Did the BILLS make a mistake sticking with Levy?

[Lionel Hutz]

With hindsight would you have fired him after 2nd or 3rd SB loss? I was too young to watch the SB teams so I don't know what the mood was like for the fanbase or the national media. Was there ever a real discussion of moving on from him?

 

I have to imagine it would be completely different in a time before social media and a 24/7 sports news cycle.

 

[T.E.]

Just now, Lionel Hutz said:

With hindsight would you have fired him after 2nd or 3rd SB loss? I was too young to watch the SB teams so I don't know what the mood was like for the fanbase or the national media. Was there ever a real discussion of moving on from him?

 

I have to imagine it would be completely different in a time before social media and a 24/7 sports news cycle.

 

The last three Super Bowls were against teams that were objectively superior to the Bills. Just getting them back over and over, while managing that group of egos, was a truly phenomenal coaching job.

 

Nobody else was coming in there and knocking off the 91 Redskins, 92 Cowboys, etc.

[CincyBillsFan]

As long as you're getting to the Super Bowl every year an NFL coaches job is guaranteed.

 

As an aside had the Bills made the SB this year McD would not have been fired.

 

 

[SinceThe70s]

 

Hindsight being 20/20, I would love to hear the rationale of the folks who voted yes.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Cmon how can you even compare...

 

One made it to the SuperBowl four times and the other did not make a single one. I dont think Marv is worthy of the HOF but he managed that team very well. He was outclassed by Parcells/Belichick in the SuperBowl but so was just about everyone else. 

 

The AFC was by far the weaker conference. They were physically outclassed in all four SuperBowls.

 

 

 

[Success]

One of those apples to asparagus comparisons.

 

[Simon]

33 minutes ago, Lionel Hutz said:

I was too young to watch the SB teams so I don't know what the mood was like for the fanbase or the national media. Was there ever a real discussion of moving on from him?

 

Not that I recall, but his assistant coaches were regularly under fire every year.

[JP51]

100%

[billsfan714]

I was in my late 20s for the first one.  I voted yes. I always thought the brains of the SB years were Polian and Marchibroda. Marv was to hands off imho.   Both sides of the ball underperformed in the SB years.

[colin]

4 minutes ago, Simon said:

 

Not that I recall, but his assistant coaches were regularly under fire every year.

 

He had a couple great ocs and some real trash (remember the coach show on wgr?) at dc.

 

I say a head coach picks the cs and the coaching buck stops with him, and marv made enough errors that it was a mistake to stick with him the whole way.

 

He was totally out coached in the first super bowl, five more run vs pass plays and we are champs

[notpolian]

Nobody discussed firing Marv that I can recall.  He was very hands off.  Kelly called the plays and the players were so good it worked a lot of the time.  Plus by the end of the SB run it was more of a defensive team.

 

Marv was summarily outcoached in the first super bowl.  But that's why Belichick's defensive game plan is now in Canton.  We got blasted and made a lot of turnovers in 2 and 3, and were actually up at halftime in 4 when the team basically ran out of gas.

[Kirby Jackson]

47 minutes ago, T.E. said:

The last three Super Bowls were against teams that were objectively superior to the Bills. Just getting them back over and over, while managing that group of egos, was a truly phenomenal coaching job.

 

Nobody else was coming in there and knocking off the 91 Redskins, 92 Cowboys, etc.

It’s a reasonable question but you hit it. Those last 3 games were against better teams. That Washington team was as good as anyone that I remember. 

[billsfan714]

9 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

It’s a reasonable question but you hit it. Those last 3 games were against better teams. That Washington team was as good as anyone that I remember. 

Could not agree more.  Better teams and better coaches.  I remember when Marv was hired, my uncle joking with me that were going to run the wing t.  I dont think anyone expected the results we got.  But when the USFL finally went under and Polian added talent we were off to better days.  The first SB, Thurman should of had 30 plus carries and we were better than the Giants, just out coached. Penn State did the same thing to Miami in a Fiesta Bowl, dared Miami to run, dropped a ton in coverage, and they didnt and Vinny threw a bunch of picks.

Edited January 20 by billsfan714

[fridge]

Since this is such a topical post, it should be stated that all of this would be a different conversation if McDermott had made it to a Superbowl. It's not even necessarily that outrageous of a question to poll, but the circumstances are pretty different. I think Josh Allen is MUCH more to the Bills than what Kelly was to them in the 90's, and that changes everything. If you got a generational QB, you really do need to get them to the dance.

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

Parcells, Gibbs, or Jimmy Johnson would have won at least 2 SBs with that roster.

[Real McCoy]

4 times in a row? No

 

Now,  if it was like 4 times over 8-10 yrs I might see it. 

[Rousseauisnoschmo]

53 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

Hindsight being 20/20, I would love to hear the rationale of the folks who voted yes.

Bill Parcells was a better coach who beat us with a backup qb and a lesser roster. Marv was a good coach with a Hall of Fame roster who couldn't close the deal. Pretty clear Marv wasn't getting it done after the third loss.

Edited January 20 by Rousseauisnoschmo

[WotAGuy]

I’ve been waiting 35 years for someone to ask this question.  I have no idea what the answer should be, however. 

[T.E.]

20 minutes ago, Rousseauisnoschmo said:

Parcells, Gibbs, or Jimmy Johnson would have won at least 2 SBs with that roster.

Parcells never won much of anything without Belichick as his DC.

[Billl]

1 hour ago, CincyBillsFan said:

As long as you're getting to the Super Bowl every year an NFL coaches job is guaranteed.

 

As an aside had the Bills made the SB this year McD would not have been fired.

 

 

What other coaches have had the level of success that McDermott has had, while being 100% scandal-free, and lost their jobs?  Obviously there have been successful coaches who eventually got fired, but I can’t think of any who didn’t at least have some bad seasons at the end (like Andy Reid in Philly).  Who is the closest comparison?