchanged NFC EAST: Unchanged NFC NORTH: Unchanged NFC SOUTH: NO, Atl, TB, STL NFC WEST: Sea, SF, Ari, LA

In a big Washington Post story on the City of Industry initiative in LA, the writer notes that there are seven franchises that are "currently in insufficient stadiums or severe financial difficulty or rumored to be for sale." Buffalo's gotta be on that list, right? Now that's only six, and the article does say there are seven teams that might be movable. So maybe we're the seventh. But it was pleasing to see an article listing a bunch of teams that could be moved (including some long shots -- I mean, SF??), and NOT see Buffalo on the list.

Agreed. That said, the PA probably has to grieve this, and they've got a very, very good chance of prevailing in the grievance.