San-O Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Out here on Fox Sports Radio Lofton interviewing Levy. Brought up being a G.M. in Buffalo. I was wondering if Marv would be very uncomfortable discussing, but did't go into much detail other than Jauron hire. Yikes. Just anticipating any response was making me cringe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Out here on Fox Sports Radio Lofton interviewing Levy. Brought up being a G.M. in Buffalo. I was wondering if Marv would be very uncomfortable discussing, but did't go into much detail other than Jauron hire. Yikes. Just anticipating any response was making me cringe. What did he say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Was he impressed by his lists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjprime Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Was he impressed by his lists? I thought it was Greggo that had had the lists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) What did he say? I can't respond to your question because I didn't hear the Loften interview. However, I do remember Marv commenting on WGR shortly after Jauron was fired and was asked to comment on the firing. His comments were surprisingly blunt because he is normally very diplomatic and discreet. He intensely stated that it was his opinion that Jauron should not have been fired and he should have been given more time to turn this franchise around. He was very clear that he felt Jauron was being treated unfairly and that he was being used as a scapegoat. You are well aware of my view of Levy as a GM. So there is no point rehashing the disasterous results of his tenure. He is a good man who was ill-equipped for the job. The person who has damaged this franchise is the owner. Selecting Levy and then Brandon to follow him was not only stupid but also very weird. It has been obvious to me for a very long time that the owner has no business making football decisions. Since he is the owner he can do whatever he wants to do, without anyone having the ability to stop him. The results speak for itself. Being incompetent is not his main problem. If that was the case he could still get by by hiring qualified people to run the operation. His liability is that he has not been aware of how unfit he is to make football decisions. Edited September 10, 2011 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 He does make a valid point. Considering what little talent Jauron was given to work with by the GM at the time, it's no wonder he didn't win much. I do remember Marv commenting on WGR shortly after Jauron was fired and was asked to comment on the firing. His comments were surprisingly blunt because he is normally very diplomatic and discreet. He intensely stated that it was his opinion that Jauron should not have been fired and he should have been given more time to turn this franchise around. He was very clear that he felt Jauron was being treated unfairly and that he was being used as a scapegoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 He does make a valid point. Considering what little talent Jauron was given to work with by the GM at the time, it's no wonder he didn't win much. Jauron is a career loser. He had one winning season in 13 years as a head coach with two franchises (three if you count the partial year he spent with Detroit), and that year his team was defeated in the first playoff game. For anyone to defend keeping him on as head coach with a straight face is to be in complete denial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevWarRifleman Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 'It's hard to be a GM in the NFL.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amstel Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 He just isnt a good HC. He maybe a good position coach or even DC but not HC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I love Marv Levy, and I would expect him to defend Dick Jauron...but make no mistake, the Bills greatest head coach, acting as GM, hired one of the franchies' truly awful head coaches. Sure, DJ didn't have a hugely talented roster, but I don't think he could coach the Patriots, at their best talent wise, to a winning record. Nobody ever improved under Jauron, and he was guilty (while with the Bears too) of coaching not to lose, rather than coaching to win...his teams were dull, miserable to watch, and, honestly, I would seriously question whether the best players on the Bills roster, in those years, were actually playing on Sundays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I often think Jauron was under-rated as a coach. He simply had too few NFL caliber players. He achieved 7-9 records despite having 4-12 talent. Look at Jauron's staff. Bobby April was a great ST coach. Perry Fewell was a very good DC. We were an OC away from having a great coaching staff. Obviously, Jauron wasn't a fiery leader. Statements like "It's hard to win in the NFL" aren't what fans - or players - want to hear from their leader. Nonetheless, the team played hard and mostly played up to their potential. But the ceiling was low because of years of bad drafts and poor personnel moves. I am happy with the Nix/Gailey combo so far and don't want to go back. But I do think Jauron is somewhat better than his record or his reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweatpantsjoe Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I often think Jauron was under-rated as a coach. He simply had too few NFL caliber players. He achieved 7-9 records despite having 4-12 talent. That 07 team was an absolute mess as far as talent goes, but they only went 7-9 because the Jets were TERRIBLE and the Dolphins were 1-15 that year. I'd stop giving him so much credit because those were 4 easy wins for the Bills. As far as their other wins that year go...Baltimore was a bad team, and they were the only team Miami beat that year, the Bengals were bad and the Bills haven't lost to them since the 88 AFC Championship, The Redskins win on the road was a good win but they just had lost Sean Taylor so their minds obviously weren't all on football that week. As far as the 06 team goes, do you really want to give credit to a team that lost to the Lions during those years? Once again they beat up on the have nots of the NFL that year to get them to a respectable 7-9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Marv was a pretty good coach but not a good GM and he knew it (IMO) that is why he got out of the game quick. Jauron was a bad coach and terrible evaluator of talent, too many of his choices were wrong and you could see it, in preseason (see Greer, Freddy others as examples). I think some players liked him but after the 1st year, I know I couldn't stand him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Jauron sucked he drafted poorly and built a speed Tampa 2 defense in a cold weather environment. His players rarely developed and his teams played not lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton's Arm Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I love Marv Levy, and I would expect him to defend Dick Jauron...but make no mistake, the Bills greatest head coach, acting as GM, hired one of the franchies' truly awful head coaches. Sure, DJ didn't have a hugely talented roster, but I don't think he could coach the Patriots, at their best talent wise, to a winning record. Nobody ever improved under Jauron, and he was guilty (while with the Bears too) of coaching not to lose, rather than coaching to win...his teams were dull, miserable to watch, and, honestly, I would seriously question whether the best players on the Bills roster, in those years, were actually playing on Sundays. I agree with the heart of your critique of Jauron. (And also with those who pointed out that Jauron's wins generally came against lousy teams.) If I was going to nitpick, I'd say that he could probably have coached the very best Patriots teams (talent-wise) to a 9-7 or 10-6 record, only to go 0-1 in the playoffs. A season like that seems to be Jauron's ceiling. Jauron was not the passive victim of bad personnel moves. As a head coach he bore a significant share of the responsibility for those moves. Consider the first round of the 2006 draft! The Whitner and McCargo selections seem to have Jauron's fingerprints all over them. I'm not trying to put all the blame on Jauron here. As GM, it was Marv's responsibility to tell his head coach no if that head coach wants to make a terrible personnel move. It is not immediately clear how Jauron was able to ascend from being a mediocre defensive coordinator to a second or third rate head coach. Part of it may have been that he was in the right place at the right time: he became Detroit's interim head coach after their head coach was fired, and used that as a springboard to land Chicago's head coaching gig the next year. After being fired by Chicago, he once again became Detriot's defensive coordinator. Later, the Lions fired their head coach again, and again made Jauron their interim head coach. If I'm a head coach for the Lions, I do not want to make Jauron my defensive coordinator! Jauron played RB in college before becoming a DB in the pros. He got his start in coaching as a DBs coach. All of this may or may not be related to the fact that while he was head coach, the Bills used nearly all their early picks on DBs and RBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I can't respond to your question because I didn't hear the Loften interview. However, I do remember Marv commenting on WGR shortly after Jauron was fired and was asked to comment on the firing. His comments were surprisingly blunt because he is normally very diplomatic and discreet. He intensely stated that it was his opinion that Jauron should not have been fired and he should have been given more time to turn this franchise around. He was very clear that he felt Jauron was being treated unfairly and that he was being used as a scapegoat. Guess according to the article in the Syracuse paper today, he also thinks lrtting Trent go was a mistake Alomg with Lil Donte etc..he still loves all his draft picks..can't believe he did not say Maybin should still be here Is there really any question on Marv's performance as a GM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjprime Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 (edited) Guess according to the article in the Syracuse paper today, he also thinks lrtting Trent go was a mistake Alomg with Lil Donte etc..he still loves all his draft picks..can't believe he did not say Maybin should still be here Is there really any question on Marv's performance as a GM? Granted he pointed out he wasn't privy to the inner workings going on at One Bills Drive right now, but I'd have to agree. Marv seemed stuck on his picks and could of beens. Anyone watching football early last season or when Trent got some reps in Oakland this preseason knows he's done. Whitner isn't a bad player (maybe a bad person if you listen to some Cincy fans) but was drafted WAY too high and had too big of expectations attached to him, not to mention his own self-view being a bit inflated. Poz, when not injured was solid but he chose to leave, not really the fault of OBD. Simple stuff covered in the media that Marv didn't need inside info to figure out, just watch a game or pick up the sports page. Edited September 11, 2011 by tjprime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Marv is quoted in an article this morning as being "stunned a little bit" by some of the players the Bills have sent packing. The players noted? Evans (understandable), Poz (iffy), Whitner (ridiculous), and Trent Edwards (unbelievable). Marv Levy was a great stabilizing influence and leader for the Bills as a HC, but was completely overmatched as a GM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 The Bills are rebuilding now because Marv and Mr. Smithers were so bad from 2006-09. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 Jauron was not the passive victim of bad personnel moves. As a head coach he bore a significant share of the responsibility for those moves. Consider the first round of the 2006 draft! The Whitner and McCargo selections seem to have Jauron's fingerprints all over them. I'm not trying to put all the blame on Jauron here. As GM, it was Marv's responsibility to tell his head coach no if that head coach wants to make a terrible personnel move. This is key. It's true during the Marv years but even more in the Brandon years - Jauron was the top football man in the organization then. Brandon was probably responsible for TO, but he wasn't the one evaluating scouting reports and choosing the likes of Aaron Maybin. That had to be Jauron. The team's talent was not that bad until Marv/Russ/Dick drove it into the ground. Worthless UFA additions, bad draft picks, it just dragged on and on. Donahoe left unfocused talent, but it was burned off instead of refocused. Spikes, Fletcher, Adams, Milloy - we had the heart of a good defense until we made them all expendable with a worthless scheme change (thanks, Jauron). QB was a mess that was never seriously addressed, but we had some decent pieces on offense with Peters, Moulds, Evans, McGahee, etc. Run into the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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