BillnutinHouston

As much as emotions play into this, this is a business transaction on both sides. Ralph gives WNY football, entertainment, a link to "the national stage", and a symbol of civic identity. In return, we give him tax money, incentives and revenues. Several here have spoken of the fans' loyalty, yet Ralph's gate receipts are among the lowest in the NFL. And really, how many top flight entertainment choices are there in WNY in competition with the Bills? WNY fans fill the stadium well in comparison to the number of wins over the years, but is that a function of the "high character" of WNY fans, or the realization that there's not much else to do ni WNY?

When I moved down South, one of the first things I realized is, while the southern accent tends to be associated with a low IQ (at least it was in my mind), that is just a stereotype. Some of the sharpest and smartest people I know down here have heavy accents. You can't necessarily equate the accent with IQ.

Please educate me as to why. What is Gailey's philosophy? Who will his coordinators be? What kind of defense does he run? Is he fiery or cerebral? Is he a good teacher? Do tell.

Or Tebow.

I'll be happy to apologize if I did something wrong, but can I ask, what for?

Capitalism gives everyone the freedom to succeed - and to fail. Freedom rules - it has created more wealth for more people than any other system the world has ever seen. Just say no to bailouts - even bailouts of the Bills!

I've read up on Gailey and I don't see a big problem. Worked on 11 playoff teams, was OC for Miami during consecutive 11-5 seasons, coached in a Super Bowl w/Pittsburgh. Reputation as a good teacher, innovative offensive mind.

Yea, but this article also says at the end: "In our view, no final decisions will be made until the team's playoff run ends. And if they're embarrassed today (which is unlikely), Phillips might still have to sweat out his fate for 2010."

Are there people in your company who you know, even from afar, and you know you would never hire them to work with you because of what you have seen or heard from them? Well... Nix said he needs someone he can work with. He knows enough about these two to know that he can't work with them. End of story.

I can understand why the Bills would say they had their guy early on, when the really didn't - in order to save face. But if they DID really have their guy, how does it then benefit them to say that?

I am still in the calm camp, but I have to admit, this process is very painful.

OK, thanks Terrell!

Scott Berchtold, is that you?

Yes, it's very likely your conclusion is right. If you're searching far and wide, why else would you state that "you found your man" so early in the search? To create a safety net for yourself. I have to say, if I was Russ and saw it was heading that way, I would do the same thing for the good of the franchise.

There is nothing that can be said or done by the F.O. to save face. They just have to beat teams on the field.

You might be right, but if there was an interview and an offer, there would be a big benefit to Harbaugh for his agent to leak this to Casserly. - Helps keep Harbaugh's Stanford recruits in place (puts to rest rumors out there that Buffalo was targeting him) - Boosts the recruiting of other players considering Stanford - (publicity that Stanford's coach must be good, an NFL team wants him) - Why leak to Casserly of all people? Provides quick, wide publicity by getting it on national TV

In my company there would be other possibilities available, such as 3) phone interview or 4) videoconference. Both are regularly done. Under either of these scenarios, a full interview (minus handshake) could be accomplished without the media being aware.

If you have press credentials, a source and work for a media outlet, go for it!

Casserly just reported this on the NFL Today. Stealth interview I guess. Casserly also reported that the Seahawks offered Dungy the President's job, but he turned it down. Casserly said if Dungy would have taken the job he was planning to hire Leslie Frazier as his HC.

Surprisingly, a dumb thread on a few levels: 1) Ralph never said he wanted a big name HC. In fact, he's quoted as saying the opposite. 2) You make it sound like Ralph can just make anything happen that he wants to have happen. I know of no mortal man that can do that.

I'm not talking about a long range plan. I'm talking about a full outside review of the organization to determine what, organizationally, needs to be done NOW.

Yea - trying to give the benefit of the doubt but I should have known better.

OK no link but any more details of what was reported along the lines of my original post? I do not recall this.

Well, I know in my career I've faced moments of truth where I'm standing at a fork in the road and have to decide what I stand for. Do I take the easy or selfish way, or do the right thing? I've actually had a few of those, I've done the right thing at personal cost and it's resulted in some pretty crazy things (without getting specific) taking place, but I've always landed on my feet and actually elevated my standing in the company. Of course my company is run by clear-headed people who saw my motivation and respected that. I believe Russ is smart enough to know he's in over his head as a "football man", but he needs the courage to nicely tell Ralph that an outside evaluator is needed. Even if it means upsetting him and rocking his world a bit. Russ has the best chance of anyone to break through Ralph's myopic bubble and allow some reality to enter the picture. He just needs to have the stones to do it.

Yup, count me as one who is amazed by the depth of the inferiority complex. It's very sad. Every single shred of news, every little rumor is interpreted as a slight. It's unrelenting. Maybe being away from WNY allows us to step outside the bubble and see how sad this is. It's like a dark cloud hanging over WNY. By far to me, the most embarrassing part of the coaching search has been the fan reaction. I hope outsiders or coaching prospects aren't reading some of the crap on here!