Heitz

But why poach stats? He's 45 - 51 overall. BPA also skips the years where Whiz took them to the Super Bowl (lost to Pitts) and then won a playoff game the next year. Or when he won a Super Bowl as Pittsburgh's O coordinator. I'm not saying the guy is the answer, but he's not the HORRIBLE coach some want to make him out to be...

Tasker's thoughts on Whiz: http://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-cardinals/2013/1/5/3838870/ken-whisenhunt-steve-tasker-arizona-cardinals

lol - posted this in the Whiz thread: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1466846-ken-whisenhunt-would-be-perfect-head-coach-for-cleveland-browns

Now ironic "Why Whisenhunt Would be Perfect for the Browns" article on b/r: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1466846-ken-whisenhunt-would-be-perfect-head-coach-for-cleveland-browns And Whiz is leading the poll - lol

So true. Hell, I'd consider moving to KC just so I could live off of, and learn to cook, some real KC BBQ!

Well it should be fun to see what happens, that's for sure - good for Cleveland! While it would have been fun, newsworthy and crazy, I'm not sad we didn't get him. For me, the risk of a bust is just too much. We need a proven guy as our next HC and there are still several very good options out there, IMO...

Possibly, but deserving or not 5 PB players shows a coach that clearly there are some good players on the team. Regardless, the overall control is why Reid took the KC job (that and money I'm sure). Also, just because a coach chooses another team doesn't always mean there more talented. People take jobs for all sorts of reasons, good talent is just one...

KC has 5 Pro Bowl players and were willing to give control to Reid (who will be bringing in his own GM and personnel guy). Despite his overall record, I'm glad the Bills didn't do that! http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000121923/article/andy-reid-kansas-city-chiefs-reach-agreement

Sooooo, essentially no one likes any of the candidates? Sounds about right for TBD... I don't get the dislike for Whiz or Lovie. Sure both guys have their issues, but both have been to the Super Bowl *twice* (once as coordinators, once as Head Coaches) and while both lost, both have been there and know what it takes to get there. Not ALL losses are on coaches, GMs and players need some blame as well. Plus from what I've heard and read both guys are universally respected by players, coaches and pundits alike - I really don't think we'll be in bad shape with either... Same goes with Kelly, while unproven in the NFL and a huge risk, the guy could revolutionize how offense is played in the NFL. Plus he clearly has the respect of other pro coaches and even has NFL connections (there was a story that mentioned he's considering staff for his new NFL job that includes guys have have coached in the NFL). Heck, even the coordinators that are on our short list get generally good reviews from those in the league (I listen to way too much Sirius NFL radio and watch too much NFLN). Unlike our last coaching search I really, really feel that we're going to end up with the best guy for us. It's not a choice between Chan Gailey or, well, Chan Gailey. Bring it on, I say - any way you look at it, our coaching is going to take a leap from last year!!

Love the UPS commercial featuring Kelly talking about the speed and precision of his offense: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_mO92OUvpg With his uptempo practice style I bet he would also draw a TON of interest to Training Camp and Pre-season as well.

Not sure if I saw this one posted, but here's a good (but s-l-o-w) tutorial on Kelly's Zone Run scheme: I wonder if Russ and Co. are there?

I wouldn't be too sure about that - if AZ doesn't hire him as their HC and he doesn't get any other opps, the thought of getting the band back together (Horton, Wiz and Whaley) in Buffalo might be more appealing than staying in AZ with another head coach he doesn't know. Or that's my hope...

Wiz does have a nice resume, regardless of his overall record in AZ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Whisenhunt http://www.azcardinals.com/team/coaches/ken-whisenhunt/e9efa25c-a1a6-4cd3-ac14-8f59cefc04f9 Highlights for me: - Played in the NFL for 9 seasons (current players seem to respect a guy that has been in battle) - Cards all-time leader in wins by a head coach (you can look at this two ways - the Cards suck so it's not hard to be the all time leader, or the Cards suck making it harder for a coach to be successful) - 4-2 postseason record - Took the Cards to a Super Bowl - Won a ring in Pittsburgh as the O coach If he brings in Horton as his D coordinator I like that combo more than Lovie and whatever Offensive coordinator he might dig up to bring in...

Super interesting article - I really got lost in a tangent of Chip Kelly research last night The two big questions for me are - how will NFL players take to this fast, "new style" practice and what is Kelly's deal on D (or who would he bring in as a coordinator)? Love the idea of a futuristic offense, but I'm scared by a guy that has never played, coached or even gophered in the NFL...

FWIW, I listened to Sirius for most of day yesterday while driving from Buffalo to VT and nearly everyone of the NFL guys (journalists and former players, including John Madden) felt that Buffalo needs to go with a proven, established guy over a college coach that may, or may not, succeed. The other big thing the talked about was putting together an NFL quality staff, which they said is absolutely key to success in the NFL. The two names that everyone was highest on were Wiz and Lovie; I'd be fine with either. If Wiz brings along Horton, sign him up! Yes Wiz had a poor record the last few years in AZ, but by all accounts if you take the personnel decisions out of his hands, he's a great coach... It could be fun to see what Chip Kelly would bring to the NFL table, but it could also be another complete disaster - and the unknowns scare me!

Fwiw, from Brent Axe's twitter: "Bill Parcells among those who vouched for Doug Marrone to interview for Bills, Browns job" "Marrone also received endorsements from Saints GM Mickey Loomis and HC Sean Payton. Marrone was the OC in New Orleans from 2006-08." Not sure that makes him a good candidate, but perhaps it's not Myan doomsday either...

Did he though? His quote was confusing: "as an example of one rumor/speculation that can be crossed off the list: i understand that a while back that the proposal for a stadium in Niagara Falls has long been off the table." - JW (the rational JW) To me that reads as the proposal for a stadium in NF is (potentially) still ON the table...

Even *Buffalo Bills* football??

Impeccable timing! I'll do some more digging in the am too...

A good one from the Google: http://sites.jcu.edu/magazine/2010/12/21/a-skill-for-finding-talent/ “A player represents a multimillion-dollar investment for the team,” Caldwell says. “The two keys I look for are his passion and perseverance. Then I ask myself, ‘Is this a guy I’d like to play with?’ and ‘Would I want to be his teammate?’” The biggest turn-offs are a lack of work ethic and selfishness, Caldwell says, adding that he doesn’t like to see players who put personal goals above team goals. Edit - Ha, just saw your other post, glad we're on the same page NS

For real... Also, though none of ours made it there are those that are giving some of our players props: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000117372/article/2013-pro-bowls-big-snubs-richard-sherman-robbed

Ironic that the Steelers had to get rid of Ariens because he was too close with Big Ben and holding the offense back...

John Gruden, Tony Dungey, Bill Cower and Russ Brandon were seen fleeing Chippewa St in a Ford Tempo! Take it FWIW

The least the Bills could do is bring people Salvatore's, for all the tickets that Russel has bought over the years! I think I remember M80 posting about Tempo in the past. Only question is timeline - did Brandon skip the Miami game? Gruden would be a festivus miracle (which I thought we already got with the lease deal)...

What is your statement or belief based on? It's clear that NFL ticket sales are down and it's a fact that Buffalo has some of the least expensive tickets in the league (which probably means that their luxury boxes, of which they don't have as many as other teams, also sell for less). Even if we sold the naming rights, who is going to pay the price and what are we going to get - $10MM over 5 years? That's nowhere close to the $78MM the Bills got for the Toronto series... Here are the top 20 stadium naming rights deals as of Sept, 2011: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/09/19/In-Depth/Naming-rights-deals.aspx Please, let us know your revenue model beyond naming rights and "anything else"... The Toronto game puts money in the teams pockets and (theoretically) exposes Toronto fans and more importantly, businesses, to the NFL and to Buffalo Bills football. Perhaps in some future world, the team is moved to Niagara Falls, a little closer to Toronto and some of those Toronto companies will drop coin on suites. I also don't see anyone with the Bills saying that Toronto is the "cure all". It's part of a strategy to regionalize the team, just like having Training Camp in Rochester and marketing to towns in the Southern Tier are... I think the Toronto game sucks too, but I'm willing to tolerate it if it keeps the Bills in Buffalo! I actually think the Bills do a good job in the marketing department - training camp is a fan favorite, they've been on point with digital trends (messageboards, App, having Chris Brown do a blog and video segments, player created content, etc.) and they do a good job reaching out to fans (I keep getting calls to buy tickets for games, despite living in Vermont). If we had a winning team, it would definitely help sell tickets, but even when winning those cold-ass December games are tough on fans. Where they could really use some help is in the merch department - not sure who their designers are, but the 80's and 90's called, they want some modern looking gear!