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This is why it is problematic to have Whaley leading the search for a new head coach. He will have his own agenda, which will include wanting to further secure his position as GM by suggesting that EJ has a world of talent and just needs to further develop. I would think that most if not all of these head coaching candidates studied the Bills and the game film to some extent before interviewing and have some preliminary judgments about the Bills and whether EJ has potential. Maybe understanding that they will report directly to the owner will reduce concerns about Whaley's agenda or future role, but I do think it would have been helpful to have a football czar participating in this interview process for the Bills.

Could be Ryan. It it has been reported that he will interview with the 49ers tomorrow, so maybe he arrived a day early.

Starting to get that feeling as well. At first, we only seemed to hear about the Bills wanting to interview current OCs for their head coaching position. With Quinn and Austin (and maybe Ryan) to be interviewed, that seems to have changed.

I really do not care about what Marrone thought or thinks about the trade for Watkins, but I do agree with many that it was ill-advised. Many commentators and so-called experts thought the same, and in this case I think they were right. Good thing for Whaley that I am not in charge, because I will never get over this decision and I would have replaced him during this off-season.

I think optics matter, particularly when you want to attract a new head coach and possibly new front office personnel. I also think that things do appear chaotic from the outside, and likely from the inside as well. Things will be rough in the near-term, but the bottom line is that we are incredibly fortunate to have new owners who will keep the Bills in Buffalo long-term. They are being introduced to the world of the NFL in a rather rough manner, but maybe this is a good thing, because owning a team in the NFL can be tough on so many levels with the players, the fans, the front office and other owners. The Pegulas will learn over time, and maybe this will speed up that learning process. I am not saying that they are incompetent, but this clearly will be a learning experience, which will be okay since they are in it for the long haul. I think that we will all need to show some patience, which will be difficult after 15 years of not making the playoffs.

You get what you deserve. I am sure that the circumstances under which he left the Bills will be a factor when other teams consider him for their head coaching position. The bad-mouthing of the organization to Polian will not go unnoticed. Love the quote about him being the definition of average. Seemed to be how many felt about him (for some of us, better than what we thought of him).

Would have been nice if we had our football "czar" in place and participating in this interview process. Woody Johnson seems like a bit of a doofus, but he does have Charlie Casserly and Ron Wolf participating in the head coaching interview process. The Jets do not have a GM yet, so maybe that hurts them, but it would have been nice to pair up Whaley with a known and experienced football person as this search is undertaken.

I assume he wants to be a head coach again in the NFL, so he will want to do whatever will position him best for that opportunity. If the thinks being the DC in Buffalo will do that, he will stay. If he thinks being the DC of a team that gets more media attention (such as the Jets) will improve his chances of becoming a head coach in the future, he will want to leave. I also think that if a team offers him the title of assistant head coach he may be able to leave the Bills since it is a promotion. Of course, the Bills could match that.

We do need to be objective here, and the lack of a starting caliber QB or a first round pick this year would be significant negatives to any potential head coaching candidate interviewing for any NFL level posiition. Add in the circumstances of the messy divorce with Marrone and the uncertainty with the front office, and I do not think that the head coaching position with the Bills is attractive to these candidates. Will money and the charm of the Pegulas overcome all of this? Who knows.

But I thought I read that Marrone had the same deal (reporting directly to the owner). Seems weird, but maybe this is more common than we know in the NFL?

I do not think that Polian and Marrone were formally linked. It may be that Polian would have joined the Bills if Marrone was still the coach, but I do not think that Marrone was directing Pegula to make this happen. I have no idea what Pegula is thinking in terms of GM and other front office moves now. It may be that he has decided that Whaley is the guy going forward, but who knows. Maybe this was always the plan.

Thanks, K-9. Saw it somewhere, and I should have referenced it. Still think this whole thing is really screwed up.

This whole thing is really screwed up. I am fine with Marrone leaving, but the front office stuff needs to be straightened out pronto. Either the Bills are committed to Whaley or they are not. Having Whaley leading the search for a head coach seems to suggest that he is staying on with the Bills as GM, but if this is a lukewarm commitment at best and he could be replaced after the 2015 season, I would much prefer that this decision be made now. The worst possible scenario would be for the Bills to hire a new GM after the 2015 season who would want to pick his own coach.

Was Polian going to bring AJ Smith in as GM or in some other capacity? If that is true and Whaley now knows it, the current situation is beyond weird.

What choice do the Bills have at this point but to have Whaley lead the process? Maybe this has some significance for Whaley's future with the Bills, but I think it is too early to tell given the current circumstances.

My guess is that Pegula was going to let things ride out for another year to give Whaley and Marrone a chance, and then make wholesale changes after next season if the team performs poorly.

The most unfortunate part of the Polian thing is that it makes the franchise look bad immediately after the Marrone debacle. I know that this was not Polian's intention, and the reality is that he is not at the right point of this career to undertake a "heavy lift" with the Bills. For the sake of the future and continuity, the Bills may be better off with a football architect who will be around for the long term with the energy and desire to last.

When Pegula purchased the Bills, he retained one of the best and most experienced advisors for the purchase of a sports team (Greenberg from Allen & Company). I am sure that this was a very helpful part of the overall success in Pegula having the winning bid to buy the Bills. I am surprised, assuming it is true, that Pegula did not retain a consultant/advisor immediately after buying the Bills. I know it would have been potentially a bit disruptive to the organization at that time, but if Pegula had specific knowledge of the opt out or the friction among certain members of the organization, it would have made even more sense.

The only thing that matters now is fixing the mess. It needs to be fixed quickly, but in a way that will makes sense for the long-term.

If it is true that Marrone spoke badly about the Bills' organization when he spoke to Polian, it must be galling for Pegula to have to pay Marrone millions of dollars for opting out while he continues to rip the organization. Couldn't the Bills at least have negotiated a non-disparagement provision for all of that money?

This is really bad. Optics matter if you want to hire good people. The Bills have now been spurned by Marrone and Polian and the negativity surrounding these decisions is all over. I was okay with the circumstances surrounding Marrone's departure leaving because I thought Polian was coming. Now with more negative stuff coming out and Polian deciding not to take a position with the Bills, I am very concerned. Who is available to clean up this mess? Wolf, Accorsi and Casserly already have been retained by other teams. I also think we are underestimating what needs to be done here. The perception that this is a "heavy lift" is not helpful, but without a starting caliber QB, among other things, it probably is.

I think the current situation forces the Bills' hand, and the Bills will need to make a decision on Whaley now and not wait until next year or after. Hiring another head coach will be disruptive for the organization and the team. Doing the same with a GM next year also would be disruptive because it can potentially affect a number of team personnel, including scouts and team administrators, and the overall direction of the team. Also, if Pegula decides to hire a new GM next year, it can be problematic to already have a head coach in place such that the new GM would not be able to hire his own coach, at least in the first year. We need to either clean house or commit to Whaley now so that we can begin to have some continuity and end the cycle of hirings and firings in our football operations.

I think all bets are off at this point regarding Whaley and possibly Brandon. What happens also may not play out as quickly as the situation with Marrone, particularly if Polian is coming but not until the end of January or after.

Some thoughts below. 1. Marrone seems to have a huge ego, and at least on the surface, it appears that he has pulled a Parcells type move by opting out (we all know he is no Parcells). I have a feeling that what will come out over time is that the Pegulas were not interested in retaining Marrone long term, and his position as head coach would be in jeopardy in the short term. This would be consistent with the reports that Pegula would not give him or his assistants extensions and the silence from Pegula at the end of the season regarding next season. Simply put, I do not think that Pegula wanted Marrone to continue as the head coach of the Bills. 2. I really hope there is a plan in place and the Bills were prepared for this scenario. 3. A lot of stuff will come out about Marrone now that he has opted out. We are already beginning to hear that people in the organization will not miss him or his miserable demeanor. Will be interesting to see if this will be the view of the current players as well. The "Saint Doug" stuff and the supposed friction with Whaley that we all observed during training camp were definitely a prelude to current events. 4. Outside of Buffalo, the optics of this will look bad, particularly if Marrone leaves for the Jets. There is more to this story, but I am not sure the national media will appreciate the realities and nuances of this situation. 5. I get why Marrone negotiated and would want the opt out provision in his contract, but I do not understand why the Bills would agree to it without an offset provision. That is poor negotiating. 6. Whaley may have won the battle, but he may still lose the war. If Polian is hired, I am not sure what this would mean for Whaley since I am sure the Polian would want to hire his own people, including a GM. 7. I have no idea if the head coaching position for the Bills will be attractive. Plusses are the defense, a young roster and the resources of the Pegulas. Minuses are no first round pick in 2015 and no starting caliber QB on the roster. 8. I hope Schwartz stays as DC. We need some continuity, and Schwartz did a very good job with the defense. I do not think that I would want him as the head coach. 9. I like the way Pegula handled the opt out in not agreeing to give Marrone an extension or give in to his other demands. But this shows how tough the NFL can be, and none of the owners will be real friends. I hope the Pegulas are tough and will be able to navigate through all of the current and future issues and obstacles. The most important skill for now will be their ability to hire quality people to run the organization (football related and business related). 10. I will always wonder whether Marrone played Orton in the last game to try to get his win total higher. Maybe his interests were aligned with what was good for the Bills overall, but you do need to question his motivations about this and maybe other things as well.

If it is true that Marrone gets paid in full for 2015 without any offset, the person who negotiated that deal should be fired.