TimGraham Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Editor's note: I had a couple of requests to start a new thread because v2.0 was beginning to get a little unwieldy. I've split off everything beginning with Tim's latest round of replies into this one. Members might also be advised to read and understand "A point of emphasis on manners" before posting in this thread. And as always, Tim, thanks for agreeing to do this. -LC Tim, I'm as excited as anybody at the prospect of Bill Cower coaching the Bills, but if that doesn't happen and we start interviewing coordinators, I've heard Ron Rivera and Russ Grimm and Leslie Frazier mentioned. Why has Jason Garrett fallen off everyones radar? 2 years ago he was such a hot prospect that JJ gave home 3 mil a year to OC. After a down year in 2008, the Cowboys offense looks pretty impressive again this year. If we want an offensive minded coach, shouldn't he be high on our list or did I miss something? Thanks for your input. Garrett hasn't only been ignored by the media for the Bills opening, but for ALL openings. I think that's because he's so beholden to the Cowboys that he's entrenched. I'm not privy to what's in his contract, but considering his salary, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave away some of his freedom to look around for head coaching jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Hey Tim if Cowher were to come to Buffalo what upcoming free agents would you see Cowher going after? Also Tim what free agents do you see Buffalo targeting? I think Derrick Johnson of KC, Chad Pennington, Jason Fergueson, and Osi U from the Giants via trade are some compelling names to me seeing as they are all down in stock and could be had at a reasonable price. Umenyiora is the only player on that list who does anything for me. Pennington is shot. He's coming off a third shoulder surgery, and this one could be a career-ender. The best he can hope for is a team taking a flyer on him as their backup. Ferguson is a decent player, and maybe he helps serve as a stopgap if you convert from 4-3 to a 3-4, but he has a lot of mileage on that body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Hey Tim, Is there anything to rumor that Cowher will go back to CBS instead of coming to Buffalo? The rumors of him coming and then not coming, have changed about 10 times now. Any word on your end? A lot of gamesmanship going on right now. I wouldn't be surprised if Cowher is pulling some media strings to help drive up his price. If teams get nervous that he might actually return to CBS, then they might throw more money at him. Or maybe he simply doesn't like what's out there. We're left to guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Tim - simple question - why such a gross lack of news on the coaching front? Are they really just keeping a tight lip on it? Or do they even really have any candidates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 Tim - simple question - why such a gross lack of news on the coaching front? Are they really just keeping a tight lip on it? Or do they even really have any candidates? The Bills don't want anybody to know anything about their search. I think there has been an overload of information on this job relative to other job searches I've covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 The Bills don't want anybody to know anything about their search. I think there has been an overload of information on this job relative to other job searches I've covered. Thanks...as a follow up, what is the advantage to being so "stealth" And on another note, any validity to the succession plan rumors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Umenyiora is the only player on that list who does anything for me. Pennington is shot. He's coming off a third shoulder surgery, and this one could be a career-ender. The best he can hope for is a team taking a flyer on him as their backup. Ferguson is a decent player, and maybe he helps serve as a stopgap if you convert from 4-3 to a 3-4, but he has a lot of mileage on that body. People have written Pennington off before. I think that if there is anyone who knows how to come back from injury its him. I think that Ferguson could have 1 year left and thanks to his age could be had at a nice price. I think if we stay 4-3 Derrick Johnson could be an answer at the OLB position he seems like he could be had at a nice price due to his stock being down due to being a bad fit in the 3-4. I think Umenyiora is on the outs on the Giants and if Buffalo stays 4-3 he would be a nice guy to try and catch lighting in a bottle with. I feel that the Bills need to go out and take a lot of low risk high reward chances in free agency and trades. All the guys I mention when at their best have been very good players. Do you feel Buffalo should try and snag guys with high ceilings coming off down years either due to injury or wrong system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Tim, thanks again for visiting as often as you do, especially right after a move. I'm wondering about Buddy Nix. It's often hard to get a handle on just how much decision-making power some of these personnel guys have on their teams. Modrak is a great example. If he was the guy making the picks the last few years, he deserves to be thrown out with the bathwater. But there is a lot of swirling info saying he wasn't the one pulling the trigger, that a lot of his recommendations were ignored and other guys made the early round picks (the ones we largely blew) and went with his recommendations on the later round picks (the ones we've done fairly well on). So my question about Nix is was he making crucial decisions in S.D.? Was he one of the "inner circle" last year with the Bills? How responsible is he for the S.D. drafts of the past 10 years or so and for last year's Bills draft, which right now looks pretty good with the possible exception of Maybin. The choice of Nix has gotten largely positive reaction around the league. Is that because everybody likes him or because they genuinely respect him? And while we're at it ... what about Modrak? Was his input overruled consistently, or is he largely to blame for the past few years? We know that Nix and Modrak are close. Will Modrak stay, do you think? And would that be a good thing or a bad thing? I know this is a lot to ask, and that you may not have much solid info on these questions, but we have almost nothing, so whatever you do have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Tim, What have you heard about all of this Brian Billick static we have been hearing about? He's exactly the kind of coach the Bills would want- experience, offensive mind, tough, and a winner, and yet he has supposedly not been interviewed despite this staff talk. It is all very bizarre... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Tim: I offer a break from the Cowher / coaching queries, though I'm sure that the coaching search is an interesting story to pursue. Jim Kelly often alludes to his wish to be involved with an ownership group, and he maintains that the Bills will never leave Buffalo as long as he has anything to say about it. That'd be music to the ears of most Bills fans. But most view Kelly's statements with a fair measure of skepticism, given his well-publicized business failures and Ralph Wilson's stated intent to hold onto the team for the rest of his life, then have it sold to the highest bidder. From your time covering the team do you get any sense that Kelly actually has the means and/or access to put his money where his mouth is, with regard to the ownership situation? Any informed guesses as to whom Kelly would have assembled for an ownership group? Do you get any sense that Mr. Wilson might change his mind regarding a sale of the team during his lifetime, as recent speculation has suggested? Thanks for taking the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrudginglyPessimistic Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Tim, many thanks for the time and effort you put into communicating with fans on TSW. Its a great service in terms of providing information and perspective. These two-ways also strike me of an example of how modern technology can allow for creation of a new media which provides an improved product through back and forth but controlled conversation. My question is about the Rooney Rule which is a relevant topic for those interested in the Bills since we are looking for an HC. Is there a general opinion of folks in the NFL whether it has been a success? It certainly seems to have been successful to this fan for the most part because it is an approach which deal with the sticky issue of race by requiring opportunity rather than by requiring a hiring quota. On the face of it I think in an incredibly short time as racial politics tend to go we have seen an increase in the hiring of HCs of minority heritage and through both dumb luck and diligent efforts we have seen HCs who happen to be of A-A descent lead teams to SB wins. My sense is that a big part of this success has been that: a. Its more than just an HC focus but the pipeline is being filled with the minority intern coach program b. The NFL sent a message early and hard to DET when Millen used the good ol boy network to hire Mariucci without even the pretense of open interviews that they fined him and DET significantly. c. There is a recognition by all the professional involved that the only way possible to see a minority candidate hired by his second interview is to have him get a first interview. Thus, while I do not think that any serious Bills watcher thinks they are gonna hire Fewell as HC (at least I hope they do not as he is a good guy but we gotta go in a different direction if we want to be different) I think it is great that they have given him a serious interview with 4 hours of talk and the preparation he had to do to present himself will help him a lot the next interview. By even giving him a serious interview the Bills have placed his losing record as an HC in as good a light as possible. I found it quite interesting that Nix talked on one hand about how an HC candidate with past HC experience is preferred but yet they made the effort to travel to MN to talk with Leslie Frazier. What is your sense of the Bills perspective on the Rooney Rule and any general NFL school of thought about it. Is ESPN planning a general look at this program or collected info about efforts to increase coaching by men of minority background? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Hey Tim, In your chat, you chose Billick over Frazier. Who would you pick of anyone not named Cowher? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Tim, Thank you so much for the insight you give us, we all appreciate it! I am not sure how much you know about the former players, Thurman and Jim mostly, having an impact in the current organization. It seems to me these guys are anywhere the Bills are, on the sidelines and locker rooms, and are making their own statements about the Bills. Through Twitter Thurman has released theinformation, including that when Jauron was released that there was going to be a major house cleaning. At the press conference both Thurman and Jim spoke about Cowher. I believe in playing the cards close to the chest as the Bills are doing. Especially when we are on here tracking tail numbers on flights across the country trying to find RW, BN and RB. Are these guys complicating the process any? Are they stool pidgeons set to stir a little buzz amongst the fans? Surely the current organization cannot appreciate if these two are leaking information! What is your take on the former players leaking the information and being so involved with the organization? This question follows along the line of "RunTheDamnBalls" question, which I just noticed, if you would like to just merge your response. Again, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hi, Tim. Just wondering. Any chance we can get this thread in 3-D once ESPN goes to that format next summer? GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurman#1 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Tim, I'm looking for stats on how many games teams lost to injuries this year. Any idea where those might be available? Thanks. Oh, and I'm heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and I'm going to try to hit those restaurants you recommended (with a few others, obviously). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Dear Tim, Why are all of these potential head coaches being such meanies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Hi, Tim. Just wondering. Any chance we can get this thread in 3-D once ESPN goes to that format next summer? GO BILLS!!! A 3-D thread about a one-dimensional writer? I'm all for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Tim, I'm looking for stats on how many games teams lost to injuries this year. Any idea where those might be available? Thanks. Oh, and I'm heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and I'm going to try to hit those restaurants you recommended (with a few others, obviously). I haven't been able to find one. It was the same when I was covering the Sabres. The NHL didn't track them. So what you had to do was call around to the other 29 teams and compile a list. And two of them, including the Leafs, had a policy of not giving out that information. So the list always had problems. I'd imagine it would be similar in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimGraham Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Tim, What is the general consensus around the league about the Nix hire? I think it was Peter King who recently wrote that a Bills' head coaching candidate noted that he was disappointed with the Bills hiring Nix. Is there any truth to that? And if so, what is the made concern with Nix? Also, I strongly urge you to watch this as relating to Cowher hire: Cowher Coming to Buffalo? Peter is connected and doesn't make stuff up or say things for effect. There are a lot of personality issues in the NFL, and I can see a top candidate being turned off by the Nix hire simply because they might have crossed paths at some point. But I personally haven't heard serious backlash within the NFL except from some insiders who would like that have had a crack at interviewing for the GM gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOTONE Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Peter is connected and doesn't make stuff up or say things for effect. There are a lot of personality issues in the NFL, and I can see a top candidate being turned off by the Nix hire simply because they might have crossed paths at some point. But I personally haven't heard serious backlash within the NFL except from some insiders who would like that have had a crack at interviewing for the GM gig. So what you are saying is there was some interest from other GM's around the league for the Bills job. Yet we do our normal knee jerk reaction and hire the closest warm body. I am all for hiring within but this is unprecedented. I know you have to be loyal to those that speak to you in confidence Tim but any insight on who we "could" have had would be great. Also, I agree with you on the Frazier hire. I think he has been looked over for some time now. The only thing that turns me off is he would reportedly hire Al "the ALmanac Saunders to run the offense. While it is exciting we do not have a QB that can actually absorb his massive play book. Any word about Russ Grimm being interviewed for the position as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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