Bills at a Crossroads, or a Dead End? OR... If I Were Ralph Wilson!

Those of us who suffered through the Bills drought between the Jack Kemp era and the K-Gun are concerned that while there were some key steps taken that showed positive movement during those years, especially in the mid to late eighties as the Superbowl teams were being assembled, that are not currently visible.

Whether it is a result of Ralph Wilson's advanced age or something else, some poor decisions were made that cost us years of false starts and frustration.

The Tom Donahoe era, complete with the Gregg Williams coaching disaster essentially wasted a decade. The deficits created in personnel and team psychology are still having an impact.

The brief return of Marv Levy to right the ship seems to have some positive impact but the choice to hire and then extend the contract of Dick Jauron is troubling and many fear it could be costing the team and its loyal but increasingly anxious fans a few more years of unnecessary futility. 

The imminent end of the salary cap will be no friend of Buffalo and other small market teams, and there is great concern that the Bills must make some key decisions immediately to make a quantum leap, or they may continue to languish in mediocrity or worse for as much as another decade.

Given the age of the owner and the dubious future of the team post-Wilson, there is a heightened sense of urgency. 

Fans watch free-agent signings with longing and frustration. There is a palpable sense of hunger for something, anything dramatic from the front office that shows the team has a plan, has the commitment to do what it takes to get back to the Superbowl and win one, at least once.

With parity at its peak in the NFL, though in doubt for the long term, as the salary cap becomes history, the window of opportunity is narrow and closing fast.

But for another year to three years there is still the very real opportunity to make key changes and go straight to the Superbowl.

It is time the Bills made such changes. It is time they go for broke, shoot the moon, aim for the Lombardi Trophy (not just the Superbowl) in one year. If I were Ralph Wilson this is what I would do.

First, I'd pick up Bill Cowher as General Manager. Cowher has made it clear he's bored in the broadcast booth but has paid his dues as a coach and is ready for the front office.

His record speaks for itself. He's earned a short at a GM job and would likely be quite comfortable in Buffalo, a smaller, poorer version of Pittsburgh. Hence, a greater challenge, but in the kind of town and the kind of team where he's made his name.

Cowher would have final say on all other personnel decisions but assuming I could convince him, the next thing I'd do is dump Dick Jauron. The man is a proven loser. Nice guy. Lousy coach.

He underwhelmed in Chicago, and has repeated that performance in Buffalo. But for some key coaching mistakes, the Bills would have made the playoffs last season. There is no reason to suggest that circumstances will be different next time around. The coach has got to go.

Contract or no contract, the Bills need to eat the losses and dispatch him immediately.

In Jauron's place, I'd stay local and hire another coach who just got a contract extension, and in this case, rightly so. There is little doubt that the University at Buffalo would object to releasing Turner Gill to coach the Bills.

This is a risky move, for certain. Some say Gill is a Pete Carroll style coach who can work wonders in college and fall flat in the NFL. I see the point but disagree. Under the management and mentoring of a Bill Cowher, Turner Gill can, and I believe will, if given the opportunity, become a legendary NFL coach.

Gill took over a program at UB that was more than hapless. After a short run of good fortune under one coach in the late fifties, Buffalo's football program declined and was eventually eliminated in the early seventies because the sport was too violent and out of synch with the Kent-State like leftism that was rampant on this campus as well.

After more than a decade without football, the program was re-started in the mid eighties, moved too quickly, some thought, to Division 1-A, and won only ten games at that level in seven years.

In the three years following, Gill took the Bulls to a MAC division title in the second year, a conference title and the school's first bowl appearance (International Bowl) the third year, highlighted by several come from behind victories and a drubbing of 12th ranked previously unbeaten Ball State in the MAC Championship game.

Gill did this without much talent. Only now is the school beginning to benefit from his recruiting efforts. Gill took a ten-loss team and turned them into a ten win team on sheer psychology, motivation, and strategy, with psychology and spirituality at the heart of the strategy.

When he arrived on campus he declared that the school's initials UB now stand for "You Believe." With oft repeated statements like "Believe in things not yet seen," "Never quit; compete to the end," and "Continue the swagger,"  this young African American coach convinced a motley group of average players that the whole could be worth much more than the sum of the parts, that there is an intangible in sports that lives and is played in the heart, soul, and mind, and those who learn to master that plane of competition, will prevail in the end over all others.

This is the type of leadership the Bills need. They have sufficient talent to make the playoffs. With the Gill style of coaching and a few strategic acquisitions, they could win it all.

Next, I'd hire Jim Kelly as Offensive Coordinator. This also strengthens Gill. Kelly's intuitive play calling in the no-huddle K-gun was the strength of the Bills four year Superbowl run.

Leave the overall coaching and psychology to Gill but have Kelly call the plays. With Cowher's astute personnel acquisitions Gill and Kelly would have the key talent they need to get the most out of the rest of the team.  

The first position to strengthen is quarterback. Trent Edwards shows promise but has a couple of question marks. Can this California boy play in cold weather? That is a crucial question.

Fans were not impressed with the view of him huddling to stay warm on the sidelines, and the quality of his play seemed to go down with the thermometer. Understandably there is no patience in Buffalo for weather wimps.

If Edwards wants to be the Buffalo quarterback, he should spend his offseasons in Greenland or Antarctica in shirtsleeves until his blood has thickened sufficiently. There are also questions about his proclivity for injury.

When he's healthy and warm, he's on. But if the Bills are to position themselves to pass Go and land straight in the big game and win it, for a change, they have to have an insurance policy. Maybe two.

If only for a year, they need to have three capable quarterbacks on the roster. Michael Vick will be available. There would be a lot of controversy about his ability not to mention his "taint" but he could be a good ace to have in the hole. Jeff Garcia is available.

Unfortunately Matt Cassell is already gone. And there are others. Even Kurt Warner may be available. To ensure a Superbowl run, the Bills need the likes of a Garcia, Warner, or possibly Vick on the bench if not in the starting spot. 

Marvin Harrison is available and the Bills need more deep threats in the passing game. Assuming Edwards is the quarterback, Harrison makes Edwards better, and makes the rest of the Bills receiving corps better as well.

He won't come cheap, or Indy would have re-signed him, but just for a year, the Bills should spend the dough. They have done well in the past with receivers just past their prime, such as James Lofton. Harrison is available and fits the bill beautifully, despite the size of the bill for his services.  

Beyond that, one or two big free agent signings on the offensive and defensive lines and the Bills could conceivably if not easily win the elusive trophy. It could be the team's last opportunity before the end of the salary cap and it could be the team's last opportunity in Buffalo.

They should spare no expense and leave no stone unturned.  But unfortunately I'm not Ralph Wilson, and making waves is the last thing he seems inclined to do at this time.