Bills Fan in MD

I wouldn't have had a huge problem with Wade sticking around. He said some dumb things his final year and made some questionable decisions, but overall he was a good coach.

Sorry, but logic and well-reasoned arguments have no place in this conversation. He's a "legend" -- don't you know?

Thank you. People are also forgetting that the Sabres have a new coach, an entirely new system, and a number of new "veterans." There's just no way a person could watch the games this year and not see that it's night and day as compared to the last couple of years. And damn, I keep forgetting that Eichel was 18 when the season started! I'm wearing a belt that's older.

The most striking thing about this article is how it tries to fit everything into a single narrative. Nobody denies there were some growing pains with the Sabres early on, and nobody is denying that there are problems with the Bills right now. But how that adds up to "the Pegulas may be in over their heads" now is a mystery. Look at the last two paragraphs: "From the outside, it appeared people entrenched with the Bills and Sabres too often were more concerned with preserving their jobs than working toward the greater good. So far, in case you didn’t notice, the greater good hasn’t been nearly good enough for either team. Sad but true, for the Bills, it could get worse before it get better." He's basically admitting that the Sabres are, in fact, getting better. I really don't know what's going to happen with the Bills, but the Sabres have a really bright future and are absolutely on the right track. You don't get that at all from this piece. Adnan Syed

Not USC. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14258891/clay-helton-named-permanent-coach-usc-trojans

I felt sick watching him get carted off the field yesterday. Even with the towel draped over his head, you could see how emotional he was. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

^^^This. Exactly this. It's sad when fans are more emotionally invested in a team than the players and coaches themselves. I have nothing against Dixon personally, but the quote is a perfect example of a player not understanding that after 16 years of this crap, nobody wants to talk about silver linings or intriguing subplots about games without any playoff implications for the Bills.

That's it. I'm going to see if there any Star Wars tickets available. Maybe I can catch a 2:30 showing.

I vote Biscuit as well. And if not him, Billy Joe Hobert.

If nothing else, the emotion in this thread really shows the toll that a 16 year playoff drought has taken on this fanbase. We really are in uncharted waters here, and it's downright shameful.

I don't disagree with anything that you said. The only thing I would point out, however, is that continuity and consistency only work if you choose the right coach in the first place. Yes, the Steelers have only had three coaches since 1969, but you could also argue that they hit a home run three times in a row. All that being said, burning through coaches at this rate also isn't going to fix anything.

That's why I prefaced it with "if." It was meant to be a general statement, and I've said it before in the context of all of the previous coaches. Once it becomes clear that someone isn't the right coach, there's no sense in keeping them around just for continuity.

Same dilemma here. Teams don't win by constantly tearing it down and rebuidling. On the other hand, if we're convinced that Rex will never take us where we want to be, I'm not sure why we would want to keep him around even a minute after the season ends.

I honestly don't know what the right answer is anymore. What I do know is that if they get it wrong this time, a 16 year playoff drought can easily stretch another two to four years, which seems to defy all laws of probability. I'll always support this team without hesitation, but at some point even the most loyal fans have a breaking point.

Not a huge fan of the "holier than thou" moralizing from ex-coaches.

Garrison Sanborn

Unfortunately, when I think about "pining" for Kiko, the theme from "Titanic" pops into my head. Fortunately, that doesn't happen when I think about "pinning" for him.

Same here. What's worse is that he should really be here . . . http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/25/hue-jackson-thought-he-was-right-fit-for-bills-head-coach/

I think it all goes well beyond a few technical fixes. Everything the NFL does, particularly during the Goodell era, seems second-rate and reactive. I know that a lot of the issues -- from part-time refs to head injuries to off-field issues -- pre-date his time as Commissioner, but there seems to be no ability right now to look ahead at anything that doesn't relate to television deals and sponsorship revenues.

I've always thought that they needed someone to oversee football operations. Whaley has shown that he's more than capable on the personnel side, and Brandon is simply a marketing guy (and I don't mean that as a negative). That said, they do need someone who can put this franchise on the right path. I'm not sure Polian was that guy. At this point in his career, he's not looking for a full-time gig. I'm not saying that he would have taken it for the wrong reasons, but adding a few million dollars to his bottom line and hopefully securing a prominent role for his son had to be huge factors in his initial interest in the job. So in a sense, it's probably a blessing that it all blew up in the end (although it probably would have prevented us from hiring Rex in the first place). I really don't know where we go from here, and any extended amount of time that it takes to right this ship puts the team closer and closer to a two decade long playoff drought.

It's worse. After missing the playoffs for 15 years, you have to assume that the drought has to end at some point soon. The idea of not making it - even as a fluke - just seems statistically impossible. Now, however, we're stuck with Rex for at least one more year, at which point we're going to have to start again with a new HC, QB, and probably a large part of the D, just to name a few positions. And suddenly, 20 years without a sniff of the postseason becomes a reality.

I've been worried about this all year, but were quickly approaching the worst case scenario. Rex is here at least one more year. I know that Pegula has the money to cut the cord now, but I just don't see it happening. By that time, we could easily be in a terrible place with the cap and still not have a QB, meaning that the next coach comes in as part of a rebuild. At some point, a 20 year playoff drought goes from nightmare to reality.

Anyone want to start a new "how can we possibly keep Roman after the season" post?

Wel, at least we can all look forward to another stress-free December.

Thank goodness for lower case letters (cause he's sure not a GOAT).