Hard to attract top coach/GM, even for $$$

[John Adams]

The location (Buffalo) and talent (nearly none) will be hard enough to overcome but the Bills also have an owner who won't be around for too long (probably) and future ownership/locale that is completely unknown. This is not the kind of situation that any top coach/GM has any interest in.

 

Imagine you're Bill Cowher and every team wants you. You look at Buffalo, not knowing if you'll have any payroll in a year to sign a single player because the team ownership may be in flux for a year or two. No thanks.

 

The Bills "top" prospects will be guys like Schottenheimer who have been out for a while and want back in.

[PistolPeaTear]

The location (Buffalo) and talent (nearly none) will be hard enough to overcome but the Bills also have an owner who won't be around for too long (probably) and future ownership/locale that is completely unknown. This is not the kind of situation that any top coach/GM has any interest in.

 

Imagine you're Bill Cowher and every team wants you. You look at Buffalo, not knowing if you'll have any payroll in a year to sign a single player because the team ownership may be in flux for a year or two. No thanks.

 

The Bills "top" prospects will be guys like Schottenheimer who have been out for a while and want back in.

 

While I doubt that any top guy out there like Cowher, Holmgren, etc. would ever come here, I don't think a new owner would come in here and fire a sacred cow like any of them would be if they so happened to come here.

[8-8 Forever?]

The location (Buffalo) and talent (nearly none) will be hard enough to overcome but the Bills also have an owner who won't be around for too long (probably) and future ownership/locale that is completely unknown. This is not the kind of situation that any top coach/GM has any interest in.

 

Imagine you're Bill Cowher and every team wants you. You look at Buffalo, not knowing if you'll have any payroll in a year to sign a single player because the team ownership may be in flux for a year or two. No thanks.

 

The Bills "top" prospects will be guys like Schottenheimer who have been out for a while and want back in.

 

Well said.

[8-8 Forever?]

While I doubt that any top guy out there like Cowher, Holmgren, etc. would ever come here, I don't think a new owner would come in here and fire a sacred cow like any of them would be if they so happened to come here.

 

If I just paid $700 million for something, I'm bringing my own people in.

[John Adams]

If I just paid $700 million for something, I'm bringing my own people in.

 

More like a billion. The point is that no top coach would want to join an organization with ownership in flux. They won't know if the organization will be able to sign any players once they join the team. Anyone think Cowher wants to coach the likes of Demetrius Bell for 5 years? No way. He'd want to fire a bunch of players and replace them with better ones, and if the ownership is unstable, he won't be able to do that.

 

That's why the Bills will be looking a the next tier of head coaches below the Cowhers and Shanahans. Holmgren is an outside shot because the bloom is off his rose after Seattle but he'd still cost a ton of dough. I suspect Haslett and Schottenheimer are the top guys in Ralph's budget.

[Reed83HOF]

More like a billion. The point is that no top coach would want to join an organization with ownership in flux. They won't know if the organization will be able to sign any players once they join the team. Anyone think Cowher wants to coach the likes of Demetrius Bell for 5 years? No way. He'd want to fire a bunch of players and replace them with better ones, and if the ownership is unstable, he won't be able to do that.

 

That's why the Bills will be looking a the next tier of head coaches below the Cowhers and Shanahans. Holmgren is an outside shot because the bloom is off his rose after Seattle but he'd still cost a ton of dough. I suspect Haslett and Schottenheimer are the top guys in Ralph's budget.

 

As much as I like Cowher, I am sick of the Pittsburgh connection in Buffalo, Donahoe, Mularkey, Clements have just left a bad taste in my mouth (although I did like what LeBeau did when he was here). I am not comfortable with the big name coaches who want total control. It just doesn't work out. Years ago I recall reading that Parcells lobbied against the Giants taking LT and that if he was the GM, he wouldn't have chosen him. It is too much for one person to handle successfully. I think you need a good talent evaluator, someone who can put a vision of the team together and set out to get it, someone who can put the right personalities together to achieve a cohesive team in a GM and an HC who is on the same page as the GM. I honestly will take a stab and say that it will be Greg Gabriel as GM and I wouldn't be surprised to see Haslett as the HC.

[Red]

The location (Buffalo) and talent (nearly none) will be hard enough to overcome but the Bills also have an owner who won't be around for too long (probably) and future ownership/locale that is completely unknown. This is not the kind of situation that any top coach/GM has any interest in.

 

Imagine you're Bill Cowher and every team wants you. You look at Buffalo, not knowing if you'll have any payroll in a year to sign a single player because the team ownership may be in flux for a year or two. No thanks.

 

The Bills "top" prospects will be guys like Schottenheimer who have been out for a while and want back in.

 

Yeah, but I don't know that I agree with this as you are forgetting about the massive ego's of the coaches and GM's out there.

 

Personally, I get excited about the idea of dealing, drafting, and building a champion. As Parcells and Polian have demonstrated, it does not take that long to make positive changes. Often, within 2-3 seasons there is a complete reversal of fortune.

 

Yes, money is a huge factor and we all know Ralph gets all nervous about a football man having all of the power. But clearly, Brandon is better suited in marketing or business, and we need a real football GM. Fire Modrak and Guy. Promote Nix. Get a real Pro Personnel man. Rebuild the scouting department.

 

I think the only thing inhibiting some of the more respected coaches and GM's out there is the question of just how much is Ralph going to commit to truly building this club. If Ralph is serious, and makes the necessary organizational changes, I don't see any candidates having an issue.

[Red]

As much as I like Cowher, I am sick of the Pittsburgh connection in Buffalo, Donahoe, Mularkey, Clements have just left a bad taste in my mouth (although I did like what LeBeau did when he was here). I am not comfortable with the big name coaches who want total control. It just doesn't work out. Years ago I recall reading that Parcells lobbied against the Giants taking LT and that if he was the GM, he wouldn't have chosen him. It is too much for one person to handle successfully. I think you need a good talent evaluator, someone who can put a vision of the team together and set out to get it, someone who can put the right personalities together to achieve a cohesive team in a GM and an HC who is on the same page as the GM. I honestly will take a stab and say that it will be Greg Gabriel as GM and I wouldn't be surprised to see Haslett as the HC.

 

But Gabriel is an unproven.

 

He has a tremendous record with the Giants, I get that.

 

But let's look at the Bills front office during the Super Bowl years. Polian led the unit, but it also included AJ Smith, Buddy Nix, and the late John Butler. Polian left and built Carolina into a contender. Butler assumed the reins in Buffalo, and we returned to the playoffs. Butler, Smith, and Nix left for San Diego, and then built them into a contender.

 

My point is that you don't reach for unproven guys (as the Bills have done with their coaches this decade). You have to earn the position. You've probably heard the phrase "the cream rises to the top". Handing it over to an unproven guy, regardless of his record, is not best in this situation.

 

Buffalo needs to set about getting the front office stocked with talent and future GM's. Is Gabriel one of these? Alot of people seem to think so. He would be a nice hire, but for something more in line with the Pro Personnel Department. He could replace John Guy. Let Nix take over for Modrak. Hire a real, proven GM who has done it before, knows what it takes, and can lead by example (Reese, Allen, Wolf).

 

I, for one, am personally tired of experiments.

[Reed83HOF]

But Gabriel is an unproven.

 

He has a tremendous record with the Giants, I get that.

 

But let's look at the Bills front office during the Super Bowl years. Polian led the unit, but it also included AJ Smith, Buddy Nix, and the late John Butler. Polian left and built Carolina into a contender. Butler assumed the reins in Buffalo, and we returned to the playoffs. Butler, Smith, and Nix left for San Diego, and then built them into a contender.

 

My point is that you don't reach for unproven guys (as the Bills have done with their coaches this decade). You have to earn the position. You've probably heard the phrase "the cream rises to the top". Handing it over to an unproven guy, regardless of his record, is not best in this situation.

 

Buffalo needs to set about getting the front office stocked with talent and future GM's. Is Gabriel one of these? Alot of people seem to think so. He would be a nice hire, but for something more in line with the Pro Personnel Department. He could replace John Guy. Let Nix take over for Modrak. Hire a real, proven GM who has done it before, knows what it takes, and can lead by example (Reese, Allen, Wolf).

 

I, for one, am personally tired of experiments.

 

Reese or Wolf wouldn't be horribile choices.

 

I am not sure how I feel about Allen...I know Ralph won't go for the HC/GM combo, I don't know if I see him going big name again after TD...I see a B-lo native who has worked for the Bills as a scout, worked for 16 yrs with the Giants with great success. Just my guess...If I was RW, it would be Wolf and Shanny...

[John Adams]

Yeah, but I don't know that I agree with this as you are forgetting about the massive ego's of the coaches and GM's out there.

 

Personally, I get excited about the idea of dealing, drafting, and building a champion. As Parcells and Polian have demonstrated, it does not take that long to make positive changes. Often, within 2-3 seasons there is a complete reversal of fortune.

 

Yes, money is a huge factor and we all know Ralph gets all nervous about a football man having all of the power. But clearly, Brandon is better suited in marketing or business, and we need a real football GM. Fire Modrak and Guy. Promote Nix. Get a real Pro Personnel man. Rebuild the scouting department.

 

I think the only thing inhibiting some of the more respected coaches and GM's out there is the question of just how much is Ralph going to commit to truly building this club. If Ralph is serious, and makes the necessary organizational changes, I don't see any candidates having an issue.

 

Your post misses the point about unstable ownership. Ralph isn't going to be around long, whether he commits or not. No coach--especially one of the elites with the big egos--will want to commit 5-10 years to turning around a franchise when they have no idea about the future ownership.

 

If I'm Cowher, I see Buffalo like this: Owner won't be around in 3 years (probably). After that, franchise sits in uncertainty for at least a season as new ownership takes over...that is a lost season. New owners may or may not be on same page with spending. May move franchise. Those are possible other lost seasons. Why would Cowher want a headache like that when he can pick and choose his next opportunity?

 

(And all this overlooks the fact that the team blows right now, the stadium is nothing special, and Buffalo doesn't have a lot of drag.)