Bill from NYC Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuntheDamnBall Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? 562789[/snapback] Gilbride had not had much success in previous years and was run out of town just about everywhere he'd been of late. No free pass on that one. It's kind of like our current situation. Mularkey's supposed to be a great offensive mind, well then, let's do something with the g.d. offense then. If he doesn't succeed with it now, he deserves to be run out of town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 He made me hate laptops. Remember TD saying GW had this really neat "gadget" he'd never seen before, full of spreadsheets containing football coaches ? Now everytime a see a laptop at work, I mutter " GW " to myself and smash the docking station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyMannn Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? 562789[/snapback] I'm not sure TD gave GW a fair shake here. The first year TD gutted the roster and gave GW nothing to work with. The second year GW takes it to 8-8. The 3rd year GW again gets nothing to improve the team as we make no FA signing and draft Willis. And if you think GW doesn't have it, well Joe Gibbs does. Top "D" and heir apparent to Joe G. End of argument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I am sick of hearing it too. It's true, but I am sick of hearing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? 562789[/snapback] While you cannot absolve TD for blame for what to me was the biggest (and unfortunately one of his first decisions) blunders of his 5 year reign of error, I think that one sghould not let this dumb decision cause folks to conveniently forget some fairly brilliant moves he made (the PP trade, having the stones to pick WM, good cap management). My sense is that he was running scared and really committed to himself (either conciously or unconsiously) that he would never get fired by an HC he hired as was done when Cowher ran him out of Pitts). He passed over Fox who has been brilliant whom he could have had and failed to beg Lewis into being interested. Both would have been far better choices than GW based on the recprds these three men achieved as HCs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obie_wan Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? 562789[/snapback] The Gilbride hire had all the markings of GM interference. With recent insinuation of more TD meddling, GW may have been forcefed Gilbride and forced to retain him when logic dictated he should be cut loose. TD should have fired GW at the bye week in year 3. However, since he commited to GW at that point and the team responded and won some games it shouldn;t have, TD compounded his error by throwing GW under the bus at the end of the year. Just like MM is getting another year, GW had already worked his way through the learning curve and should not have fired for another rookie coach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 ...and perhaps this is why Marv and Ralph have not canned Mularkey? I really do not hate GW. He really was perhaps in the right place at the wrong time. I'm not sure TD gave GW a fair shake here. The first year TD gutted the roster and gave GW nothing to work with. The second year GW takes it to 8-8. The 3rd year GW again gets nothing to improve the team as we make no FA signing and draft Willis. And if you think GW doesn't have it, well Joe Gibbs does. Top "D" and heir apparent to Joe G. End of argument 562796[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm not sure TD gave GW a fair shake here. 562796[/snapback] I always wanted to give GW a good shake, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 How soon we forget...GW was an awefull HC, simply out of his element. He is a great DC, but that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dry martini Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Seriously, he did a good job with the defense at Tennessee. He appeared to be organized, and had a great interview. Hiring him was the right thing for TD to do, even though he was a bad coach. How for example was TD to know just how bad the Gilbride Offense would be? How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? Also, who knows what was going on in GW's personal life at the time? GW seemed like he would be a great coach coming into Buffalo, therefore let's absolve TD of all blame, OK? 562789[/snapback] In contrast to the "serious" vein of your post, living here in DC has caused me to worry that Williams time in Buff might someday be viewed alongside Belichick's stint in Cleveland. Both men are defensive gurus with inter-personal communication problems (although GWs extended beyond media/fans to include players) that sealed their respective fates when their offenses couldn't perform. There is no question that Williams knows defense. He should learn from his communication errors. So, the question is whether he has a solid OC mind on staff when he gets his next opportunity. If so, look out. Gilbride is hindsight. At the time of his hire he was viewed as a solid offensive mind who was a bad HC and a clear upgrade to the disaster of GW's first year. He did quite well the first half of his first season before it all went to hell (as for the TD meddling, I recall TG was on GW's initial short list for OC, but TG decided to take a year off that year). However, if you really want to question TD, it's not so much Gilbride as GW's proposed "college" staff and that should have been a signal that something could me amiss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 In contrast to the "serious" vein of your post, living here in DC has caused me to worry that Williams time in Buff might someday be viewed alongside Belichick's stint in Cleveland. why worry? if GW becomes a great HC, good for him. That doesn't mean that he was anything but lousy with Buffalo. Not many first time coaches excel and it becomes more of a learning experience. And working under Gibbs will only help his coaching career. So not worries, the Bills had no choice to fire GW for being a bad coach. Doesn't mean they dropped the ball if he evolves into a great HC someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 How was TD to know that GW would become flustered and not have a clue inside the 30 yard line? 562789[/snapback] Maybe that should've been part of the interview. Also, I'm tired of hearing Todd Collins was a bad draft pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckeyeBill Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 At least our coach doesn't look like an old lady anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm not sure TD gave GW a fair shake here. The first year TD gutted the roster and gave GW nothing to work with. The second year GW takes it to 8-8. The 3rd year GW again gets nothing to improve the team as we make no FA signing and draft Willis. And if you think GW doesn't have it, well Joe Gibbs does. Top "D" and heir apparent to Joe G. End of argument 562796[/snapback] Didn't TD sign Takeo pre-2003? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yard Monkey Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm not sure TD gave GW a fair shake here. The first year TD gutted the roster and gave GW nothing to work with. The second year GW takes it to 8-8. The 3rd year GW again gets nothing to improve the team as we make no FA signing and draft Willis. And if you think GW doesn't have it, well Joe Gibbs does. Top "D" and heir apparent to Joe G. End of argument 562796[/snapback] Great synopsis. One of the first things Joe Gibbs did upon his return was hire GW and immediately made him AHC & DC. There were a number of factors beyond the influence of a Head Coach that caused problems in his third year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I'm not sure that GW will ever be a good head coach. He deserves every bit of the credit that he is getting in Washington. In fact, it was his defense that has allowed the 'Skins to move ahead to round two of the playoffs. I don't think any of us ever challenged GW's credentials as a defensive coordinator. But one of the things that is missed is the ability -- and the requirmeent -- of a head coach to be a good delegator. In Washington, GW serves as the "bad cop" to Gibbs' good cop. When the press wants a good quote, they go to GW because he tells them the truth, while Gibbs is so wrapped up in being PC. The same thing applies to not only PR -- but also to player dealings. Recall that it was GW that called out Clinton Portis for cticizing the offense in the preseason. With all due respect to Gibbs the Hall of Famer, he lets his assitants do his dirty work for him, which does wonders for him as a delegator -- but not for the other coaches that serve as his henchmen. In a way, I've always found Gibbs to be a bit of a weasel for just that reason. For as successful as he's been -- can you name one of his assitants that went on to have a successful head coaching career of their own? Maybe GW got some good advice about this, which is why he and Dan Snyder reached the agreement they did to make GW the highest paid cooridnator in history -- and higher paid than about half of the head coaches in the league, including our own MM. If GW is waiting around for Gibbs to retire so that he can take over, maybe someone should tell him about Richie Petibon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yard Monkey Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 ...and perhaps this is why Marv and Ralph have not canned Mularkey? I really do not hate GW. He really was perhaps in the right place at the wrong time. 562806[/snapback] I'm sure if you ask GW, his firing was the right place at the right time. Since being fired by the Bills, the following positives have happened: * Hired by NFL legend as AHC of one of the most prestigous teams in the NFL * Learning at the right hand of an NFL legend * Makes more money as AHC than HC of the Bills * In the playoffs with a talented (at least on D), winning team * Respected throughout the NFL as one of the brightest coaches in the business If he stayed with the Bills what would likely have happened over the same time frame: * Saddled with Bledsoe's limitations for another year * Saddled with "rookie" QB growing pains for the next year * Saddled with poor OLine talent * Saddled with poor DLine talent * Daily interaction with a front office full of people walking on eggshells * Provided with players that do not fit together as a team * Deal with Bills fans that call for your head on a daily basis * Viewed as one of the biggest coaching a$$clowns in the business This whole deal was not raw, it was fantastic for GW. Probably one of the best things that has ever happened to him in his professional career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill in Livonia Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 OK Bill, I won't mention the FACT that Greg was a bad hire. Didn't like him, Glad to see him gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 How soon we forget...GW was an awefull HC, simply out of his element. He is a great DC, but that's it. 562812[/snapback] I have the feeling that he'll be a lot more successful the second time around. I also have the feeling that the candidates that most wish the Bills would have hired (Marvin Lewis, etc) wouldn’t have had nearly the success they’ve had elsewhere and likely would have been fired from the Bills. There would be several threads a day saying, “why didn’t TD hire Gregg Williams as head coach instead of Lewis?!” Coaching is important but we simply didn’t/don’t have the horses to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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