Trent is Unstoppable Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby April is the best Special Teams coach in the NFL. Not to long ago he was being considered for a HC job in Buffalo. Why would we ever let him go??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLBILLS15 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby April is the best Special Teams coach in the NFL. Not to long ago he was being considered for a HC job in Buffalo. Why would we ever let him go??? Just looking around for this on multiple websites. I know we cleaned house but April was our best coach the last couple years without a question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo1983 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Yes its very sad to see someone like this gone. Maybe the next coach will come in and want to keep him here. Lets just hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 our best coach got us to 7-9 and worse for the past 4 seasons... next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kettle Creek Football Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Special "Forces" this year, were not what they once were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Dareus Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Well the league changed special teams rules last off season and April couldn't adjust to the rule changes at all. April was great, but who says he is gone for sure? The next coach will determine his future unless he is signed by a new team between now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I said in another thread - the biggest things that made April a good ST coach were 1) Moorman and 2) the Bills keeping a relative high number of players specifically for STs (or playing starters on STs - remember when Fletcher used to cause havoc on STs?). I personally will be glad to see more emphasis for players on the roster being chosen for contributions on 'regular' off/def positions and less on ST 'specialists'. I personally think great STs is most about the emphasis the team wants to put on it - April is fine but I can't believe all the worship he gets here - he is definitely replaceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeBillsDrive Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon/Nix had a special sit-down with April to gently hint that they'd make a special plea to the next HC to give him special consideration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemedic Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 our best coach got us to 7-9 and worse for the past 4 seasons... next He wasn't the head coach............ The ST did slip this year but what do you expect with turnover like he's had to deal with the past 4+ seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firemedic Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I said in another thread - the biggest things that made April a good ST coach were 1) Moorman and 2) the Bills keeping a relative high number of players specifically for STs (or playing starters on STs - remember when Fletcher used to cause havoc on STs?). I personally will be glad to see more emphasis for players on the roster being chosen for contributions on 'regular' off/def positions and less on ST 'specialists'. I personally think great STs is most about the emphasis the team wants to put on it - April is fine but I can't believe all the worship he gets here - he is definitely replaceable. I bet the Rams thought he was replacable, too. We were top 3 ST during his tenure except possibly this year, I haven't seen the stats yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Technically he's not fired... just he's free to pursue other options until our new HC can make a decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonInBuffalo Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Special "Forces" this year, were not what they once were.I agree, and he has no excuses, since the roster was stacked full of people who played almost exclusively on ST. (Wendling, Corto, T. Johnson, Parrish, ... ) There was a big dropoff this season, especially in some of the earlier games. I noticed on a number of occasions early in the season when they didn't have the proper personnel on the field for a ST play, and they either had to run somebody on at the last second, or call timeout. That's just lack of preparation on April's part. It's his job to put together all the teams, after the 45 man roster for Sunday has been determined. If anybody assigned to one of the teams gets injured it's his job to identify the replacement and make sure he gets on the field. In addition, some of the problems that McKelvin and Parrish had also have to reflect negatively on April. It's his job to give McKelvin last minute instructions on that kickoff in the NE game. It's his job to remind Parrish when it is/isn't a good time to be taking unnecessary risks. On top of that, mistakes were made that weren't corrected. One obvious example is Byrd getting called for the same penalty (unsportsmanlike - pushing somebody out of bounds and not letting him back in) two games in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLBILLS15 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 our best coach got us to 7-9 and worse for the past 4 seasons... next hope you know special teams is only 1/3 of how to win a football game. Not like he called the plays for our horrible offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsRUs Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I believe it is customary to fire all coaching personnel. A new HC usuallly brings in his own team. This way everyone has enough time to look for a new job or interview with the new HC if he so desires. Its the decent thing to do. Its up to the new HC if he wants to keep Bobby April around. There's no point keeping him on a leash only to be let go later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I agree, and he has no excuses, since the roster was stacked full of people who played almost exclusively on ST. (Wendling, Corto, T. Johnson, Parrish, ... )There was a big dropoff this season, especially in some of the earlier games. Yes...his special teams went from number 1 in the league multiple times in a row, all the way to 7th best in the NFL this year... That's how good he is. When we are the 7th best ST in the NFL, it seems like we are "horrible" by comparison. FYI: The majority of the loss was in our kickoff returns...if we had McGee or McKelvin back there for more of the year, we likely would have finished no worse than 3rd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby April was a big reason why we sucked this year....giving him too much say in personal matters got us signing guys off the street and converting safetys to LB bc Ashlee Palmer and Jon Corto have no business playing defense for this or any team. Great ST coacg, should not get a say in personal matters IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Also, Why did George Catavalos the DB Coach get fired? He helped create one of the best pass defenses in the NFL this past season, including a franchise record 28 INT's and a rookie pro-bowler in Jairus Byrd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I said in another thread - the biggest things that made April a good ST coach were 1) Moorman and 2) the Bills keeping a relative high number of players specifically for STs (or playing starters on STs - remember when Fletcher used to cause havoc on STs?). I personally will be glad to see more emphasis for players on the roster being chosen for contributions on 'regular' off/def positions and less on ST 'specialists'. I personally think great STs is most about the emphasis the team wants to put on it - April is fine but I can't believe all the worship he gets here - he is definitely replaceable. remember the wade days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby April was a big reason why we sucked this year....giving him too much say in personal matters got us signing guys off the street and converting safetys to LB bc Ashlee Palmer and Jon Corto have no business playing defense for this or any team. Great ST coacg, should not get a say in personal matters IMO Can't really disagree with any of this. April was great but part fo the reason we struggled with depth (especially at LB) is becuase we had too many one dimensional players. I love Corto and he's a great story but he is not a NFL player. Wendling is a great STer but cannot play on defense. Hopefully, the new staff keeps STs as important but instead of career Sters, we have guys like Ellison and nic harris as the key guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Why was Bobby April fired? Bobby April is the best Special Teams coach in the NFL. Ask Bill Cowher. He's the one who fired him; supposedly because they didn't get along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I believe it is customary to fire all coaching personnel. A new HC usuallly brings in his own team. This way everyone has enough time to look for a new job or interview with the new HC if he so desires. Its the decent thing to do. Its up to the new HC if he wants to keep Bobby April around. There's no point keeping him on a leash only to be let go later. There's this. There's also the thought that after April -- Jauron's assistant head coach, remember -- was passed over in favor of Fewell for the interim job, he may not WANT to stick around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extrahammer Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 There's this. There's also the thought that after April -- Jauron's assistant head coach, remember -- was passed over in favor of Fewell for the interim job, he may not WANT to stick around... I liked seeing Fewell and April on the sidelines during the games, their emotions were so high especially when good plays were made. They really seemed to be working together as a team on a lot of game decisions. I'd almost rather they stay over the idea of Billick as our HC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I agree, and he has no excuses, since the roster was stacked full of people who played almost exclusively on ST. (Wendling, Corto, T. Johnson, Parrish, ... ) There was a big dropoff this season, especially in some of the earlier games. I noticed on a number of occasions early in the season when they didn't have the proper personnel on the field for a ST play, and they either had to run somebody on at the last second, or call timeout. That's just lack of preparation on April's part. It's his job to put together all the teams, after the 45 man roster for Sunday has been determined. If anybody assigned to one of the teams gets injured it's his job to identify the replacement and make sure he gets on the field. In addition, some of the problems that McKelvin and Parrish had also have to reflect negatively on April. It's his job to give McKelvin last minute instructions on that kickoff in the NE game. It's his job to remind Parrish when it is/isn't a good time to be taking unnecessary risks. On top of that, mistakes were made that weren't corrected. One obvious example is Byrd getting called for the same penalty (unsportsmanlike - pushing somebody out of bounds and not letting him back in) two games in a row. ALL OF THAT Face it, the League changed the rules because of what April was doing with the wedge, he said so himself in so many words. There was another rule change that he said would directly affect his (and only his) squad's performance when the season began, but I forget what exactly it was. But without those two advantages, ST, although stacked with players and with two of maybe the best return men in the league back there, this season was a total flop for April. Without his tactics, which the league obviously felt were unfair and/or dangerous to opposing teams, April's unit fell apart. ST led the team in penalties to start the season, with offsides, blocks out of bounds, blocks in the back, you NAME it, they DID it. And McKelvin and Parrish's goofs WERE things that he should have been smart enough to mention, as these guys are obviously no smarter than trained rats. One conversation with them shoulda told him THAT. At the very LEAST Parrish should have never been left to do what HE did, having come after McKelvin's game-changing gaff. His credentials went out the window with this season's crappy performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordByrd Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I agree, and he has no excuses, since the roster was stacked full of people who played almost exclusively on ST. (Wendling, Corto, T. Johnson, Parrish, ... ) There was a big dropoff this season, especially in some of the earlier games. I noticed on a number of occasions early in the season when they didn't have the proper personnel on the field for a ST play, and they either had to run somebody on at the last second, or call timeout. That's just lack of preparation on April's part. It's his job to put together all the teams, after the 45 man roster for Sunday has been determined. If anybody assigned to one of the teams gets injured it's his job to identify the replacement and make sure he gets on the field. In addition, some of the problems that McKelvin and Parrish had also have to reflect negatively on April. It's his job to give McKelvin last minute instructions on that kickoff in the NE game. It's his job to remind Parrish when it is/isn't a good time to be taking unnecessary risks. On top of that, mistakes were made that weren't corrected. One obvious example is Byrd getting called for the same penalty (unsportsmanlike - pushing somebody out of bounds and not letting him back in) two games in a row. thanks for bolding his job for us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharper802 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 hope you know special teams is only 1/3 of how to win a football game. Not like he called the plays for our horrible offense. It's not even 1/3 when you take out extra point trys. ST are only important when they suck. You get a kick blocked, miss a chip shot FG, or give up a KO return it costs you more than you gain from it. Bills had best ST in the NFL and what did it mean - jackshat or in other terms 7-9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 our best coach got us to 7-9 and worse for the past 4 seasons... next This is so illogical and poorly thought out that it's laughable. Should we also say "Jairus Byrd got us to 7-9. Next"? Putting any blame whatsoever for the Bills record on Bobby April would be like blaming a McDonald's manager for the recession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I said in another thread - the biggest things that made April a good ST coach were 1) Moorman and 2) the Bills keeping a relative high number of players specifically for STs (or playing starters on STs - remember when Fletcher used to cause havoc on STs?). I personally will be glad to see more emphasis for players on the roster being chosen for contributions on 'regular' off/def positions and less on ST 'specialists'. I personally think great STs is most about the emphasis the team wants to put on it - April is fine but I can't believe all the worship he gets here - he is definitely replaceable. First, people factor Moorman out of the equation. He appears in only one of the four teams and everyone is aware of how terrific he is. Second, keeping maybe the 47th and 48th player on a team as special teams guys just doesn't make all that much of a difference, it just doesn't. Guys that low are at best journeymen and most realistically they're just another body and can be found on the wire in two seconds if you need someone. Our problems have not been caused by having fewer third-stringers than other teams. April has been terrific because he's a terrific coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon/Nix had a special sit-down with April to gently hint that they'd make a special plea to the next HC to give him special consideration That's what I'm hoping too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Also, Why did George Catavalos the DB Coach get fired? He helped create one of the best pass defenses in the NFL this past season, including a franchise record 28 INT's and a rookie pro-bowler in Jairus Byrd... That's a bit more understandable, IMHO. We don't know what schemes the new coach will bring in, and Catavalos might not fit in. He's also much more likely to still be available if the the new HC likes him than April is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Can't really disagree with any of this. April was great but part fo the reason we struggled with depth (especially at LB) is becuase we had too many one dimensional players. I love Corto and he's a great story but he is not a NFL player. Wendling is a great STer but cannot play on defense. Hopefully, the new staff keeps STs as important but instead of career Sters, we have guys like Ellison and nic harris as the key guys. No third stringers would have been any better than the guys we used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 There's this. There's also the thought that after April -- Jauron's assistant head coach, remember -- was passed over in favor of Fewell for the interim job, he may not WANT to stick around... Ahhhh, good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChimp Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Ahhhh, good point. Just wondering. April's squad's performance this season didn't bother you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ever Since '86 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby may have wanted to look elsewhere anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kettle Creek Football Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Bobby April is the best Special Teams coach in the NFL. Not to long ago he was being considered for a HC job in Buffalo. Why would we ever let him go??? Perhaps he wanted to be released? I'm sure he was pissed when he was passed over as interim coach for Fewell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Amazing how many people read so little about what actually happened with the coaches. They WERE NOT RELEASED FROM THEIR CONTRACTS! They were given permission to pursue other positions. Since their contracts weren't voided, the new coach has the option of keeping them on. Read the articles, folks. Reading comprehension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Seems to me that a few games were lost this season because of special teams. If it were just the fumbles it would be different, that's just bad luck sometimes. It was the players fielding punts at the wrong time, missed assignments, stupid mistakes by players who should have been coached better then they were. It almost makes me wonder if some of Jauron's stupid rubbed off on April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kettle Creek Football Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Amazing how many people read so little about what actually happened with the coaches. They WERE NOT RELEASED FROM THEIR CONTRACTS! They were given permission to pursue other positions. Since their contracts weren't voided, the new coach has the option of keeping them on. Read the articles, folks. Reading comprehension. It's all in the "semantics." : ) http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/...over-semantics/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 our best coach got us to 7-9 and worse for the past 4 seasons... next You're absolutely right, he did get us to 7-9 - the team would have been a 5 win team without him. Good to know someone finally acknowledges his contributions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkFast Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 A new coach has to be able to bring in his own staff. Period. April's a casualty in that, but you MUST allow a new HC to name his own staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 There's this. There's also the thought that after April -- Jauron's assistant head coach, remember -- was passed over in favor of Fewell for the interim job, he may not WANT to stick around... I heard the same thing, that he was pretty upset about not getting the interim HC job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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