After losing to the Jets on Thursday night, the Bills are shaking up their coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman has been fired, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Bills have appointed Anthony Lynn, their running backs coach, as their new OC (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Bills have confirmed the news via press release.
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Roman’s firing is a shocker for a number of reasons. Of course, it’s pretty rare that a team will can a coordinator two games into the season. Also, the Bills’ offense wasn’t necessarily the problem in Thursday night’s loss to the rival Jets. The Bills defense was picked apart all night by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Forte and the shortcomings on D can partially be chalked up to the missing pieces in Buffalo’s front seven. The Bills lost to the Jets 37-31, dropping them to 0-2.
Roman, hired in January of 2015, was the NFL’s highest paid offensive coordinator. The 44-year-old was expected to be the offensive counterbalance to head coach Rex Ryan, but Buffalo apparently wasn’t satisfied with what they’ve seen so far. While the Bills have not been an offensive juggernaut over the last year-and-change, Roman did help mold Tyrod Taylor into one of the league’s more promising quarterbacks. One could also argue that the offense has not been operating at full strength as Sammy Watkins played through injuries last year.
Lynn, meanwhile, is a rising star in coaching circles. This past offseason, Lynn interviewed for a number of other gigs, including the 49ers and Dolphins head coaching jobs. If Lynn can help improve the Bills’ offense, he will be a top candidate for vacancies around the league in the spring.
The Browns, Rams, Buccaneers, and other clubs had interest in hiring Roman prior to the 2015 season, but Buffalo outbid them all. Roman came with the reputation as an offensive guru even though his play-calling was suspect towards the end of his tenure with the Niners.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
They scored 31 points. The offense wasn’t the problem and why they lost the game.
hard to fire yourself the head coach and defensive ‘guru’ (belly laugh)
How do these Ryan brothers keep their jobs?! Rob made the cowboys defense worse, then turned New Orleans into the worst defense in the league and now one of the better defenses in the league looks terrible. Rex ran the jets into the ground and by the end of his ten year in New York I remember them saying on sports center that not only should he be fired but they didn’t think he’d even find a defensive coordinator job again. Then the bills hire him lol. Coaching boggles the mind in football. Great coaches get fired after one bad season after some really good ones while shitty ones keep getting hired and give leeway
The Bills have put the most resources into creating a strong defense. Virtually ALL of the talent on the team is on that side of the ball. How they could give up 37 points to a Jets team that might not score that many points again this season against anyone is unbelievable.
Because Rex and Rob are garbage defensive coordinators
“…Roman did help mold Tyrod Taylor into one of the league’s more promising running backs.”
Thanks – had a lot going on at once. Fixed.
Unfortunately he lines up at qb
Thanks – had a lot going on at once. Fixed.
Maybe hire the third brother Jim to be offensive coordinator then you will have three people that can’t couch.
They CAN couch, judt not coach
sorry
maybe they can coach on a couch. and it’s just no judt
Wow; how Rex does it is beyond me. Rob had the worse defense in NO and now in buffalo. Can anyone name another family name so overhyped as Ryan in the world of coaching? Maybe Shanahan but he at least won a couple titles.
A sick and demented front office preoccupied with keeping their jobs will do anything to deflect responsibility. While most teams focus on winning, the Bills only think of reducing financial loss. Inevitably this franchise will leave Buffalo for greener pastures. It is a bad a sports franchise that will ultimately be boycotted..
unfortunately, its not a coaching issue. its a front office issue. Rex Ryan is not a good coach and neither is his brother. the brothers records speaks for itself. they have some good talent on that team and a great fan base but management has let them down. I feel for the Bills fans, hope it gets turned around for you all. they appeared have fired the only coach that knew what he was doing