Rumor has it that the Bills are preparing to move on from Rex Ryan and the team is doing nothing to refute such talk. In an interview on WGR 550, Doug Whaley refused to put his support behind Ryan.
“Let’s put it this way: None of us know our future,” Whaley said (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). “Look where we are. We owe it to our fans and our owners to keep it focused on Miami, because we’re still in this.”
Meanwhile, owners Terry and Kim Pegula are keeping quiet and, aside from his scheduled radio appearances, Whaley has not been made available to reporters since Nov. 1. The silence speaks volumes and lends additional credence to word that Ryan is a goner after the season.
Recently, people within the Bills front office opined to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that it’s unfair for Ryan to be on the hot seat while Whaley is reportedly safe this offseason. Personally, I would go a step further and say that it is Whaley who should be out while Ryan should be given a third year to try and turn things around. The Bills are .500 under Ryan’s watch and that’s actually impressive given the major holes in the team’s roster and the rash of injuries they’ve dealt with this season. Those holes, including the team’s lack of a franchise quarterback, are the result of Whaley’s spotty roster construction.
Where are the major holes? I see a solid OL, solid DL, Great LBs, Great RBs, Solid WRs, and Solid Corners. Safety might be the only hole and it wouldn’t be if Jarvis Landry wasn’t a dirty player. This is on Rex for being inconsistent on Defense and playing Taylor at QB. Roster is fine. Coaching is poor.
WRs are not that good outside of Watkins and he missed most of the year. Besides that Your right. Though I just want to say. Tyrod Taylor is a decent qb. Not elite but above a lot of other starters around the league. Sieman kaepernick cutler tanehill to name a few
So if he played ej Manuel he’d be a good coach, stop. He’s dealt with a slew on injuries similar to San Diego and made most of it. I’m not sure who the bills can bring in that gets me excited.
Poor communication and lack of candor make Bill’s leadership appear devious if not incompetent. The owners lack a mature and sophisticated football guru. Chaos and failure are likely to continue
Whaley has done a very nice job in the few years he has “truly” been GM given what he was given as a roster. Finding said Franchise QB is easier said than done. No one needs to be fired the team just needs time to gel. Can’t keep firing people and changing schemes.
BS this is nothing but click bait the pegulas are not stupid they did not make their money getting rid of employees and paying them to leave, if rex left they would owe him 15 million as far as whaley goes he has put together a decent enough roster do not get me wrong. i never was a fan of rex he was not my choice to become the last coach the pegulas did that. they were smitten with his family and the super bowl rings his father had two one from the jets where he was the lb coach and the other with the bears. rex has one from the ravens and his twin i think has one from new orleans. hue jackson came within a hair of being chosen but the pegulas went with a coach that they say and had been a head coach before. i say and this is not worth a lot keep him one more year and no playoffs next year no rex. bottom line this franchise can ill afford another breakdown if that happens get ready to goodell to say with the first pick in the 2018 draft the buffalo bills select .
As a Bills fan who last made the playoffs when I was 3 years old I think a wide sweeping front office regime change is needed. I don’t think Rex has been a terrible coach but I believe that whatever magic he captured during his time with the Jets has clearly evaporated. While I like his style for a coach of Buffalo he has made some poor personnel/game decisions (i.e., hiring his brother and the lack of sticking to the run during the middle of the season.) Additionally, as a “player’s coach” the Bills have been one of the most penalized teams in the NFL the past few years which can kill a team’s momentum.
Doug Whaley, on the other hand is a little harder to pinpoint. While I severely dislike his lack of creativity in signing a top tier free agent (I get that playing in Buffalo is no player’s dream choice (except maybe Richie Incognito) but I always found his lack of aggressiveness disheartening from the GM. On the flip side he has been an above average drafter with more successes (Kiko Alonso, Ronald Darby, Marcell Dareus, Stephon Gilmore, Robert Woods, Cordy Glenn, Preston Brown) than misses (Watkins, Karlos Williams, EJ Manuel) as well as has proven shrewd (at times) with trades (Kelvin Sheppard for Jerry Hughes) and cheap free-agent signings (Zach Brown).
For the bottom line, as a Bills fan, I believe that the franchise needs a front office who believes in the future of the franchise and understands that with one of the longest playoff droughts in big 4 sports every season needs to be playoffs or bust. Whether that takes the form of a traditional GM/Coach or a head coach/football operations director, the Bills need a new direction.