GM or Coach for the Buffalo Bills?

There are a few tumbleweeds that are floating around the parking lot at One Bills Drive. No, I’m not talking about T.O. hanging out in one of his five “Parts Unknown” vacation spots. I’m talking about how quiet it is on the coaching front.

It looks as if the Bills are going to be using the “wait and see” approach till the end of the season. Before I get into this topic, lets be aware of the following; Ralph Wilson could be using the approach of talking to big name coaches just to get the fans off his back. If all the high priced coaches say “No Thanks,” Wilson will be able to say at least he tried. Which would still make 95% of the fans want to kill him. So with that being said, let us pretend the Bills coach or GM vacancy is a must have.

So where was I? Oh yeah, should the Bills go for a high profile GM or head coach? If you look over the Super Bowl winning coaches of this decade, only Mike Tomlin and Brian Billick have won championships with less than 2 years of head coaching experience. Tony Dungy, Tom Coughlin & Jon Gruden were head coaches who came from a winning backgrounds in Oakland, Jacksonville and Tampa. Bill Belichick was calling the shots for all three of the Patriots championships. So, it’s safe to say that by the records, it’s better to have a big name coach than a big named GM.

I’ve been saying for the last three years that I’d rather the Bills cut a guy like Lee Evans or Aaron Schobel and use the money to sign a top tier head coach.

The NFL is a coaches league. Period. Where would guys like Rod Smith, Chad Brown, Greg Llyod, Jerome Bettis & all the running backs who have ever started for the Broncos over the last 10 years be if they weren’t coached by Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan. I could go on. Great coaches know how to get the most out of their players. Over the last 10 years, I’ve seen way too many Bills players, who looked to have potential their rookie seasons, only to fall flat on their face after year two.

Back to my Lee Evans point, maybe Wilson got the idea (from me?) that he could take away 10 million dollars from one of the football departments to sign a big named coach. Be careful for what you wish for because you might just get it. So, do I decide to keep going with the thought of having James Hardy and Steve Johnson as my starting wide receivers in 2010? Hmm..I’m going to say yes. Why not? The Bills have tried doing the conventional way of having a GM (Donahoe, Levy & Brandon) and it hasn’t come close to working. Also, a powerful coach is going to have more of an impact on the team the first year than an established GM would.

But the biggest factor is not just the X’s and O’s, it is the fact that the Bills would have to hire a GM even if they hired a big named coach. Gruden had Bruce Allen as him GM, Belichick had Scott Pioli in his corner. Shanahan and Cowher may be the end all be all with player personnel, but they are going to have to hire their own GM. You think Cowher is going to look at college player’s film after a week three win or loss against the Dolphins? Doubt that, he’s going to have the GM do that.

The other factor is that there really isn’t much of a GM crop of people to hire from. What? You’re going to bring in Ron Wolf, who hasn’t been a GM in like eight years? Charlie Casserly, whose been sitting on a TV set for the last three years and didn’t do much when he was in charge of the Texans. Don’t give me Greg Gabriel because he’s from Buffalo and is running the Chicago Bears drafts. Last I checked, the Bears have made the playoffs only twice since they’ve fired Dick Jauron.

It’s not about one or the other, because you are going to get both when the 2010 season rolls around. It’s about whether you want an established coach or GM. Judging by history of past Super Bowl winners and the lack of GM’s on the open market, the Bills should try a new tactic when it comes to hiring the grand pooba at One Bills Drive.