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Do any of us really know that Whaley did not support the hiring of Marrone or Ryan or that they were not his first choice? Seems like there is a lot of information being put out there about the Bills, and much of it seems to be an effort to support a narrative about Whaley not having full say about the hiring of our recent HCs. This is similar to the who drafted EJ and who traded for Hughes arguments. Seems like anything negative about the Bills is attributed to Brandon, the Pegulas and Nix. Anything positive to Whaley. Makes no sense.

It is kind of nuts that Whaley is conducting the HC search. After Marrone and Rex, you would have thought the Pegulas would retain a consultant to help with them the football side of things.

I hope the Bills conduct a real search for a new coach. I wonder if they Bills did this because Coughlin already was scheduled to speak to the Jags?

The talent on this team is not good enough now, and we may have less talent on the roster next year with all of our free agents in the off season. Better coaching would help, but the reality is that we have not been able to beat quality teams. Until we can do that, we will not make progress.

I agree. We need culture change. Lynn may be fine or even better than fine, but we need a clean start.

I would think that Whaley wants Lynn to replace Rex instead of having an open head coaching search. It would be in his best interests for surviving this year. Other potential head coaching candidates would, at a minimum, ask the Pegulas about the GM situation and want to do due diligence about why there have been issues between Whaley and Rex/Marrone. If Rex is fired, I do not think this will be a very attractive head coaching opportunity. We are not quite Cleveland, but there is tremendous pressure to win now, our QB situation is unsettled, the GM would be involved in a third head coaching search, and the last coach is being fired after only two years with a .500 record (guessing).

More speculation from Rapoport about Lynn possibly being a possibility to replace Rex. I have a feeling this is how it will play out and I am not enthusiastic about it at all.

Seems if you want long-term continuity this is not the way to go. I like Coughlin, but I would expect him to coach for only a few years. If you had a team that was really close to being a Super Bowl contender, maybe this would make sense, but that is not the case with this team. We still have holes and need some rebuilding, particularly with all of the free agents that we have this offseason.

We will have a better sense next year because this year's schedule turned out to be fairly easy. I think we have the talent of a .500 team, no better, and much of the "talent" was acquired through free agency (McCoy, Clay and Taylor) rather than through the draft. Whaley needs to go (and so does Ryan) to start fresh.

I have no issues if the Pegulas decide to move on from Rex, but I do think we have more holes than people realize. Seems like this roster is an 8-8 type roster, but no better. With a better QB, we would have the potential to win more games, but based on our current level of talent, I think we are about where we should be.

Great article. Whaley had the benefit of salary cap flexibility in part because we lacked a franchise QB. He loaded up and overpaid for some and has masked the real deficiency, which has been his drafting.

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What good coach would want to come here? We are a coaching graveyard with two recent head coaches quitting! We also don't have a starting caliber QB and we could be unsettled at the position if Taylor is not back. Sprinkle in a GM who is on his third head coach and who has had issues with the past two head coaches that were hired during his tenure. Any potential head coaching candidate is not going to like the current situation, particularly if he feels that Whaley could be next to go at some point (meaning the next GM will want his own guy as head coach). All of the above will result in us ending up with Lynn as our head coach in 2017.

1A Whaley 1B Rex (will go even if #1 does not happen anyway) Brandon can stay as long as he sticks to marketing and has no input on player, GM or coaching decisions. He has done a great job marketing a team that has played so poorly for so many years in a small market. I would let the new GM and head coach decide about Taylor, but I don't see him coming back.

I don't understand why posters attack football reporters/insiders when they report on the dysfunction and problems at OBD. Most of the rumors that have been reported over the years turn out to be true, in one form or another. The Coughlin rumor was dismissed by many earlier this year and it turns out to be true (that he had met with the Pegulas). Same with Polian last year. I am sure more stuff will come out, and much of it will be true.

Carucci suggests that Whaley seems to be secure. What "hot" coaching candidate would want to come here with a GM that is on his third head coach with a history of having problems getting along with the coaches? We are going to end up with Lynn.

Agree with Tim's article. Unfortunately, this is where we are and half measures will not work.

I hope so. This team need all the time it can get to hire the right head coach this time.

I am getting tired all of the excuses that are being made for Whaley. He seems to have many defenders, but it seems like like we always get two stories and never know what the truth is. EJ is one of the best examples of this. Initially, we heard he loved the pick, scouted him, and raced to give his name for the draft. We also heard during the last coaching search that he was telling coaching candidates that they will need to work with EJ. Now we are hearing that he only was supporting Buddy's decision to draft EJ. Time to move on with the GM and the head coach. This organization desperately needs a fresh start.

Bucky Gleason's article in the Buffalo News has me concerned. Keeping Whaley and elevating Lynn to head coach for next year seems like a recipe for disaster. If Rex is to be fired, then Whaley deserves to go as well. He has not assembled "superior" talent and he has made his share of poor moves. Please do not tell us that Jones is the answer at QB. It would be ridiculous for us to go into next season with Jones as our starting QB with Lynn as our head coach. Please run a real head coaching search. If Lynn is the best candidate, so be it, but please consider other candidates. Whaley's has not been able to get along with Rex or Marrone. There is a pattern here, and I do not care to get into a debate as to whether Whaley picked either head coach. We need a GM with better decision making abilities and the best available head coach. Please do not stick us with Whaley, Lynn and Jones for next season. It likely will be unwatchable and will delay the inevitable house cleaning.

I have a feeling the Bills and Taylor rework his deal this offseason to give him another shot for next year. Even with a reworked contract, we probably will be paying him more than what he can get with another team as a free agent. Hope they bring in some competition for him in some form. Who knows if there will be a better option available to us this offseason.

I am not sure it makes sense for Whaley to be doing this now. Does he think it will result in Taylor having more confidence or playing better? This could have waited until after the season. Hopefully, we can upgrade this offseason from Taylor (I understand it will be difficult), but after the season is over I will be in no mood to hear the front office pump up Jones as the potential starter next year. That would be ridiculous.

Probably will lose Gilmore in free agency and Darby regressed. Williams will likely retire and Graham is getting old. Unfortunately, the secondary will be a real area of need in the offseason and in the draft.

That is what this team is right now. Probably true of our QB, our other players, our front office and our coaching staff. No idea what the fix is other than finding a true franchise QB, which, as we all know, is exceptionally difficult. But it is not impossible, and the front office needs figure out a way to make it happen at some point. I like Tyrod, but I just don't see him further developing at this point since to the degree necessary. I also don't think better coaching will make much of a difference with this group of players. If we had a dominating defense, maybe I would feel differently. but absent that, I don't see a lot changing in the near or longer term.

Why should we give Whaley credit for drafting a special player after using two first round picks and a fourth round pick to get him? This was not a pick in the late rounds where real draft expertise can mean the difference between drafting a TJ Graham versus a Russell Wilson. In other words, in any draft there are "special" players at the top of the draft, and to move up to draft one of those players is costly. Whaley paid the price, and possibly overpaid, but the likelihood of Sammy being an excellent WR was high. I think you can make a pretty good argument that there were other special players in the 2014 draft, including Donald, Barr, Evans, Mack and Martin. I think highly of Sammy, but I would have been happy with any one of those other players, particularly if they did not cost us first and fourth round picks.