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Post Authored By: Ian Cowan
The Jauron “era” has come to an end, an era that probably should have never started. In order to completely understand the frustration of Bills fans, I feel we must first take a look at the path of both coach and team that set them on a collision course of horrible, uninspired football.
First, there is my beloved Buffalo Bills. They won two consecutive championships in the AFL before becoming a member of the NFL, where the successful seasons failed to transfer over. From the years 1966 to 1986, they posted a staggering 104-199-4 record. They were the equivalent to the modern day Lions, Bucs, Rams, or even Bills. It wasn’t until the 1986 season, when Marv Levy took over, that they began to resemble a football team. During Levy’s tenure (1986-1997), the Bills went 112-70. This included the infamous stretch of four Super Bowls in a row, from 1990-1993. I’m not sure how, but Levy was able to instill such a desire to win in his players that they became one of the most tenacious defensive teams paired with a deadly offensive attack that could put points on the board against anybody; accept the Giants, Redskins, and Cowboys.
Things took a turn for the worse once Levy decided to step down as Head Coach after the 1997 season. In stepped Wade Phillips. He coached from 1998-2000 winning 29 of 48 games. Now, I must admit, this looks like a decent record. However, the numbers are deceiving. This was in fact the period of time where the desire and the “know-how” to win football games slipped away from the Buffalo Bills, and has yet to return.
After Phillips, came Greg Williams and Mike Mularkey. Both of them are very capable coordinators (defensive and offensive respectively). Unfortunately, their success as coordinators did not translate into successful head coaching careers. They combined for a record of 31-48 between the years 2001-2005, all of the while not making one playoff appearance.
This brings us to our beloved Dick Jauron. The simple fact that he was chosen be the head coach beginning the 2006 season was simply mind-numbing. When Jauron came to Buffalo, he brought with him a 36-49 record as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions
So began Jauron’s career in Buffalo. His first season came to an end at 7-9. Not too horrible, considering they were 5-11 the season before. In 2007, he “coached” the Bills to another 7-9 season. This is when Bills fans began to get a little uneasy, but Jauron received a free pass because of certain situations during that season to included the dreaded “quarterback controversy” between J.P. Losman and newly drafted Trent Edwards. By the beginning of the 2008 season, Trent Edwards had been officially named the starting quarterback. Bills fans were optimistic, despite two consecutive 7-9 seasons. The team began the season 5-2, then the injury bug bit. Edwards went down, and so did the Bills season. They finished…drum roll please…7-9. Everyone thought for sure that this meant the end of Dick Jauron. I mean, three consecutive 7-9 seasons with no upside in sight, there is no way he returns. Right?
Well, apparently Bills upper management felt otherwise and decided to stick with Jauron for the 2009 season. The season is now over half way through, and our beloved Bills sit near the bottom of the league at 3-6. It doesn’t even look as though they will attain the 7-9 record that the fans have grown to know and expect. So, as I stated before, Bills fans have been awaiting this moment for about a year and a half.
Now, I’m not sure how many people out there are actually reading this (no offense Jim), but I’m sure some of you may be thinking that I’m cold hearted for wishing/hoping that this person lose his job. To that I say, he shouldn’t have been a suck-ass coach!
Hallelujah! Holy Shit!
P.S. I hear Charlie Weis may be looking for a job soon! Here's hoping! I can't wait for the next ass-clown of a coach to step in! for 5 games. Hidden within that record is ONE winning season, in which he let the Bears play to a 13-3 record in 2001. To this I quote a very wise man; "Even a blind dog can find his nuts once in a while." Jauron's resume simply reeked of success. At least the Bills front office thought so.
In recent years Notre Dame has had their share of sharp-shooters from behind the arc. In fact, Coach Brey's modus operandi, intentional or not, has been to have two or more marksmen on the court at any given time. Their reliance on the three-point game was all too evident last season though. After a lights-out season two years ago, Big East teams at least were hip to the McAlarney game even if he dropped 124 three pointers from all over the court and a few from South America!
Even when McAlarney, who ended his career with 298 three pointers at a 43 percent click, was neutralized, teams had to be cognizant of Ryan Ayers, who contributed 170 of his own over his career, 94 of which came last season. He was deadly as well at 42 percent.
Before the McAlarney/Ayers tandem, the Big East had to worry about the likes of Chris Quinn and Colin Falls. Falls was generally considered more dangerous as he was the first player ever to drop 100 threes in a season in South Bend when he made 102 in 2005/06. He left with a 40 percent success rate making 232 three pointers. Quinn was no slouch as he complimented Falls with Ayers-like support with 169 threes at 42 percent himself.
Those days were thought to be long gone. Are they though? Not so fast says Ben Hansbrough! It's certainly too early to predict anything this season, but over his two previous playing seasons he's made 42 percent of his three attempts dropping 173 of them down. If two games can be any indication, he's off to a good start throwing in eight out of ten threes thus far.
So if Hansbrough is this season's Falls/McAlarney, who fits the bill for the Quinn/Ayers character? It's tough to pinpoint solid candidates, if any, but there are a few indicators early on. Peoples and Jackson drain an occasional three but I don't think they have the green light to put it up any time they want. Tim Abromaitis and Luke Harangody have shown they can hit from anywhere on the court. I expect both to contribute to the three point game.
Coach Brey is fully aware their game plan must change from the previous seasons where McAlarney would jack up threes from half court, and make them! With no one expecting much out of South Bend, other than 'Gody producing MVP numbers, the Irish may be able to fly under the radar a bit and surprise some folks once again come Big East time. Either way, I still expect to see plenty shots from downtown and hopefully just as many drops!
At this point every single living Notre Dame fan has contemplated the football program's future and who should replace Coach Weis. I suspect there are even a few graves turning over at the recent loss to Navy. No coach since the Kuharich experiment has lost to Navy...not even once, let alone twice!
Let us say for all intents and purposes Weis is released at the end of this season. I'd support shipping him up Lake Michigan right now and punting the rest of the season, but that's an admittedly irrational personal opinion. The way I see it, at least when they get their asses kicked by Pitt and Stanford they'll have the interim coach excuse.
Either way, I wish I could say I'm breaking new ground here, but I cannot. Like I said, we've all thought about who would be best to fill the enormous shoes as head football coach at the University of Notre Dame. I've come up with my five top candidates, assuming they would leave their respective jobs of course.
Let me first say, I am not a fan of inter-league coaching moves, ala NFL coaches to NCAA and vice-versa. For the most part, save Pete Carroll and a few others, it is a failure. With the exception of Bill Cowher, I would not support another NFL to Notre Dame coaching move right now.
Here you go:
Kyle Whittingham, Utah – Replaced Urban Meyer as head coach at Utah and has a 45-15 record in his fifth season. He's been at Utah as a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator for most of his career and coached the Utes to an undefeated season in 2008.
Brian Kelly. Cincy – In his fourth season as head coach of Cincinnati and has a 31-6 record there. But his totals as head coach are now 168-57-2. He has one Big East title, contending for a second, one division title with Central Michigan, six division titles and two national championships with Grand Valley State. An undefeated season this year could land the Bearcats in the BCS National Championship game.
Gary Patterson, TCU – He has coached the Horned Frogs to an 80-27 record in his tenth season. I believe he is the only head coach who can say he's coached three separate conference winners, all with the same school certainly. One WAC, one Conference USA and one Mountain West Conference title and will pretty much coach for a second this week. He's got TCU at #4 in the country as I type this.
Chris Petersen, Boise State – Certainly the best coaching record out of my five here at 44-4 in his fourth season. The Broncos are on their way to a second undefeated season under Petersen, the first in 2006 of course ending with the BCS win over Oklahoma. They are also playing for their third WAC title in his four years as well. Personally, this choice is very intriguing and is probably my top choice. The only thing I would say is that he can be conservative at times where opening up the play book a bit would be warranted. That point can be countered though with the simple fact that they are a damned good football team and don't really need to be loose with the play calling.
Bronco Mendenhall, BYU – Maybe a bit of a sleeper here but he's coached the Cougars to a 44-15 record in his fifth season at the helm. He's probably the most uncontested as far has head coaching goes, but I think he's done a hell of a job in a tough spot like BYU. They are on their way to a fourth consecutive 10 win season and will contend for the third Mountain West Conference title this season under Mendenhall.
As you can see, I'm in the Midwest box here as far as my coaching candidates go. That was unintentional. I purposely left off the Urban Meyer and Nick Saban type coaches because, while I believe they come in and provide proven credentials and instant wins, I don't see them as either truly available or long term candidates. Looking back in Notre Dame's coaching history, many choices have been unconventional, dark-horse types. Many have panned out to be hall of fame coaches, some have faltered.
Either way you flip that coin, this regime is on it's last leg...and it's one that John Ryan buckled a season ago. I'll open this up as many other articles have thus far...who are your top candidates?
There are certainly many factors which help college coaches persuade a certain athlete to attend their respective institutions. It would be naïve to believe in this day and age football uniforms are not one of said factors. Minor as it may be, if I have the choice between school A and school B, all else equal, I may choose the school which unis make me look better on the field. Let’s face it, to many of these kids, looks may be a top factor.
Before I break down what will surely be my most objectionable post yet, let me give the disclaimer. This is my opinion and my opinion only. I am admittedly biased. I am not an SEC hater...trust me, I spread my hate equally. I apologize if I offend anyone's sensibilities, as I fully understand it may be hard for some of you to comprehend the fact that your team's uniforms may be ugly. Own it, be proud of it and embrace your ugliness.
That said, I'll start out with...
The Good.
8. Utah Utes – I cannot place exactly what I like about the Utes... as with a few of the teams on my lists, there is a recency effect. They're good, winning and maybe a bit disrespected. Or maybe it's just all the red!
7. South Carolina – I'm certainly not a fan of the Old Ball Coach, but I cannot help but like their subtle disrespect of the North with the lone “CAROLINA” or the endless play on words with “Gamecock”. I'm not sure what garnet is but it looks sharp with black and white.
6. North Carolina – I hate UNC and I hate powder blue, but for some reason with the dark blue and white, it's a solid home jersey. All powder is all ugly though.
5. Penn State – For the most part unchanged for many years. White and blue. It would seem hard to imagine fouling that up. Is it true the colors once consisted of dark pink? Thinkin' Joe-Pa would not have settled for that.
4. Indiana – If this were a list for best jerseys coupled with worst team, I think Indiana tops that list. Either way, they're unis with the IU helmet logo and stripes are pretty bad ass looking!
3. Ole Miss – While there are other schools with the same color combo the Rebels do it right. Right now, they've got the best unis in the SEC. Close behind are the Arizona Wildcats with pretty much the same colors but damed solid uniforms as well.
2. Texas A&M – Tried and true, the Aggies remain old school with their colors and uniforms. Tradition is everything in College Station and certainly their uniforms are part of that tradition.
1. Notre Dame – No surprise who holds the number one seed and how can you argue really. The golden dome, the plain blue jersey sans name-plate. While there have been a number of variations over the years, nothing gets the blood pumping or boiling on Saturday like watching the blue and gold take the field.
The Bad.
8. Boston College – Blue and gold works; maroon and gold, not so much. The colors are bad, the numbers look bad and that eagle is bad as well. Even the gold is dull...
7. Iowa State – They finally dropped that toon bird in the hurricane logo on the helmet but they've still got the eerily USC like jerseys. Maybe they're hoping Pete Carroll will mistakenly be dropped off in Ames, Iowa and not realizing where he is, coach a winning football team. Yeah, probably not...
6. Toledo – Maybe a long shot on the list here, but the helmet “Toledo” with the rocket has got to go. The rest is salvageable, but I guess they care as much as you care...not at all, it's Toledo.
5. Wyoming – If it weren't bad enough your team is in Wyoming. A state with the poo-end of the stick as far as population and recruiting goes, you have to match it with equally smelly uniforms. I actually like the logo. I mean what says I'm going to whup your but on this here field like a cowboy, right? Let's attempt to attract dudes other than real-life Cope-spittin', flannel-wearin' cowboys though. For Pete's sake, jerseys may be the only thing to attract talent to your wonderful state... get it right!
4. Oregon – Well let me say I attempted to put Oregon on all three of my lists, but I could not find the good uniform...why, because Nike hasn't made it yet! The winged jersey would be on the 'Good' side save the stupid wings. I mean, I get that you're the Ducks... but wings. I'm sure to get quack-attacked come next post!
3. Tennessee – And here starts my meat and potatoes of the 'Bad' list. I don't have any bias against UT generally... I mean, they are the real U.T.! But I just cannot be down with the florescent orange. You will all soon notice my prejudice against a certain color. Indeed it starts with an o and ends in range!
2. Florida – I know I know, I'm a hater... I don't like Jesus Tebow so I'm picking on their uniforms... I get it. What I don't get is the bright blue and ultra bright orange. It's not a good combo, sorry. I like the old “F” on the helmet but hate the cursive “Florida” and more so that goofy cartoony gator logo. Enough already.
1. texas – What would my list be without showing some hate to old t.u.? It's truly not about the hate though here. I can honestly say that burnt orange is worse than florescent orange and bright orange. That’s all I’ve got to say about that right now.
The Ugly.
8. Bowling Green – With the rare television appearance on Tuesday I realized these guys sport an ugly getup. The BG, the orange and brown once again.
7. Okie State and Oregon State – Virtually one in the same here...orange and black with varying amounts of each week-to-week. It’s just not cool! Otherwise, Cowboys and Beavers, that’s a lethal combo!
6. Miami – Bright green and more bright orange...ugh. Coupled with inconsistent football, just makes ugly more ugly.
5. Oregon – That’s right, bad and ugly. It’s a different combo of both each week. Only they have the means to roll with both at a time! Bad and ugly they may be to myself but to ridiculous football talent, they must know something I don’t.
4. Clemson – Purple and orange now. I don’t know how many ways to say it, but orange is ugly! More orange, less orange or orange paw prints don’t make a bit of difference. At least when Spiller runs by it’s hard to notice what ugly combo he’s wearing.
3. LSU –That’s right, I said it. Ugly. Purple and yellow = ugly. There’s no beating around the bush and no way around it. The block letters and tiger logo, also ugly. Do I hold a grudge, yeah maybe a couple, but at least I don’t have to wear yellow!
2. Virginia Tech – What do you get when you combine thug life with nerd life? That’s right, puke brown and burnt orange. There’s just no viable excuse for it. Bruce Smith is about the only thing keeping you out of number one... oh yeah, and the number one ugly.
1. The Ville – Maybe a dark horse to win in many eyes but the buffoonery that is the University of Louisville’s uniforms is unacceptable. First and foremost, let me say, I disrespect birds with teeth. I don’t appreciate Cardinal Bird grittin’ his unnatural teeth all over the place. Second, the ugly hip new font. It screams, we have no real tradition here to go old school so we’re going make some cool edgy logos! And finally you drop the “Louis” and roll with “The Ville”. I cannot even type into words how ludicrous this is.
One tenth into the season, the NHL's best record belongs not to the Pens, not the Caps, not the Avs but to the Buffalo Sabres. Of course they've only played nine games compared to nearly everyone else whose played up to 13 games, but with a 7-1-1 start, they hold best record.
Slow starts, poor D and overplaying Miller has been the Achilles heal in the past couple years and it looked to be more of the same in the first few games. Then they scored 18 goals and gave up five against Detroit and New York, lost to Atlanta 4-2, and are now riding a three game win streak scoring 12 giving up five.
At least right now Miller and the defense are lights out. They've given up 17 goals over nine games. That is by far the best in the NHL by ten goals. Even playing two or three games less than the rest of the league, their average beats the next best Coyotes.
The Sabres are also league tied going undefeated on the road thus far at 4-0; the Penguins are 5-0 on the road.
So far, the goal leader is Clarke MacArthur with five goals and seven points. Vanek has four goals, Grier, Pominville and Stafford all have three.
Myers is proving to be the badass I thought he would be and doing it early. He's sitting at +8 only behind Tallinder who's +9. Myers also has two goals and three assists leading all defensemen in points.
One of their two losses came on one of their two-in-a-rows, which by the way, they are playing more of than any other team. In November, I'll say they've got the toughest schedule I've ever seen.
First they play Wednesday, Friday and Saturday every single week in November. That is a grind! Then they play Philly three times, Boston twice, Washington, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Carolina; the Sabres start this joke of a sched. with NYI on the 4th.
While it's certainly early to get too excited, I've got a vibe that Buffalo will fly under the radar and surprise some folks if the can survive November.
LETS GO BUFFALO!!!
Post Authored By: Ian Cowan
