Bills fire head coach Jauron

[TheClevelandSound]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4664167

 

The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron on Tuesday after a 3-6 start in which the offense has been one of the worst in the NFL.

 

Jauron was 24-33 since being hired by former general manager Marv Levy in 2006 to be head coach. He has two years remaining on his contract that will pay him a total of $6 million in 2009 and 2010.

 

"I really don't have anything to say," was all Jauron would say when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.

 

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was named interim head coach on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the team's first black head coach. Fewell, who's never been a head coach at any level, will make his debut on Sunday when the Bills travel to play Jacksonville.

 

"I am announcing today that I am relieving Dick Jauron from his duties as our head coach, effective immediately," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said. "I have tremendous respect for Dick and thank him for all of his efforts during these past four years. While this was a very difficult decision, I felt that it is one that needed to be made at this time for the best interest of our team. We will now focus on moving forward and preparing for our game this week in Jacksonville."

 

Jauron was blindsided by the firing, an NFL source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

 

Jauron traveled to Detroit on Monday to meet with Wilson; the last time he traveled to Detroit was last summer, when the team fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert. Jauron and Wilson met Monday and again Tuesday.

 

The former head coach of the Chicago Bears, Jauron finishes with a 60-82 record as a head coach in the NFL. He was also an interim coach in Detroit in 2005.

 

Buffalo, which has not made the playoffs since 1999, has now gone through four coaches since the end of the 2000 season, when Wade Phillips was dismissed. Gregg Williams was not rehired after his three-year contract expired, while Mike Mularkey abruptly resigned after a front-office shakeup following the 2005 season.

 

Under Jauron, the Bills couldn't get over the 7-9 mark. The team was 7-9 during his first three years. During the offseason, the Bills entered minicamps with optimism they could improve on offense. They signed Terrell Owens to take away coverage from Lee Evans, the team's No. 1 receiver.

 

Jauron and Schonert decided to go to a no-huddle offense. The team didn't huddle during the offseason or training camp. Before the season started, the Bills fired Schonert and handed the offensive coordinator job to Alex Van Pelt, who had been the quarterbacks coach.

 

The Bills are averaging 15.6 points a game this season. They haven't generated 300 yards of offense in eight of nine games this season, including their past seven. They also haven't had a quarterback generate 200 yards passing since Trent Edwards had 230 yards in a 33-20 win over Tampa Bay in Week 2.

 

Defensive end Chris Kelsay was shocked to learn of the move happening this late in the season, but not entirely surprised. Kelsay was well aware before the start of the season that changes were in store if the Bills faltered.

 

"I think everybody understood this was a big year and there was lots at stake," Kelsay told the AP, adding he maintains his respect for Jauron. "I feel a little responsible for it, and most players do. I feel like I let him down because we, as players, are the ones to blame."

 

Jauron becomes the first NFL coach to be fired this season and first Bills coach to be fired midseason since Hank Bullough was fired nine games into the 1986 season and replaced by Levy.

 

Fewell has been the Bills' defensive coordinator since 2006.

 

"Perry has done a great job with our defense and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as defensive coordinator," Wilson said in a statement. "Our players and staff have a lot of confidence in him and that is important as we look forward to these next seven games."

[SoCalDog]

OK Brown's fans, at least give the Bills Owner credit...he's done two things that Lerner should have done by now...

 

Fire the OC ...get rid of Dabol and I guarantee our off. improves under someone else.

 

FIRE the HC: FIRE MANGINI NOW!!!!! start the "process" of getting this franchise back to respectability!

 

Anyone else tired of hearing the word "process" from Mangina? Man, I hate that word now.

[JoeSixPat]

Unfortunately, there's a lot of differences between the Browns and Bills.

 

Ralph Wilson 91 and might not feel he's got the luxury of patience.

 

 

Randy Lerner might be willing to keep Mangini til he's 91, if only so he can save a bit of face and hope that someday, Mangini will turn the Browns into a mediocre team and he can tell everyone he told us so.

 

Lerner's also got a lot of fans in his corner who very much believe that Mangni's got this team all moving forward together in the right direction. Either that or Steelers and Ravens fans did a good job of buying up all the tickets and filling the seats last night in an effort to convince Lerner to keep Mangini.

[BrownIndian]

Bills are another team for ever rebuilding.

[ATENEARS]

There is no comparison between Jauron's situation and Mangini's. Dick has had 57-games, four off-seasons/training camps/pre season's/drafts to wallow in mediocrisy ... actually he's been a head coach for 142 games.

 

Mangini just finished game 9, with a team fresh out of Camp (Cream Puff) Crennel. He's purged the roster beyond belief ... everyone's gone ... ummm, like Edwards .... and Winslow ... and ummm, did I mention Edwards yet?

 

Jauron brought in Terrell Owens and has Lee Evans and has some good backs, but a green line. We have Joe Thomas, a punt returner ... and Phil Dawson's wife is pretty hot.

 

Mangini is only gone because of the GM void and the kind of GM we need to bring in is gonna have his own hand-picked coach. Otherwise Mangini would be here to see his 11 Draft picks through.

[hoorta]

There is no comparison between Jauron's situation and Mangini's. Dick has had 57-games, four off-seasons/training camps/pre season's/drafts to wallow in mediocrisy ... actually he's been a head coach for 142 games.

 

Mangini just finished game 9, with a team fresh out of Camp (Cream Puff) Crennel. He's purged the roster beyond belief ... everyone's gone ... ummm, like Edwards .... and Winslow ... and ummm, did I mention Edwards yet?

 

Yeah, did great on getting rid of Stone Hands and the Crip while they still had value, too bad he purged the roster so thoroughly, we'd have trouble beating a CFL team right now.

 

Jauron brought in Terrell Owens and has Lee Evans and has some good backs, but a green line. We have Joe Thomas, a punt returner ... and Phil Dawson's wife is pretty hot.

 

and why do we have only those three? See above. When the Steelers retooled after the Bubby Brister & Kordell Stewart fiascoes, they sure as hell never looked this bad.

 

Mangini is only gone because of the GM void and the kind of GM we need to bring in is gonna have his own hand-picked coach. Otherwise Mangini would be here to see his 11 Draft picks through.

 

Mangini is gone because he totally mismanaged the qb situation, destroyed the front office, and won't fire an offensive co-ordinator that can't coach his way out of a paper bag. EM's next head coaching gig will be somewhere like Coastal Carolina or Ferris State.

[Earl34]

So now we're taking cues from the Buffalo Bills?

 

You guys need to get a grip and understand that Eric Mangini will always be employable on some level in this league because the league doesn't discard guys who know X's and O's (see Turner, Norv and Phillips, Wade). If he's canned, he might not see HC duty for the foreseeable future but someone in the NFL will employ him on the defensive side of the ball.

 

Sorry to burst your bubbles.

[TN Browns Backer]

So now we're taking cues from the Buffalo Bills?

 

You guys need to get a grip and understand that Eric Mangini will always be employable on some level in this league because the league doesn't discard guys who know X's and O's (see Turner, Norv and Phillips, Wade). If he's canned, he might not see HC duty for the foreseeable future but someone in the NFL will employ him on the defensive side of the ball.

 

Sorry to burst your bubbles.

 

Our defense is thanks to Rob Ryan, and after his two stints in NY and now here, im pretty sure the league all knows this. He has a bad rap amongst players and would probably have a difficult time getting a cord. position. He will drop down to college like Bill Callahan and hopefully fall of the face of the earth like Ryan Leaf

[Earl34]

Our defense is thanks to Rob Ryan, and after his two stints in NY and now here, im pretty sure the league all knows this. He has a bad rap amongst players and would probably have a difficult time getting a cord. position. He will drop down to college like Bill Callahan and hopefully fall of the face of the earth like Ryan Leaf

 

 

You can't have it both ways. Mangini is as much responsible for the D as anyone. As for the x's and o's, he received rave reviews for a seminar given to the Pro Football Writers of America:

 

KNOWING THE GAME

 

While speaking in April at the NFL's PR meetings, I urged that more teams try and hold seminars to help some of our members become more football savvy as well as give a behind-the-scenes look at the Xs and Os of the game. The New York Jets and coach Eric Mangini did just that with a three-hour seminar detailing, among other things, the intricacies of the 3-4 defense. The seminar drew rave reviews. Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star-Ledger wrote a blog item with more details at http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2008/07/m...ws_defense.html. We encourage more teams to do the same.

 

 

There's also an excerpt from an article about Jeff Schudel's book "No Substitute for Sundays" which chronicles Brett Favre's year with the Jets:

 

Six months after Lerner hired Mangini to coach the Browns, Serby had his exclusive interview with Johnson at the Jets' training center in Florham, N.J.

 

"It just looked to me like the team ... it was not as enjoyable as it should be to be a professional athlete at the New York Jets," Serby quotes Johnson saying. "The head coach is responsible for setting the tone. It's a tonal thing. He was a total X-and-O guy, a brilliant person, Wesleyan graduate, very, very smart ... took the sport very, very seriously. But from this team's standpoint, there was just something missing, and it was more or less something you get later. ... It was a relationship with the players that they needed that wasn't there.

 

"It was just the way the whole football enterprise felt. In other words, you can go ... you move faster when you're confident and you're having fun than you do if you're not confident and you don't know what the hell you're doing. I just felt there wasn't the esprit de corps ... and nobody told me that. That's just what you could see."

 

Some observers believe what Johnson described is one of the problems with the Browns now. Yet former Jets tight end Chris Baker, who played for gentlemanly Herm Edwards from 2002-2005 and then three years for Mangini, told Serby that Mangini mellowed in 2008.

 

"Eric, he changed a lot," Baker told Serby. "He won a lot of guys over this past year by showing a more human side."

 

The book is about Favre, not Mangini. No player quoted in the book criticizes Mangini for the way he related to players.

 

Serby is critical of the way Mangini coached down the stretch in 2008 and accused him of not being able to motivate his players and that he "coached scared in situations that called for nerve," an opinion that calls to mind Mangini calling for a field goal last week against Cincinnati with the score 14-14 and the Browns facing fourth-and-18-inches on the Bengals' 9 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

 

Ten former Jets are now with the Browns. Of the group, 11-year veteran David Bowens is the most straightforward. He played for Mangini in 2007 and 2008. He said he understands how Johnson reached the conclusion he did, but Bowens said Mangini does relate to his players if they make an effort to know him.

 

"My understanding when I first got to New York was that with Eric it's not about his delivery. It's all about his message and what he means," Bowens said. "Players took his criticism the wrong way and didn't understand his goal was to make us a better team and make each player better.

 

"They could have gone to him and said, 'Why are you always on me? Why am I always being pointed out for my mistakes?' Sometimes you get the misconception of coach-player that he doesn't like me or he's always on me. Maybe Eric didn't do a good job of sending his message that way until after the fact."

 

Bowens said some Jets players might have complained directly to Johnson. He isn't sure. He said he wasn't one of them.

 

"You have this exterior of this coach being chiseled and real hard, but what people don't understand is his office is always open," Bowens said. "He talks to guys about his kids and family. People don't really accept that invitation he offers. They go on what they see and don't get to know him. Any player in this locker room, no matter who they are or how much money they make, can go talk to Coach. People really haven't taken advantage of that."

 

Last week, players noticed Mangini had become a little more flexible without being less demanding. Not ordering the team to practice in full pads on Thursday last week is an example. Coincidence or not, the Browns were fresher in the game against the Bengals.

 

How much bounce they show in their step today will be more evidence whether the change works because the Browns were not in full pads Thursday.

 

On Friday, Mangini said he made the change in the Thursday routine after the team captains went to him with the suggestion to lighten up. Mangini said he will listen to and consider any change if he can be persuaded it can help the Browns win.

 

"I think as I get to know people better, as I meet people, as they meet me, the relationship builds," Mangini said Friday. "In transition, it's sometimes difficult.

 

"My high school coach always used to say, 'Be firm, fair and consistent,' and I believe in that. The rules aren't there for any reason besides to let us operate effectively. There's no other agenda. There's no maliciousness. It's like anything else. If you don't want to get fined, don't break the rules.

 

"I don't make concessions for guys that are 15-year players versus a rookie free agent, because then the rules aren't consistent. They don't have meaning."

[TN Browns Backer]

You can't have it both ways. Mangini is as much responsible for the D as anyone. As for the x's and o's, he received rave reviews for a seminar given to the Pro Football Writers of America:

 

 

 

 

There's also an excerpt from an article about Jeff Schudel's book "No Substitute for Sundays" which chronicles Brett Favre's year with the Jets:

 

Both ways? What are you talking about, all I said was Ryan was responsible for the D, no Mangina. And As any football fan should know, Football sports writers are hardly credible sources, its all about opinion.

[Earl34]

Both ways? What are you talking about, all I said was Ryan was responsible for the D, no Mangina. And As any football fan should know, Football sports writers are hardly credible sources, its all about opinion.

 

You can't blame Mangini for the offense and then say he had nothing to do with the defense.

[TN Browns Backer]

You can't blame Mangini for the offense and then say he had nothing to do with the defense.

 

Dont assume im blaming Mangini for one thing and not the other, I never mentioned the offense. That is 99% on Daboll

[CLEVELandMILIDH]

Our defense is thanks to Rob Ryan, and after his two stints in NY and now here, im pretty sure the league all knows this. He has a bad rap amongst players and would probably have a difficult time getting a cord. position. He will drop down to college like Bill Callahan and hopefully fall of the face of the earth like Ryan Leaf

 

You cant possibly beleive that. Half our defense is ex-Jets

 

Did you see Mangini yelling at Ryan sunday when they gave up that running touchdown?

If Mangini has nothing to do with the O and nothing to do with the D, what is he the scapegoat? Im pretty sure the GM/Headcoach/head honco has everything to do with both the offense and the defense

 

Rob Ryans defensive ranks in Oakland

30th in 04

27th in 05

3rd in 06

22nd in 07

27th in 08

Not exactly stellar

 

[JoeSixPat]

You cant possibly beleive that. Half our defense is ex-Jets

 

Did you see Mangini yelling at Ryan sunday when they gave up that running touchdown?

If Mangini has nothing to do with the O and nothing to do with the D, what is he the scapegoat? Im pretty sure the GM/Headcoach/head honco has everything to do with both the offense and the defense

 

Rob Ryans defensive ranks in Oakland

30th in 04

27th in 05

3rd in 06

22nd in 07

27th in 08

Not exactly stellar

 

It's interesting how, despite some pretty bad numbers, Rob Ryan has a degree of fan confidence in him as a potential interim Head Coach.

 

I think the reason is clear. It's because he brings energy and enthusiasm to that job and has accepted responsibility for the sorry state of his squad.

 

Mangini is at least percevied as blaming everyone around him, stabbing yet another "friend" in the back

 

The reason the Bills fired Jauron is because they want to get a head start on next year. They don't want to wait to tell free agents and their fans that things are going to change in Buffalo and Wilson wants to give them a chance to see that he's serious about change.

 

In Lerner's case he seems very reluctant to send any message of that sort and if he does intend on bringing in a true GM with actual GM powers who will fire Mangini, he's not going to get the head start the Bills will.

 

For Lerner firing Mangini would send a powerful signal that he's serious about changing the direction of the team and he wouldn't be putting the onus of that decision on a new GM. But in the end I think Lerner may not want to admit he made such a serious mistake with Mangini and Kokinis both... and that maybe it wasn't wise to move so quickly on Mangini when no one else had any interest in him.

 

That would take a lot pf pride swallowing for Lerner to do that and I don't think he's up to it.

 

[Earl34]

It's interesting how, despite some pretty bad numbers, Rob Ryan has a degree of fan confidence in him as a potential interim Head Coach.

 

I think the reason is clear. It's because he brings energy and enthusiasm to that job and has accepted responsibility for the sorry state of his squad.

 

Mangini is at least percevied as blaming everyone around him, stabbing yet another "friend" in the back

 

The reason the Bills fired Jauron is because they want to get a head start on next year. They don't want to wait to tell free agents and their fans that things are going to change in Buffalo and Wilson wants to give them a chance to see that he's serious about change.

 

In Lerner's case he seems very reluctant to send any message of that sort and if he does intend on bringing in a true GM with actual GM powers who will fire Mangini, he's not going to get the head start the Bills will.

 

For Lerner firing Mangini would send a powerful signal that he's serious about changing the direction of the team and he wouldn't be putting the onus of that decision on a new GM. But in the end I think Lerner may not want to admit he made such a serious mistake with Mangini and Kokinis both... and that maybe it wasn't wise to move so quickly on Mangini when no one else had any interest in him.

 

That would take a lot pf pride swallowing for Lerner to do that and I don't think he's up to it.

 

Could you please show me where Mangini is "blaming everyone around him"? Where is he "stabbing yet another friend in the back" (and don't go on the Kokinis angle because I believe that Mangini actually took the slings and arrows on the Kokinis deal to protect Kokinis.

 

I think Lerner is enough of a wild card to really NOT be predictable. He could insist Mangini stay but everyone has their threshold.

 

[Gips]

There is no comparison between Jauron's situation and Mangini's. Dick has had 57-games, four off-seasons/training camps/pre season's/drafts to wallow in mediocrisy ... actually he's been a head coach for 142 games.

 

Mangini just finished game 9, with a team fresh out of Camp (Cream Puff) Crennel. He's purged the roster beyond belief ... everyone's gone ... ummm, like Edwards .... and Winslow ... and ummm, did I mention Edwards yet?

 

Jauron brought in Terrell Owens and has Lee Evans and has some good backs, but a green line. We have Joe Thomas, a punt returner ... and Phil Dawson's wife is pretty hot.

 

Mangini is only gone because of the GM void and the kind of GM we need to bring in is gonna have his own hand-picked coach. Otherwise Mangini would be here to see his 11 Draft picks through.

 

And we dont need to wait for 48 more games to see where mangini isnt going to take us he sucks...

Wilson may be old but he isnt as slow as slo-lerner when it comes to grabbing the best food off the table before lerner can even get to the dining room...wilson isnt wasting time sitting on his ass twiddling his thumbs like randy is...theres a vacancy to fill but there needs to be three..

[dawg08]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4664167

 

The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron on Tuesday after a 3-6 start in which the offense has been one of the worst in the NFL.

 

Jauron was 24-33 since being hired by former general manager Marv Levy in 2006 to be head coach. He has two years remaining on his contract that will pay him a total of $6 million in 2009 and 2010.

 

"I really don't have anything to say," was all Jauron would say when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.

 

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell was named interim head coach on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the team's first black head coach. Fewell, who's never been a head coach at any level, will make his debut on Sunday when the Bills travel to play Jacksonville.

 

"I am announcing today that I am relieving Dick Jauron from his duties as our head coach, effective immediately," Bills owner Ralph Wilson said. "I have tremendous respect for Dick and thank him for all of his efforts during these past four years. While this was a very difficult decision, I felt that it is one that needed to be made at this time for the best interest of our team. We will now focus on moving forward and preparing for our game this week in Jacksonville."

 

Jauron was blindsided by the firing, an NFL source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

 

Jauron traveled to Detroit on Monday to meet with Wilson; the last time he traveled to Detroit was last summer, when the team fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert. Jauron and Wilson met Monday and again Tuesday.

 

The former head coach of the Chicago Bears, Jauron finishes with a 60-82 record as a head coach in the NFL. He was also an interim coach in Detroit in 2005.

 

Buffalo, which has not made the playoffs since 1999, has now gone through four coaches since the end of the 2000 season, when Wade Phillips was dismissed. Gregg Williams was not rehired after his three-year contract expired, while Mike Mularkey abruptly resigned after a front-office shakeup following the 2005 season.

 

Under Jauron, the Bills couldn't get over the 7-9 mark. The team was 7-9 during his first three years. During the offseason, the Bills entered minicamps with optimism they could improve on offense. They signed Terrell Owens to take away coverage from Lee Evans, the team's No. 1 receiver.

 

Jauron and Schonert decided to go to a no-huddle offense. The team didn't huddle during the offseason or training camp. Before the season started, the Bills fired Schonert and handed the offensive coordinator job to Alex Van Pelt, who had been the quarterbacks coach.

 

The Bills are averaging 15.6 points a game this season. They haven't generated 300 yards of offense in eight of nine games this season, including their past seven. They also haven't had a quarterback generate 200 yards passing since Trent Edwards had 230 yards in a 33-20 win over Tampa Bay in Week 2.

 

Defensive end Chris Kelsay was shocked to learn of the move happening this late in the season, but not entirely surprised. Kelsay was well aware before the start of the season that changes were in store if the Bills faltered.

 

"I think everybody understood this was a big year and there was lots at stake," Kelsay told the AP, adding he maintains his respect for Jauron. "I feel a little responsible for it, and most players do. I feel like I let him down because we, as players, are the ones to blame."

 

Jauron becomes the first NFL coach to be fired this season and first Bills coach to be fired midseason since Hank Bullough was fired nine games into the 1986 season and replaced by Levy.

 

Fewell has been the Bills' defensive coordinator since 2006.

 

"Perry has done a great job with our defense and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as defensive coordinator," Wilson said in a statement. "Our players and staff have a lot of confidence in him and that is important as we look forward to these next seven games."

 

My take is if the Bills can fire their head coach in the middle season, so can the Browns! And they should!!!

 

[dj_illness]

i get a lot of bills coverage in my area.

 

we are in VERY similar positons.

 

- a 2 QB circus....with both likely to be replaced next year

- needing a head coach

 

-decent D's but terribly ineffective offenses

 

i'm glad there are enough coaches/players to go around, but the reality is, both the browns and bills are looking for a HC and a QB.

[Kosar_For_President]

i get a lot of bills coverage in my area.

 

we are in VERY similar positons.

 

- a 2 QB circus....with both likely to be replaced next year

- needing a head coach

 

-decent D's but terribly ineffective offenses

 

i'm glad there are enough coaches/players to go around, but the reality is, both the browns and bills are looking for a HC and a QB.

 

The HUGE difference is you have 2 Pro-Bowl WR's, we got 2 rookies. Shit and a pro bowl RB.

[dj_illness]

true.

 

and that's only gotten them to 7-9 and the past 35 years.

 

 

[Kosar_For_President]

true.

 

and that's only gotten them to 7-9 and the past 35 years.

 

Let's combine the 2 teams and we might be able to make the Playoffs. The Brown Buffalos

 

Mark my words Fitzpatrick is going to light it up this weekend.

[dj_illness]

my friend and I talk about combining ALL the time.

 

there'd be a good Defense...

 

browns have 2 good O linemen

bills have talent at WR and RB

 

and.....qb's are still rough.

 

:-/

 

oh, and we have cribbs, not some turd who fumbles kickoffs away.