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After all of the talk of Bill Cower, and Marty Schottenheimer, and Mike Shannahan. Even Jon Gruden and several more lesser known, but highly-qualified candidates. After all of the “due process”.
The Bills announced today that Chan Gailey will be their next head coach.
Chan Gailey. Former Dallas head coach (for only two seasons). Former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator. Former Kansas City offensive coordinator (who was let go before the season began last year, in much the same fashion as our own Turk Schonert.
Lots of “formers”.
Maybe this time will be different? Maybe he’ll become a legendary coach who “turned the Buffalo Bills around” much like Marv Levy, and Chuck Knox, and Lou Saban? Those guys took Bills teams who had been struggling near the bottom—much like the current Bills—and turned them around quickly. Within a year or two.
Could that be Chan Gailey?
That is apparently his history. In an article from the Buffalo News, Mark Gaughan listed some of Gailey’s accomplishments, and they were at least intriguing.
Gailey took the Miami Dolphins (as their offensive coordinator) to two straight 11 win seasons, after Dan Marino retired. They were the 8th ranked offense with Jay Fiedler at QB!
Also, in his only head coaching stint, Gailey took over the Dallas Cowboys after a 6-10 season, and in his first season with them they won their division with a 10-6 record. He made the playoffs his second season, too, even though they only managed an 8-8 record. Dallas owner Jerry Jones said this about Gailey this week:
“The most unfair that I’ve ever been in anything in sports and maybe in other parts was dismissing Chan after two years,” Jones said. “That wasn’t right. . . . That is one thing I look at today in my mirror and say you just weren’t as fair as you needed to be there to the team, the fans and certainly to Chan to make that change after two years.”
Huh. I’m still not convinced. But… huh.
Yes, Chan Gailey is the offensive-minded, experienced head coach that we need, but … what happened to the “big name” angle? Are they going to pay Gailey the same money they were reportedly offering to Bill Cowher? Hope not…
So, we’ll see what the new head coach can do. Who will he assemble as his coaching staff? Which players will make the cut, which will they get to perform much better than the Jauron regime could draw out of them? Will the Bills have the 8th ranked offense, even with their current players?
Will they be better?
I guess, in all honesty, you never know. You can’t know. You can’t predict 19 players in the injured reserve, either. So, the Bills are re-tooling, and perhaps they will get it right this time.
The pieces are being put into place: Buddy Nix at General Manager, Chan Gailey at Head Coach. Now the other coaches will be brought in … then maybe a QB?
For now, I’m not holding my breath. I think the Bills may have to go 10-0 in 2010 before I believe they’ve made the right choice…
A decade of losing will do that to any fan.