Chaos

I am not saying McDermott should be fired I am not saying there is obviously a better coach to replace McDermott I am saying, I am sincerely baffled by why anyone would measure the Bills record under McDermott to the drought era Bills, Marvin Lewis, or Andy Reid or any other non-relevant data point. In all walks of life people's performance is measured against expectations. In the NFL 14/32 teams make the playoffs every year. If everything was exactly equal in a five year period a team would be expected to appear in the playoffs twice. Eight teams advance to the divisional round, so in a five year period, it would be expected to make the divisional round approximately once. So in a world where schedules and rosters are exactly even, the Bills have been very successful during the last five years. The math says that is not disputable. In the real world however rosters and schedules are not equal. Another bit of math that is not really disputable, is that the production from the QB position during the last five years by virtually all measures has been top 2 in the NFL. Its hard to determine the talent level on the roster as a measurable against other teams. For discussion purposes, lets say the Bills have had a top 10 roster (excluding QB position) over the last five year. So top 2 QB, top 10 roster, AFC east schedule during the last five years. What are the expectations for that situation. In my opinion it would be odd for the Bills to not win the division every year for the last five years, given the QB and roster we have had. McDermott has delivered on that expectation. But not much more than that. Question 1: What is the appropriate expecation for the Bills with Josh Allen and the type of roster the Bills have had over the last five years This question is the root cause of most arguments over McDermott. It is not really about McDermott. It's about the Bills delivering or not delivering on expectations. Much of the defense of McDermott is in the form of "your expectations are unrealistic, my expectations are realistic, and McDermott succeeds in meeting my lower expectations not your higher expectations." This is an entirely reasonable fan argument. But it does not provde the answer for question 2. Question 2: Would a different head coach meet, fall short of, or exceed the expecations, that I set for McDermott. Many McDermott defenders shift the bar dramatically when discussion the merits of a change. This type of argument is "a different head coach does not guarantee a super bowl". But I don't believe that is a reasonable argument. Personally I think most (not all) of the current NFL head coaches, would win the AFC east in 2024 with the Bills current roster. So if that is my expectation to measure success against, I think it is a low risk decision to make a change. Question 3: Do you ever raise the bar of expectation for the Bills to "winning a super bowl" or "playing in a super bowl"? This is a yes or no question For the fans who answer question 3 "no", I think they will likely be happy with either Sean McDermott or a different head coach. For those that answer question 3 "yes" we are led to question 4. Question 4: How many seasons do you keep trying to get to the super bowl with the same head coach, before making a change? From a purely historical perspective, despite the narrow-minded fans, McDermott has already been given a very long time. But that does not answer the question of how many seasons. (note if your answer is "infinite seasons", that means you answered question 3 as no, and question 4 is not relevant. )

So your saying it was a wise decision to hang on too Marvin Lewis for those losing seasons?

Only for Harrison

There is meaningful comparison. Due to Allen the bar of expectations for McDermott is higher. McDermott is unreasonably calling people narrow minded who want a higher bar than he wants. Maybe his lower bar is narrow minded.

Do you expect this new core to be better than the old core?

Why do you think there are multple windows? If there are multiple windows, why did window #1 close? Why is window #2 opening? What do you think will be different between window #1 and window #2?

Bills defense was a bit disappointing the entire season. Four of their worst efforts were in the first 9 weeks. Patriots, Broncos (12 men on the field being the seasons low point), Jaguars, Bengals games. The defense did let the team down in the playoffs as well. But that was not a new thing.

Well we finished top 8 again last year. Most any roster with Josh Allen at QB, is a top 8 roster. I think the real question is "Have we taken a step forward?"

Thank you for the feedback. I won't argue one by one, but it seems like the Chiefs have gaps at receiver, and in the secondary as much as the Bills, as well as issue on the offensive line.

It seems to me all teams have gaps in talents. Which teams do you think have fewer gaps?

Why? what is lacking?

Was and will are different.

Disagree. Also, fundamentally none of the Bills playoff problems are the fault of the offensive talent.

KIncaid had a fine rookie season, and projects to be a top tier tight end in the future. However, the "moving the chains problem since Beasely" is a myth, based on statistics, In 2021 the Bills had the fifth fewest punts in the NFL (chiefs had least). In 2022 the Bills had the fewest punts in the NFL. In 2023 the Bills had the second fewest punts in the NFL. The Bills did not have problem moving the chains.

Envy is America's biggest problem.

Whats obvious is the simple fact that you haven't any idea of what he is doing in the off-season.

How is it possible to disagree with “my understanding “. Separately double check your sarcasm detection system

My understanding is that any other head coach means entering a 20 year playoff drought, with or without Josh Allen.

Its not clear what the most clownish part of this thread is. Here are the nominees: Anyone posting in this thread knows what the optimal off-season workout for Josh Allen Anyone posting in this thread knows what Josh Allen's actual off-season workouts actually consist of. Despite not know 1 or 2 above, being certain Allen isn't working hard enough Somehow the Bills playoff failures are connected to Allen not working hard enough in the off-season,

Together they could be five.

Allen is that level.

I stand by my earlier comment.

good point

I think re-signing Taron will allow the Bills to finish top 8 again in 2024. If they had to replace Taron, I also think the Bills would finish top 8 in 2024. Not completely sure this is the best use of 10mm of cap space.