JDG

Its in Arizona.....

I'm not so sure about that, let's consider who is off the market: Herman Edwards - We weren't going to trade draft picks for a HC, and we certainly didn't have the personal connection to Herman Edwards to draw him out of his contract. Mike McCarthy - Intriguing choice, but I don't think he was even on our radar screen. Gary Kubiak - Houston is his dream job, we weren't getting him. Eric Mangini - Numerous personal connections to the Jets organization. While we were definitely a week late and a million dollars short (he reportedly got a huge contract for a first-time coach), I don't think we had any shot of him picking us over the Jets, even if the pay was equal. Brad Childress - O.k., maybe we would have interviewed and hired him, but maybe not. Sean Payton - Perhaps a week late here as well. I personally wasn't too excited about him, and as with Brad Childress there seems to be strong indications that One Bills Drive is listening to the fans and concentrating on retread HC's, rather than first-timers. So, despite everything that has hapened, I think that we are basically facing the same coaching market that we would have had Wilson fired Mularkey at the end of the season, and announced that he would be paying "top dollar" for our next HC. JDG

Well, the worst franchises in the NFL are Arizona and Detroit, with Buffalo not quite in their territory. And Ferentz is making less than $2mil/year in Iowa, from what I can gather. The real difficulty is that Ferentz is basically "Coach for Life" in Iowa, so he would probably want a significant pay increase to compensate him for accepting a job where in all likelihood he will be fired within 5 years, 10 years max. JDG

The man coached a 13-3 season with a roster that included Jim Miller as QB, Anthony Thomas as RB, no TE whom you have ever heard of, and Marty Booker as the only consistent WR. Chicago Bears 2001 Roster If you can get 13-3 out of that roster with *any* schedule in the NFL, you can't be a all bad as a coach. JDG

They interviewed many candidates in the previous week. Donnie Henderson, their DC, is a minority, as well as Haslett, Tice, Heimerdinger, Westhof, and I think Fassel and maybe Tim Lewis. JDG

Look for James Lofton to get an interview....

Nothing to be ashamed of, and the Patriots have their place in history. But some perspective is in order too. Right rule or wrong rule, the Patriots won some Super Bowls with the aid of some bounces that were completely outside their conscious control that went their way, and on Saturday they played a tough game, made a few more mistakes than usual, and didn't get a few lucky breaks that might have turned the game in their favor. It happens. If the Patriots and Broncos played that game 10 times, I wouldn't be shocked by a 5-5 split.... but the NFL insists that there be one winner and one loser (would we have it any way), and people will just forever presume now that the Broncos were better. Such is life. JDG

Thank you David Patten's unconscious head. Sure, its a dynasty, but it was a combination of a great team, a great coach, and more than a little luck. JDG

Dude, Fisher is under contract.

Alan Greenspan's term ended when he was 79. Ronald Reagan left office at the age of 78. JDG

None of which replaces face-to-face contact. Look, if Marv stays in Chicago, the Bills will be the only NFL team run out of four-different cities: Detroit, Chicago, Jacksonville, and Buffalo. And if Marv returns to Buffalo, the Bills will be the only NFL team run out of three different cities. Its an absurd situation, and there's a reason why successful organizations don't have similar situations. JDG

The Rochester D&C had the same story this morning about a major concern of Mularkey being the organizational structure. Is any other NFL franchise run by an owner based in another city? (leave New Orleans out of it for a moment.) Our GM is still in Chicago, and the Asst. GM has*built a house* in Jacksonville!!!! (and Jacksonville ain't exactly an airline hub, ya know.) Yuck. JDG

Good grief. A lot of people tried to give Mularkey a chance when he was announced, but I don't know anyone who had him at the top of their list. And only the freakin' founder of the message board was beating the drum from Tom Coughlin at every opportunity. JDG

You must have been reading a different message board Mr. 23 posts...... ain't no masses here that wanted Mularkey. JDG

So, you would never have hired Bill Cowher or Andy Reid either? JDG

Kirk Ferentz - My dream candidate but he seems to be off the market, and we probably can't/won't offer him enough money to lure him out of Iowa. Eric Mangini - The latest "hot" Patriots guy. He has too many Jets connections, and the Jets can outbid us for him, though, in order for us to get him. Jim Haslett - Has been open about Buffalo being his dream job, so Ralph and Haslett will surely work out compensation if Ralph wants him. Its hard to get excited about a guy who's best season as a HC was his first one, though. There's a lot of clamoring for a guy with experience, though. Ted Cottrell - Marv's already hired him twice before. On the other hand, he's been fired twice in three years, so his star is a little tarnished. James Lofton - The Oakland Raiders brought him in for an interview today. Marv has the utmost respect for him, and he has done a fine job with Keenan McCardell & Co. in San Diego. He's a young coach who could be the next Herman Edwards or Bill Cowher if he pans out. Ron Rivera - A first-year Coordinator who is reaping the full benefits of one very hot year. Marv has some familiarity with him from covering the Chicago Bears this year and may like his work. Bruce DeHaven - With Marv, anything's possible. Maybe he wants another Special Teams coach? O.k., this last one may not be serious. JDG

Yeah, Jax has so many more pro sports option than Buffalo does..... JDG

I'm not convinced that Donahoe had a long-term plan. He had a plan for each year, but then was willing to change it wildly. Hence he went from building the team around Bledsoe-Henry-Mouds-Reed and then ripping it all out in favor of Losman-McGahee-(Moulds)-Evans-Parrish in the span of just a couple years. He had a HC in the last year of his contract, and drafted a 1st-rounder who couldn't play in his first year. He had survived 4-straight non-playoff years and trotted JP Losman out as the starter for a year in which a playoff run was critical. The problem with Donahoe is that he was both really good (McGee, Moorman, Evans) and spectacularly bad (OLine, Bledsoe, 2nd Day Draft Picks.) It makes it hard to come up with a simple judgment of his tenure. JDG

You're not naiive enough to believe that, are you?

Some thoughts: 1) Mike Mularkey, upon the firing of Mike Tice, became the lowest paid head coach in the League at $1 mil per year. 2) Gregg Williams has said in Washington that he has more money to spend just on hiring his defensive staff in Washington than he had to hire his entire staff in Buffalo. Gregg Williams, of course, got a pay raise when he was fired in Buffalo, and is now making more than twice Mularkey's salary. 3) Scott Sarama has reported that the Bills' decision-makers have really been limited in what they can pay coaches over the past few years. 4) By definition, the HC is the highest paid member of the coaching staff. Thus, all this talk of bringing in Capers or Turner as a Coordinator - while not likely for so many reasons - was also not likely simply because we'd have to pay them less than $1mil per. The alternative would be to give Mularkey a raise and an extension - but let's be serious here. In short, Buffalo had probably become the least-attractive coaching destination in the League. The HC (Mularkey) already had half the city calling for his head, despite a 5-11 season the playoffs would be the expectation for next season, the GM is a completely unproven 80-year-old rookie who won't be around forever, the 87-year-old owner wants to take a "more active role", *and* it has the lowest top-salaries for Asst. Coaches in the League (by virtue of having the lowest-paid HC.) As you know, I am convinced that it is best for our team to move on from Mularkey - whom I consider to be a proven failure. On the other hand, even if Ferentz hadn't said anything yesterday, its simply pure fantasy for me to think that my beloved team would offer Ferentz enough money to lure him out of near-perpetual job security in Iowa. We're also not going to be outbidding the Jets for Eric Mangini. Short of an NFL Salary Cap for coaches, we're not going to be landing a big name. And simple Economics probably played a large role in Mularkey walking away today. JDG

How well-respected can a guy who has been fired twice in three years possibly be? JDG

You're right, it might have been three times. JDG

Job Description Coordinator /= Job Description Head Coach JDG

I won't complain if they get an interview in with Eric Mangini in Foxboro right after the Jets leave town though..... JDG - Who loves Kirk Ferentz......

The only quesiton is why didn't this happen earlier? Mularkey was forced by Ralph Wilson to fire his Assistants as a condition of retaining his employment, and then Ralph Wilson says that he and Marv have to "sti in" on the interviews for the replacements. The honorable thing to do at that point is to resign..... errr.... suddenly develop "family considerations." JDG