If You owned the Buffalo Bills

[thewildrabbit]

Rule, Wilson gave you the team, but only the team and you are limited to spending only what the franchise actually earns every year. If I'm not mistaken here, didn't the Bills earn between 12.4 million last year in profit?

 

First and foremost this franchise needs a top GM / president with a total football background. Charlie Casserly comes to mind, or someone like him.

 

No offense to Ralph Wilson, but it almost seems like he is more interested in his thoroughbred horses and tennis then he is in his NFL team, he just doesn't get the job done as president. If you make yourself president the franchise will fall victim to your ignorance just like it has been doing with Wilson.

 

Second, sell the stadium naming rights to the highest bidder in order to help pay for a top quality head coach and staff. Cowher, Holmgren and Shanahan will ask for more then you can afford, Jon Gruden might just be more affordable. This team needs an offensive playbook change to the west coast offense. Dunno about the rest of you but I'm sick of a coach the players love, chuckie rules.

 

Third, Put in a grass field and pay a crew to maintain it. It will pay for itself with less injuries to the players, less turf toe and torn ACL's

 

Fourth, hire the best trainers in the NFL, this current staff stinks. The players always look overweight, always battling injuries. Edwards should be wearing the Patriots style mouth piece, state of the art equipment also means less concussions and injuries. Perhaps hire Rusty Jones back, it used to amaze me to see the Bills go to Florida and out perform the Dolphin players in 90+ degree heat.

 

Fifth, hire the best assistant coaches you can afford,people like Mike Nolan for the defense and Cam Cameron for the offense. The Colts made the transition away from the Tampa 2 this season and the defense is much improved.

 

Sixth, hire Mike Mayock as a scouting consultant to help build through the draft like the Steelers and Patriots.

 

 

I'd be happy to spend every penny the franchise earns to build a team that could actually contend for a playoff spot each year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I know most will say first thing on anyone's agenda is FIRE JAURON! Bills fans will be dancing in the streets when this happens, pretty sure Turk Schonert will be one of them

[Nanker]

I'd immediately replace the owner!

[auburnbillsbacker]

I would go after the Bruce Allen and Gruden combo to start. Both are proven winners and available, and getting one might help you get the other. I would then invest a ton of money into scouting and realize that you may have to let a few guys go in free agency since the bills profit margin is shrinking every year. You would just have to hope that a talented scouting team would be able to draft replacements. I would keep Russ in charge of marketing, as he has done a good job of selling seats. After that you relax and let professionals do their job.

[Lofton80]

The only way Ralph is getting a big name like Carrucci says is complete control and a lotta money. So color me a skeptic on Carrucci's story. Assuming RW joins the 20th century and hires a real coach:

 

A modern day offensive coordinator, schemes to create mismatches in the passing game, perhaps runs a few pick plays like the real teams do, perhaps we get a guy some other team might want too

 

Step 2: Goodbye Cover 2 - It's a let's keep the game close defense, see the Steelers or Broncos for agressive defensive technique

 

As for personnel, get a real left OT, enough with the experiments, this is pro football, QB is needed too

[bananathumb]

I like all your proposed moves. Save your money and put in a bid for the Bills when the times comes. Ralph's probably got another decade, so you should have enough dough by then.

 

Once you own the team, however, be prepared for the fans' hatred.

[BuffOrange]

I am a little more optimistic than most that I could get a top coach if I opened the checkbook. The idea that nobody would want the job because it's Buffalo (as if the city is any different than Pittsburgh or Cleveland) is the sort of inferiority complex that needs to stop. It's also ridiculous to think they can't afford a good coach. What's a few mill in the grand scheme of things?

 

I don't think you'll have much luck getting any of them if you don't let them hire the assistants they want though. No litmus test from me if I'm interviewing, other than Bobby April stays.

[VADC Bills]

I like the general theme of change. I don't quite agree with the personel you have mentioned but I understand what you are saying.

- Remove DJ

- Restructure your front office to the more traditional arrangement. Get a GM. Go for the up and coming name, Polian's

son comes to mind. Casserly destroys every team he has his hands on (the Redskins are a good example)

- Upgrade your scouting personel. One of our biggest problems is talent evaluation.

- Bring in a coach that is a proven winner or can build a winner. Gruden best team was team that he didn't build. He did a

good job with the Raiders though. Billick, Shanahan, Cowher have all won the big one but have sputtered as well.

Cowher is your best choice. Don't rule out Shottenheimer. I think they will bring strong coaching staffs as well.

- Start purging the teams players to attaining 3 more draft picks. Use those picks to solidify your lines

- Get a top second string QB with experience and draft a QB as well.

[BillsfaninFl]

I would go after the Bruce Allen and Gruden combo to start. Both are proven winners and available, and getting one might help you get the other. I would then invest a ton of money into scouting and realize that you may have to let a few guys go in free agency since the bills profit margin is shrinking every year. You would just have to hope that a talented scouting team would be able to draft replacements. I would keep Russ in charge of marketing, as he has done a good job of selling seats. After that you relax and let professionals do their job.

 

I don't understand why people are high on Gruden. I believe he is a good coach, but not among the best. He inherited a super team built and trained by Tony Dungy and company. They were already a top contender when Gruden walked in the door. But look at the decline in the years that followed, leading to his being fired. In the meantime, Tony went over to the Colts and built and trained another top contender.

[BillsfaninFl]

I like the general theme of change. I don't quite agree with the personel you have mentioned but I understand what you are saying.

- Remove DJ

- Restructure your front office to the more traditional arrangement. Get a GM. Go for the up and coming name, Polian's

son comes to mind. Casserly destroys every team he has his hands on (the Redskins are a good example)

- Upgrade your scouting personel. One of our biggest problems is talent evaluation.

- Bring in a coach that is a proven winner or can build a winner. Gruden best team was team that he didn't build. He did a

good job with the Raiders though. Billick, Shanahan, Cowher have all won the big one but have sputtered as well.

Cowher is your best choice. Don't rule out Shottenheimer. I think they will bring strong coaching staffs as well.

- Start purging the teams players to attaining 3 more draft picks. Use those picks to solidify your lines

- Get a top second string QB with experience and draft a QB as well.

 

Some excellent points. My comments are:

Wilson blew it when he hired Donahoe, and since then has become the east coast version of Al Davis. Owners highly involved in their teams tend to ruin their teams. It's time to hire a top pro football administration that has the power to make the moves they know will build a winner. If this is done, the rest will take care of itself. Good coaches, talent scouts, trainers, players and a winning attitude will be part of the future.

[BuffOrange]

I don't understand why people are high on Gruden. I believe he is a good coach, but not among the best. He inherited a super team built and trained by Tony Dungy and company. They were already a top contender when Gruden walked in the door. But look at the decline in the years that followed, leading to his being fired. In the meantime, Tony went over to the Colts and built and trained another top contender.

 

So ridiculous that someone has to say this every time Gruden's name comes up. He took an Oakland team that was nowhere and they made the SB the year after he left. He took an already good team in Tampa and won the thing. Two completely different scenerios, two successful outcomes. That's no different than what Dungy did in his two jobs. His Indy teams were of course more consistently good with Peyton freaking Manning who he inherited. Fortunately for him they choked a half dozen times in big spots before winning the thing, so nobody thinks of it as Jim Mora's team. Of course Mora wasn't the Colts GM; and neither was Dungy for the Bucs.

[auburnbillsbacker]

I don't understand why people are high on Gruden. I believe he is a good coach, but not among the best. He inherited a super team built and trained by Tony Dungy and company. They were already a top contender when Gruden walked in the door. But look at the decline in the years that followed, leading to his being fired. In the meantime, Tony went over to the Colts and built and trained another top contender.

 

You make some fair points, but don't forget that Gruden won the super bowl in Tampa, Dungy never did. The colts team Dungy went to was built by Polian, and in my opinion even Jauron could win with that talent.

[ChasBB]

Third, Put in a grass field and pay a crew to maintain it. It will pay for itself with less injuries to the players, less turf toe and torn ACL's

I'm 100% for natural grass. True, it is expensive to maintain, but it's also pretty damned expensive to pay half of your starting lineup to watch from the sidelines with their injuries. It's stuff like this that shows Ralph is short-sighted. Football is meant to be played on natural grass. It's not easy to maintain in a northern climate like Buffalo's and it's not cheap to maintain, but it is still the best thing going. It's the best investment in maintaining the health of your starting lineup.

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

I'd do it if I had more money then is being talked about in the thread...

 

Pink slip city... once that's finally re-arranged with a new coaching staff, an actual GM, a new scouting staff (keep Buddy Nix and promote him to head of college scouting), new pro personnel group, the name of the stadium changes to just "Buffalo Bills Stadium". Ralphie, his family, Jeff Littmann and the other Motardtown friends have no further association with the franchise.

 

And another thing... all those stupid flags of other NFL teams in the stadium and all the painted helmet logos on the outside stadium walls.........GONE!!! this isn't a franchise that's an ambassador for the rest of this overbloated POS league... the stadium is for one team, the other 31 teams can go s*** * ****.

 

[Nanker]

I'd do it if I had more money then is being talked about in the thread...

 

Pink slip city... once that's finally re-arranged with a new coaching staff, an actual GM, a new scouting staff (keep Buddy Nix and promote him to head of college scouting), new pro personnel group, the name of the stadium changes to just "Buffalo Bills Stadium". Ralphie, his family, Jeff Littmann and the other Motardtown friends have no further association with the franchise.

 

And another thing... all those stupid flags of other NFL teams in the stadium and all the painted helmet logos on the outside stadium walls.........GONE!!! this isn't a franchise that's an ambassador for the rest of this overbloated POS league... the stadium is for one team, the other 31 teams can go s*** * ****.

 

You forgot to mention the return of the red endzones and new retro-inspired unis.

 

GM

Carl Peterson

Dan Reeves

Ted Thompson

Pat Kirwan

 

Head Coach

Russ Grimm

Marty Mornhingweg

Ron Rivera

 

OC

Joe Philbin

Joe Arians

Steve Addazio

 

DC

Joe Vitt

Jim Hasslett

Dom Capers

Juan Castillo

[Chalkie Gerzowski]

new "old" uniforms... current logo with the white helmet and the throwback uniforms the team currently has. Red endzones perhaps. If money wasn't an option I'd give the keys to Cowher, I'd say...go ahead and hire your own GM that you can work well with...go ahead and interview the coaches, keep or fire whoever you want. Bring in your old friend Schottenheimer and have him run the defense if you want.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

You forgot to mention the return of the red endzones and new retro-inspired unis.

 

GM

Carl Peterson

Dan Reeves

Ted Thompson

Pat Kirwan

 

Head Coach

Russ Grimm

Marty Mornhingweg

Ron Rivera

 

OC

Joe Philbin

Joe Arians

Steve Addazio

 

DC

Joe Vitt

Jim Hasslett

Dom Capers

Juan Castillo

Floyd Reese has to be considered if the Bills look for a new General Manager with a football background (what a novel concept).

[Nanker]

Yep, there's serious management talent out there at the GM, HC and Coordinator levels.

This is a good time to be in the coaching market.

Hope Ralph doesn't go to the fish market instead.

[Red]

Rule, Wilson gave you the team, but only the team and you are limited to spending only what the franchise actually earns every year. If I'm not mistaken here, didn't the Bills earn between 12.4 million last year in profit?

 

First and foremost this franchise needs a top GM / president with a total football background. Charlie Casserly comes to mind, or someone like him.

 

No offense to Ralph Wilson, but it almost seems like he is more interested in his thoroughbred horses and tennis then he is in his NFL team, he just doesn't get the job done as president. If you make yourself president the franchise will fall victim to your ignorance just like it has been doing with Wilson.

 

Second, sell the stadium naming rights to the highest bidder in order to help pay for a top quality head coach and staff. Cowher, Holmgren and Shanahan will ask for more then you can afford, Jon Gruden might just be more affordable. This team needs an offensive playbook change to the west coast offense. Dunno about the rest of you but I'm sick of a coach the players love, chuckie rules.

 

Third, Put in a grass field and pay a crew to maintain it. It will pay for itself with less injuries to the players, less turf toe and torn ACL's

 

Fourth, hire the best trainers in the NFL, this current staff stinks. The players always look overweight, always battling injuries. Edwards should be wearing the Patriots style mouth piece, state of the art equipment also means less concussions and injuries. Perhaps hire Rusty Jones back, it used to amaze me to see the Bills go to Florida and out perform the Dolphin players in 90+ degree heat.

 

Fifth, hire the best assistant coaches you can afford,people like Mike Nolan for the defense and Cam Cameron for the offense. The Colts made the transition away from the Tampa 2 this season and the defense is much improved.

 

Sixth, hire Mike Mayock as a scouting consultant to help build through the draft like the Steelers and Patriots.

 

 

I'd be happy to spend every penny the franchise earns to build a team that could actually contend for a playoff spot each year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I know most will say first thing on anyone's agenda is FIRE JAURON! Bills fans will be dancing in the streets when this happens, pretty sure Turk Schonert will be one of them

 

Now, some of these ideas are great, but the sixth- hire Mike Mayock- borders on pure lunacy. What some guy says on TV translates little to actually performing in the position and succeeding.

 

I watched that Bills/ Titans game on the NFL Network this morning, and have to agree that the 'Tampa 2' defense is done. Its reliance on undersized, quick athletes has seen its time. Give me a solid 3-4, move Maybin to a pass rushing OLB and let it be. The D needs to get bigger over all, and a change in defense would help. Scrap the 'Tampa 2'!

 

Modrak and Guy have got to go. A real team president/ GM is exactly what is needed. The Bills front office have been chasing their collective tails this past decade, with no apparent plan in place to build a contender. No matter who is at head coach, a real GM is needed to BUILD the team. Russ 'Barnum & Bailey' Brandon is more interested in obtaining circus side shows (Owens, Vick) to sell seats than BUILD a winning team. They need to have a united plan, then they can go about restructuring the roster towards improvement.

 

Buddy Nix is back with the Bills, and just in time. He should assume Modrak's post as Director of College Scouting and be allowed to bring in his own people to the scouting staff. The only downside ofcourse, is that it will take a full year to see the fruits of those labors since we are currently still under the Modrak regime. An improved scouting staff and talent evaluators is sorely needed, as I have oft-mentioned on this board that between the years 2000-2005, 6 full seasons and with 50 draft picks, only 6 players are still with the team. That is horrendous. Buffalo's 1st round picks this decade have been equally as horrible, with maybe Evans, Lynch, McElvin, Maybin, and Wood earning praise. That's 5 picks out of 12 picks this decade. A horrible waste of picks, and clearly setting the team back. Again, it is clear that our evaluators are terrible.

 

Jon Gruden would be a welcome addition. I like the Allen/ Gruden idea. I also like Floyd Reese, and Ron Wolf. Shottenheimer and 'Marty-ball' would be a great idea for a cold weather stadium like Buffalo. Shanahan would too, but I see him going to a Dallas. Holmgren is also interesting. A Wolf/ Holmgren combo should also work. The only thing that I would add to this, is that the time is now to get some proven people in both the front office and the coaching staff. The time is over for "hot" coordinators, unproven college coaches, or the Cleveland ball-boy. Ralph overreacted by not putting a real football GM in place after Donahoe was fired. Hopefully, he realizes his folly now.

 

I like the idea of bringing Rusty Jones back. While he was running the conditioning program, Buffalo was one of the top 3 league leaders in fitness and overall team conditioning. I hated to see him leave. At issue is that Jones is a native of Chicago, and is currently with the Bears. Could we talk him into returning?

 

I'd love to see a grass field. Something much more fundamentally elemental about grass over turf. I'm sure that this is a cost saving measure by Ralph, though. If selling the naming rights of the stadium would bring in the extra revenue to change to grass and field a real GM and coaching staff, than I am with it too.

[Red]

You forgot to mention the return of the red endzones and new retro-inspired unis.

 

GM

Carl Peterson

Dan Reeves

Ted Thompson

Pat Kirwan

 

Head Coach

Russ Grimm

Marty Mornhingweg

Ron Rivera

 

OC

Joe Philbin

Joe Arians

Steve Addazio

 

DC

Joe Vitt

Jim Hasslett

Dom Capers

Juan Castillo

 

Don't like the GM's, and enough of coordinators given the reins. Mularkey, Williams, and Jauron are enough!

 

I want Super Bowl winners at the GM level and HC level.

 

Give me Bruce Allen, Floyd Reese, Ron Wolf or even Holmgren/ Shanahan in a coach/ GM role.

 

I want Gruden, Shottenheimer, Holmgren or Shanahan as head coach.

 

Whoever they want as assistants is up to them.

[billnutinphoenix]

There is no salary cap on GM's, coaches and assistant coaches...That's where I'd do my spending...