The news that the Bills are committed to hiring a football czar is welcome news.  They need one.  The news that they’ve already contacted Mike Shanahan–even better. He’s the type of man the Bills need to steer their football fortunes.

But whether or not they get Shanahan, the important thing is that they’re committed to an overhaul of their football fortunes. They need an experienced football man–whether he’s the general manager or director of football operations–the title doesnt matter. And here are a couple of realistic suggestions for the Bills new football czar.

How about Bruce Allen–George Allen’s son, who spent nine years with the Raiders and the last five years as general manager of the Tampa Bay Bucs. He would get the blessing of Marv Levy.   And Allen built winners in Oakland and Tampa Bay.

Another name–Buffalo native Greg Gabriel, the Bears director of College Scouting the last nine years.  He learned from the Giants great George Young, and he has a total of 28-years of service in the NFL.

Both Gabriel and Allen are solid, respected football men. They’d be affordable.  They’d most likely be interested in the job. And both would come with extensive football contacts and would be able to provide meaningful input into the selection of a coach.

If the Bills land Shanahan, that would be great. But Shanahan figures to attract a couple of other NFL offers. The future of the franchise hangs in the balance.  The Bills have to get to work now and find the right man to steer the ship.

Sunday night on NBC’s pregame show, Tony Dungy said the Bills could be a darkhorse location for Michael Vick in 2010.  Dungy, who advised Vick before he signed with Philadelphia, said the Bills did have some conversations with Vick before he signed with the Eagles.  Dungy says Buffalo would be a “good spot” for Vick. 

Obviously, the Bills QB situation will need to be addressed in the offseason.  If Trent Edwards doesn’t make major improvements in the second half, the Bills will almost certainly be looking for a new starter.

What do you think about Vick potentially coming to Buffalo?

The numbers continue to tell the story of this historically bad Bills offense.  Just 9 first downs against the Texans, just 204 total yards.  Its been almost three years since a Bills quarterback threw for 300 yards, an regular accomplishment on most NFL teams.  

But leave it to an opponent to put some perspective to what the numbers say and what our eyes have seen. Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans was asked how the Texans defense (ranked 21st) was able to throttle the Bills offense.

“It was easy,” Ryans said. “They kind of had the same formations, they didn’t give us a lot of motions and things. So it was a simple offense to go against.”

Wow.  Makes you realize just what the rest of the NFL thinks about the Buffalo offense.  Of course, we know why.  The offensive line’s issues don’t allow any fancy formation or motions.  They can’t even block for basic plays.

Oh how I long for the days of Langston Walker.

While WNY college football fans know about local starts Mike Williams of Syracuse and Doug Worthington of Ohio State, James Mallory is making a name for himself too.  The Kenmore West grad had another big game Saturday for Central Connecticut State University.  He ran for 204 yards and 3 TD in a win over Albany.  The Blue Devils are now 7-1.  Mallory has run for 2081 yards in his career at New Britain.  He is close to another 1000 yard season.    The 5-10, 200 pound senior had a standout career for the KW Blue Devils, running for over 5000 yards.

AP Photo

Taking nothing away from a Bills defense that is playing well and taking the ball away….the midterm exam comes Sunday and it will tell us alot about the student.  Buffalo’s D has beaten the 31st and 32nd ranked NFL quarterbacks (Sanchez and Delhomme) the past two weeks, forcing 9 interceptions.  Those picks aren’t lucky.  They were earned.  But the QB’s throwing them also played a role in making them happen.

That won’t happen against the Texans.  Schaub leads the NFL in TD passes, ranks 4th in quarterback rating and has throw only 5 interceptions.  He has the league’s leading receiver in Andre Johnson, and the tight end leader in yards in Owen Daniels. 

So we’ll find out much more about the Buffalo defense based on how they do against Houston.  Plus, we’ll learn if the offense can produce enough points to win.  I don’t see the Texans scoring less than 21.  So can the Bills offense, if they don’t get handed the short fields from turnovers, maintain some drives and score some points?  I don’t think so.  I think the Bills are a below-average overall team, and I believe we’ll see that Sunday.

I’m surprised the Bills didn’t trade Roscoe Parrish.  It made too much sense, and maybe that’s why it didn’t happen. He clearly didn’t want to be here, and he’s clearly playing like someone who doesn’t want to be here.  The fumble and -15 yard return against the Browns, along with his postgame comments. smack of a player not focused becuase he’s unhappy.  I don’t believe Roscoe will ever be a viable offensive player, but obviously he does. 

His return skills, while on hiatus this year, should have given him enough value to get at least a 5th round draft pick.  But maybe teams figured the Bills would have to let him go, and never offered that.  Remember, James Hardy is set to come off the PUP list and a roster spot will have to be open in the next few weeks. 

Now what do you do with an unhappy player who is made he wasn’t traded?  Do you cut him?  I think you have to.  When you do, he’ll be just another horrible Bills wasted draft pick.

The trade of Daniel Paille to the Bruins is no surprise.  With Thomas Vanek due to return from his injury, the Sabres had too many forwards.  The emergence of rookie Tim Kennedy made Paille expendable, as evidenced by his healthy scratch in the first four games.  He didn’t seem to play with the night-in-and-night-out intensity that Lindy Ruff demanded.  That’s something that Kennedy does do.  Paille looked like he would emerge after a solid 07-08 season when he scored 19 goals.  But he regressed last year, and was clearly on the outs through training camp.  Good for Darcy Regier getting something for a player who didn’t fit.

Sabres fans do you like this trade?

Saturday, the U.B. Bulls visit Western Michigan.  A Bulls win evens their overall record at 4-4 and their MAC record at 2-2.  I believe its a pivotal game for the season, and if they win, I will believe that they can return to a bowl game.   The Broncos are a solid MAC team with a star quarterback in Tim Hiller.  It will be an impressive victory if the Bulls pull it off.  It will also set them up for the final four games.  The next two games are at home, against Bowling Green and Ohio. Both are currently ahead of the Bulls in the MAC East standings.  The final two games are on the road but against Miami and Kent State, who are a combined 3-11.  So a win at Kalamazoo would put the Bulls in position to still lose one more but finish at 7-5.  That should be good enough for either the MAC’s third bowl spot, or another open spot at an unaffiliated bowl.  Unless Temple falls apart, its not likely the Bulls can repeat as MAC East champs. 

So while the Western Michigan game is not a must win, it would be the kind of a win that will propel the team for the rest of the season.

Bulls fans, do you agree?

I’m talking about the “Fire Dick Jauron” billboard scheduled to go up next week.

Do the people raising money for this billboard really expect it will have any impact at all on Ralph Wilson? I’m sure he hears the boos at the stadium.  He sees the fans with bags over their heads. He may already see the coach’s lack of popularity on his bottom line.

But a billboard will not embarrass the Bills. It will embarrass Bills fans.

I love the fact that Bills fans are so passionate; .that they care so much about the fortunes of their team. I’ve benefited professionally from that passion.

A billboard demanding firings will wind up on all the network pregame shows:  CBS, FOX, ESPN. It will paint an image all over the country about Bills fans.

You know how they always say, “Philadelphia fans booed Santa Claus??”   That was 41-years ago.  And that’s not a compliment for Philadelphia fans.

A billboard says to the rest of the country “It’s not enough to boo..or not buy tickets..or complain about our football team. We have to publicly humiliate the head coach. We demand a public flogging, sooner rather than later.

Is that the message we want to send to America’s sports fans?? Is that the message we want to send to the next head coach of the Bills??

Buffalo sports fans are the ones who said “Thank You Sabres” when their hockey team was on the brink of elimination from the playoffs. These are the fans who cheered Scott Norwood in Niagara Square, the day after he missed a kick that would have won the Super Bowl.

Those are two of the greatest moments in Buffalo sports history–spontaneous moments generated by Buffalo’s great sports fans. A billboard on the Thruway would fall way short of that standard.

A week ago, I did a commentary saying that firing the head coach would not make that much of a difference for the Buffalo Bills; it would not make things much better this season.

But yesterday’s terrible loss to Cleveland makes it an even tougher call.

This has not changed-firing Dick Jauron will not turn this team around and spark a magical run to a playoff spot. Their problems—offensive ineptitude..lack of depth..a quarterback in crisis..are way too serious to envision that.The best reason to change coaches at this point would be to send a signal to the fans–the loyal Bills fans, who filled the stadium again yesterday..and the hundreds of thousands of others who listened to and watched the game. They’re looking for a sign …they’re looking for an acknowledgement from Bills management that games like yesterday’s..like the Miami game a week ago..are not acceptable. They’re looking for hope.

Would changing coaches provide that hope? Temporarily, yeah. But the Bills problems are deep-seated and serious. It’s going to take a major overhaul to get the team straightened out and in contention again. It’ll take a lot more than a “feel-good” firing designed to appease the fans.

Rather than offering up the coach to mollify the fans, I’d love to see the Bills take a serious look at where they are in the football department..and where they’re headed. I’d like to see real change..not knee-jerk reaction. And I’d like to see that thorough assessment of their football team begin now..not in January.

What do you think?