Odds are the Buffalo Bills won't name their next head coach until next month, after the National Football League playoffs are completed and there's a full list of assistant coaches available to complement the ex-head coaches already on the market.
Which leaves us plenty of time for speculation.
First, let's put the kibosh on one of the more popular names floating around. Not Jim Haslett -- he's not even worth discussing, as both he and New Orleans Saints management confirmed last week that there's no out clause in his contract that would allow him to return to the team he played for in the 1970s and '80s.
The subject here is Jim Fassel, recently dispatched after six years at the helm of the New York Giants. He's already interviewed with the Washington Redskins, and is reportedly being wooed by the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders as well.
Which raises one question. Did the management of any of those teams watch the Giants play during the second half of the season?
"Running for the bus" is a time-honored description for a team that puts forth no effort in a meaningless season finale. This year's Bills stretched their trot to two weeks, dousing any glimmer of hope Gregg Williams had of getting a new contract.
Saying Fassel's Giants ran for the bus would be giving them way too much credit. They walked to it in midseason and sat there throughout an eight-game losing streak that ended their year and their coach's tenure. During that span, they were outscored 219-78. That margin would be even more lopsided if not for a comparatively impressive 37-24 defeat in the season finale by a Carolina team that had already wrapped up its playoff spot.
That loss to the Panthers was the only time in the second half of the season that the Giants managed more than 13 points over the final two months. Even the Bills pulled out of their own 14-game funk to batter Not-So-Big Blue 24-7 on Nov. 30, at Giants Stadium.
And Fassel's the guy that's going to get Buffalo over the top?
Fortunately, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is out there to pay way too much for at least one of the overrated candidates out there.
Speaking of which, former Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin is getting a lot of play, as well. Coughlin, like Fassel, had a few good years followed by several bad ones. If taking a team to the playoffs five years ago is the standard, why isn't Wade Phillips a finalist?
Previous NFL head-coaching experience has somehow become a prerequisite, according to some analysts. Why? Because Williams had none? Kevin Gilbride has plenty of experience as a head coach and an offensive coordinator, and look where that got the Bills.
Instead of relying on that spurious criteria, look at this year's postseason field. Of the 12 teams to reach the playoffs, seven are coached by first-timers.
Hiring a guy who couldn't get it done in Chicago makes little sense for a team with enough talent to win immediately. Particularly when there are plenty of highly successful assistants out there young and enthusiastic enough to provide the spark sorely missing at One Bills Drive this year.
Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, the offensive and defensive coordinators of the 14-2 New England Patriots, top most lists of prospective promotees. They certainly deserve consideration for their role in coaxing the league's best record out of a roster constantly under construction due to injuries. But BillStuff has a different early front-runner.
It's become clear how much Bills President/General Manager Tom Donahoe enjoys input from outside the organization, so we want to help. With the interview process barely underway and weeks likely to pass before a decision is made, or at least announced, the choice here is St. Louis Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith. For a number of reasons.
First, his defensive philosophy focuses on creating turnovers, rather than scoring high in the NFL's yardage rankings. Buffalo's defense finished No. 2 on the season-ending list for total yards allowed. Which means just about nothing. The teams that finished on either side of the Bills, No. 1 Dallas and No. 3 Baltimore, both got knocked out of the playoffs on Saturday.
That No. 2 ranking was particularly misleading, since Buffalo finished dead last in turnovers forced with 18, and tied for last (with Fassel's Giants) on the giveaway/takeaway chart at minus-16.
Buffalo's defense, then, was good enough to keep games close. Great defenses win them.
Smith's unit, meanwhile, took the ball away 46 times, easily the most in the league. Baltimore and New England tied for second with 41.
The Rams finished 16th out of 32 teams in total defense. But their turnover total proved far more important, overcoming 39 giveaways by the offense to lead St. Louis to a 12-4 record, the NFC West title and a first-round bye.
Most talk about the Rams has centered on the offense ever since Kurt Warner led them to the Super Bowl following the 1999 season, but Smith's defense was far more responsible for this year's success than Martz's offense. This year, "The Greatest Show on Turf" operated for nearly half the season its star attraction, Marshall Faulk. After taking over for Warner, quarterback Marc Bulger threw a league-high 22 interceptions. Thanks to Smith's defense, though, the Rams will be well-rested when they host Carolina next weekend.
And besides all that, the man's name is Lovie. Who wants to be the first fan to yell, "Lovie sucks!" or the first columnist to call for his firing? Not BS, that's for sure.
Crennel easily ranks second in the quality-of-name category. His defense isn't too bad, either.
Since Buffalo's season came to a humane conclusion in New England last week when the Patriots put the Bills out of their misery by the end of the first quarter, it's time for BS's annual awards. They'll be brief, just like the period in early September when Buffalo walked amongst the NFL's elite.
BILLS MVP: Despite playing with cracks in his ribs and leg, without anything approaching an effective passing game and with No. 1 pick Willis McGahee waiting around to take his job, Travis Henry muscled his way to 1,356 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Just imagine what he could have done if Kevin Gilbride had built the offense around him.
THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT FOOTBALL AWARD: Punter Brian Moorman ranked second in gross average and tied for fourth in net, helping provide good field position that the offense was almost never able to do anything with.
You know it was a lousy season when you even have to mention a punter at the end of it.
THE TOM BRESHNAHAN AWARD FOR OFFENSIVE UNCOORDINATION: Gilbride is the latest in a series of failed offensive gurus who have strolled Buffalo's sideline since the days of Ted Marchibroda and the K-Gun.
Breshnahan and co-coordinator Jim Shofner, Dan Henning, Joe Pendry and Mike Sheppard each flopped attempting to put together a dominant, or even decent, offense together on a consistent basis.
But no one crashed as spectacularly as Gilbride. Refusing to adjust to the departure of Peerless Price or the realities of modern defensive strategy, his offense went from spectacular during the first two weeks to pathetic for the next 14.
TOUGHEST OFFSEASON JOB INVOLVING THE BILLS: It's not Donahoe, who needs to find a head coach, as well as a dominant pass rusher, a wide receiver with deep speed, a couple offensive linemen, a kicker and at least one quarterback.
And it's not Drew Bledsoe, who has to convince his new coach that he's still worth $6 million per year.
It's the poor sap at NFL Films who gets stuck with putting together the 2003 Buffalo Bills highlight film.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | January 6 2004 |