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Two HUGE Coaching Names Who Almost Came to Buffalo


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On his podcast which you can hear below, Tim Graham discussed 2 major coaching who almost came close to coaching in Buffalo.  I’ve never realized these names were so close to signing, and it makes you wonder what could have been.

 

Sean Payton

According to Mike Rodak (Graham’s co-host), Sean Payton said that he wanted to coach in Buffalo.   According to MR Payton flew into Buffalo to interview for the coaching position in 2005 with Marv Levy.  Unfortunately Marv took Dick Jauron instead.  Like most of the decisions Marv made as GM, this one was terrible.  Payton even then, was known as a great QB coach.  It really makes you wonder what he would have done with the QB position, whether he tried to make JP work or if he’d seek out a new QB like a Drew Brees etc.

 

Mike Shannahan 

According to Graham, Buddy Nix went on record that he has 2 big name coaches close to being signed but “couldn’t convince their wives to move to Buffalo.”  While he wouldn’t give Tim any names, TH said that Shannon went on record that he almost coached in Buffalo and speculated that Shanny was one of the names Nix alludes to.  Instead, Buddy signed an unwheming candidate Of Chan Gailey and I remember being physically sick hearing this news.  

 

In my opinion, this could have been Buddy trying to create the narrative of “I tried but no one would come to Buffalo.”  Also if you turn down multi-million job offers because of your wife’s preference of location (for part of the year), it makes me question how serious you were from

they start.

 

Either way it would be fascinating to see how things shook out under new ownership.

 

You can hear the discussion below at about the 20 minute mark:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tim-graham-show/id1438471984?mt=2&i=1000429345745

 

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

On his podcast which you can hear below, Tim Graham discussed 2 major coaching who almost came close to coaching in Buffalo.  I’ve never realized these names were so close to signing, and it makes you wonder what could have been.

 

Sean Payton

According to Mike Rodak (Graham’s co-host), Sean Payton said that he wanted to coach in Buffalo.   According to MR Payton flew into Buffalo to interview for the coaching position in 2005 with Marv Levy.  Unfortunately Marv took Dick Jauron instead.  Like most of the decisions Marv made as GM, this one was terrible.  Payton even then, was known as a great QB coach.  It really makes you wonder what he would have done with the QB position, whether he tried to make JP work or if he’d seek out a new QB like a Drew Brees etc.

 

Mike Shannahan 

According to Graham, Buddy Nix went on record that he has 2 big name coaches close to being signed but “couldn’t convince their wives to move to Buffalo.”  While he wouldn’t give Tim any names, TH said that Shannon went on record that he almost coached in Buffalo and speculated that Shanny was one of the names Nix alludes to.  Instead, Buddy signed an unwheming candidate Of Chan Gailey and I remember being physically sick hearing this news.  

 

In my opinion, this could have been Buddy trying to create the narrative of “I tried but no one would come to Buffalo.”  Also if you turn down multi-million job offers because of your wife’s preference of location (for part of the year), it makes me question how serious you were from

they start.

 

Either way it would be fascinating to see how things shook out under new ownership.

 

You can hear the discussion below at about the 20 minute mark:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tim-graham-show/id1438471984?mt=2&i=1000429345745

 

 

 

 

 

 

I take it you are not married or are just newly married?  Of course, wives play an important role in job relocations.  Its not all about the money.

Edited by prissythecat
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The one thing I take out of it is, you can pretty easily sign a new young up and coming coach to come here, but to get an experienced vet wit ha winning reputation, it takes more to get them to come here.  I'm sure Buffalo is not completely unique there either as other factors also come into play besides just location; ownership, willing to spend $$, neither of which were high marks with RW either.

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Seems like we finally have a capable GM and HC.  Here is a question: given the terrible GM's we had, would having Payton have made a difference?  Clearly we win more games than with Jauron, but in terms of the overall picture, would our GM have let him go after Brees, etc.?  

 

Picking Jauron over Payton is just terrible.  Reminds me of hiring decisions that are made because someone has "put in their time," over merit.  

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After the 2009 season while looking for a new HC the Buffalo Bills let slip to the media that they would be willing to spend 10 million a year to a top head coach (this was clearly Russ Brandon).

 

So, this info got Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher interested enough so that they both interviewed for the HCing job in Buffalo. Cowher had stated he would hire Chan Gailey as his OC so that is a big reason as to why the Bills eventually hired him as HC. Shanahan was already committed to the Washington Redskins HCing job but wanted to hear Buffalo's offer.

 

Realistically this whole thing was a ploy to get NFL people thinking about the head coaching job in Buffalo. Mostly because the entire NFL world knew that Ralph Wilson was such a "hands-on" owner in that he had HC Dick Jauron on the phone for hours daily from his home in Detroit during the season. Nobody that was worth a damn was really interested in coaching in Buffalo because of Wilson.

 

The only guy that really wanted to coach in Buffalo was Marty Schottenheimer and Buddy Nix wanted to hire him and owner Ralph Wilson said no. Probably because he knew Marty wouldn't put up with his constant interference. Needless to say, Ralph Wilson also had much input into free agents and draft picks.   

 

There were lots of assistant coaches that wouldn't even take interviews for the Bills HCing job so that's why Nix was forced to eventually settle for Gailey who had been fired as OC in KC. 

 

Things are so different now with these new owners who aren't such "hands on" and don't need the team to make a profit to support them.

 

 

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33 minutes ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

On his podcast which you can hear below, Tim Graham discussed 2 major coaching who almost came close to coaching in Buffalo.  I’ve never realized these names were so close to signing, and it makes you wonder what could have been.

 

Sean Payton

According to Mike Rodak (Graham’s co-host), Sean Payton said that he wanted to coach in Buffalo.   According to MR Payton flew into Buffalo to interview for the coaching position in 2005 with Marv Levy.  Unfortunately Marv took Dick Jauron instead.  Like most of the decisions Marv made as GM, this one was terrible.  Payton even then, was known as a great QB coach.  It really makes you wonder what he would have done with the QB position, whether he tried to make JP work or if he’d seek out a new QB like a Drew Brees etc.

 

Mike Shannahan 

According to Graham, Buddy Nix went on record that he has 2 big name coaches close to being signed but “couldn’t convince their wives to move to Buffalo.”  While he wouldn’t give Tim any names, TH said that Shannon went on record that he almost coached in Buffalo and speculated that Shanny was one of the names Nix alludes to.  Instead, Buddy signed an unwheming candidate Of Chan Gailey and I remember being physically sick hearing this news.  

 

In my opinion, this could have been Buddy trying to create the narrative of “I tried but no one would come to Buffalo.”  Also if you turn down multi-million job offers because of your wife’s preference of location (for part of the year), it makes me question how serious you were from

they start.

 

Either way it would be fascinating to see how things shook out under new ownership.

 

You can hear the discussion below at about the 20 minute mark:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tim-graham-show/id1438471984?mt=2&i=1000429345745

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you turn down multi-million dollar jobs because your wife tells you to, you probably need to go directly to teh Testosterone Clinic and get several injections of Testosterone.

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33 minutes ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

On his podcast which you can hear below, Tim Graham discussed 2 major coaching who almost came close to coaching in Buffalo.  I’ve never realized these names were so close to signing, and it makes you wonder what could have been.

 

Sean Payton

According to Mike Rodak (Graham’s co-host), Sean Payton said that he wanted to coach in Buffalo.   According to MR Payton flew into Buffalo to interview for the coaching position in 2005 with Marv Levy.  Unfortunately Marv took Dick Jauron instead.  Like most of the decisions Marv made as GM, this one was terrible.  Payton even then, was known as a great QB coach.  It really makes you wonder what he would have done with the QB position, whether he tried to make JP work or if he’d seek out a new QB like a Drew Brees etc.

 

Mike Shannahan 

According to Graham, Buddy Nix went on record that he has 2 big name coaches close to being signed but “couldn’t convince their wives to move to Buffalo.”  While he wouldn’t give Tim any names, TH said that Shannon went on record that he almost coached in Buffalo and speculated that Shanny was one of the names Nix alludes to.  Instead, Buddy signed an unwheming candidate Of Chan Gailey and I remember being physically sick hearing this news.  

 

In my opinion, this could have been Buddy trying to create the narrative of “I tried but no one would come to Buffalo.”  Also if you turn down multi-million job offers because of your wife’s preference of location (for part of the year), it makes me question how serious you were from

they start.

 

Either way it would be fascinating to see how things shook out under new ownership.

 

You can hear the discussion below at about the 20 minute mark:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tim-graham-show/id1438471984?mt=2&i=1000429345745

 

 

 

 

 

Good post until you made this statement. (the bolded above) Do you really know what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL? It's not a seasonal job.

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It all looks different in hindsight. With Payton, at the time he would have been hired would have just been an inexperienced HCing hire that was just a QB coach before. He wouldnt have come with Brees and who knows if he would have gotten  Brees here too. Even with him, he has one Super Bowl over all this time and a team that was usually flawed on one side of the ball.

 

As for Shanahan, they guy had spent many years as a HC and  coaching in the NFL, money is not everything and he was someone that could  hold out for the right opportunity for him and his family. He wasnt some young coordinator who would be getting his first chance at being a HC. It's very much believable that his wife wasnt in favour of the move so he turned it down not every decision in life is made based on money, even more so when you have it already.

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40 minutes ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

 

Mike Shannahan 

According to Graham, Buddy Nix went on record that he has 2 big name coaches close to being signed but “couldn’t convince their wives to move to Buffalo.”  While he wouldn’t give Tim any names, TH said that Shannon went on record that he almost coached in Buffalo and speculated that Shanny was one of the names Nix alludes to.  Instead, Buddy signed an unwheming candidate Of Chan Gailey and I remember being physically sick hearing this news.  

 

In my opinion, this could have been Buddy trying to create the narrative of “I tried but no one would come to Buffalo.”  Also if you turn down multi-million job offers because of your wife’s preference of location (for part of the year), it makes me question how serious you were from

they start.

 

 

I would totally agree here.  I assume the other who Buddy says was "close" had to be Cowher, as wasn't he the one the recommended Gailey after saying no thanks?

 

I doubt either was ever anywhere near actually coming here.

Edited by Golden*Wheels
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4 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

 

If you turn down multi-million dollar jobs because your wife tells you to, you probably need to go directly to teh Testosterone Clinic and get several injections of Testosterone.

Or you already have money and know that you can get another job in the league if you really want one. I dont think they are hurting for money and he was a well established coach/coordinator who has no trouble finding work of he wants it. Not all life choices are based off of money, especially when you arent hurting for it

3 minutes ago, Golden*Wheels said:

 

I would totally agree here.  I assume the other who Buddy says was "close" had to be Cowher, as wasn't he the one the recommended Gailey after saying no thanks?

 

I doubt either was ever anywhere near actually coming here.

Was it Cowher who recommended him, and Jerry Jones who said previously that he wanted him as a HC before too?

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You can really drive yourself crazy with the "what if" game as it pertains to the Bills.

For me, it's the quarterback carousel.

It began with Donahoe refusing to give up the draft capital necessary to get into position to draft Ben Roethlisberger. The deal was on the table, but Donahoe felt the asking price was too high and pulled out. So to begin with, we could/should have had Big Ben.

Once that fell through, they could have chosen not to settle for Losman and waited a year to draft a franchise QB. Had they done that, Aaron Rodgers would have been there for the taking the very next year.

Next up comes Cam Newton, who the Bills were 1 or 2 meaningless losses away from being able to draft. It was well known that the Bills would have taken him if they'd had the 1st pick.

Then you have Russell Wilson, who many of us thought was the target when the Bills traded up for TJ Graham.

Last but not least, as everyone knows, the Bills could have taken either Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. I fully understand why they didn't want to take a QB that year, and how it all sort of makes sense in context. Nevertheless....

The Bills could have reasonably had Big Ben, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, or Patrick Mahomes. I like Allen, and I sincerely hope he becomes the franchise QB fans have longed for. Still, can't help but look back on what could have (easily, reasonably) been.

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15 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

If you turn down multi-million dollar jobs because your wife tells you to, you probably need to go directly to teh Testosterone Clinic and get several injections of Testosterone.

 

I sense a young bar-hopper's perspective on manliness here.

It's not like these guys are choosing between B'lo and the unemployment line.  They're choosing between maybe more millions here and less millions elsewhere.  As long as you're earning millions, seems appropriate to weigh family into the choice. 

 

Very likely there were other factors as well in any decision, including decision making on player personnel and to whom the coach reported.

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