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Joe Logan Article
BILLIEVE!!
By JOE LOGAN (1/8/2010 10:23:12 PM)
I'm sitting here watching the Buffalo Sabres put a beating on the Toronto Maple Leafs at HSBC Arena but can't stop thinking about how different people feel about our two professional sports franchises. The Sabres are flying high and the Bills are in a decade long playoff drought with no end in sight.
Draft after draft, coach after coach, and GM after GM have tried and failed to effect positive change at one Bills Drive. Yet it doesn't take much to turn things around. Look at the Sabres. They missed the playoffs the past two years and they look like they will be going into the Olympic break as one of the hottest teams in the league. There are also several examples in the NFL where teams turned things around in a year. I don't care what Ralph said at Buddy Nix's press conference. The Bengals went from 4-11 to 10-6. The Packers went from 6-10 to 11-5.
There is no magic death bullet that says the Bills can't do the same.
I remember the day when Jim Kelly arrived in a Limo to sign his contract at 1 Bills Drive. I remember the day because it was one day before my 20th birthday. For those of you old enough to remember that, weren't you in total shock? For the time since the old AFL championship days Ralph was the guy who wouldn't pull out his checkbook for anything more than average to below average players. But he did it, and that single move may have very well saved the franchise.
Fast forward to 2010. Different time, same scenario. Kelly didn't really have any other options except sit out a season after the USFL went under. But Kelly at his core is a blue collar guy just like Cowher. They are not prima-donna's. They both grew up near Pittsburgh and were around people who worked hard for every dollar. They expect the same from themselves and for those around them.
Cowher, like Kelly, doesn't really have any other options right now except to go back to the studio where I believe he doesn't belong. Hiring Cowher would to me would be a defining moment just like the day Kelly signed. And it is just as possible.
Having said all of that, it really is surprising how the local media, specifically the radio and TV dudes, can never talk about Cowher without saying it's a long shot because none of the big names would ever want to come here.
The most disapointing for me is Mike Schopp. I remember when he got so upset at a caller for being so negative and expecting nothing but bad things to happen to the Bills. He wondered how anyone can be like that and still enjoy being a fan. I remember feeling guilty because I always had those same negative thoughts. Yet here he is basically dismissing any report that comes out that gives a sign of life to the Cowher to Buffalo story. To me that is not only poor reporting, but also helps to serve a self fulfilling prophecy that nothing good will ever come from One Bills Drive and we can only expect a second or third option as Buffalo's 18th head coach.
The negativity and lowered expectations from many Bills fans and most of the media can be seen in this hilarious YouTube video someone sent me today.
Now is the time for Bills Fans to scream and shout. Some local folks have coughed up some cash to get a Billboard up proclaiming their desire for Ralph to do what it takes to get the "Chin". We need more of that. The radio and TV duds who act like Buffalo really can't expect to get the best guy out there need to get on the bandwagon, start realizing that this isn't a pipe dream and start pushing R&R (Ralph and Russ) to do what's right. We need to apply some pressure now. Cowher can be got.
I'm sure that Leslie Frazier deserves a chance as a head coach. Perry Fewell I believe is a worthy candidate. Jim Harbaugh has done some good things. Brian Billick certainly has the experience. But right now, Bill Cowher needs to be the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
Cowher would be good for everyone including Cowher. There is no fan like a Bills fan. There is no city so deserving of a championship. And there is no other coach in the world that I would rather want to bring us that championship than Bill Cowher. It would almost make it worth the wait.
R&R are in a position right now to make this happen, but Ralph needs to commit to pay for players, and Brandon needs to pull out every marketing skill he has, but he needs to do it now. Kelly should be in Cowher's ear every day. The stars are aligned. Cowher wants to coach next year and his options are limited.
I basically have given two pieces of information this week which I continue to stand behind. The first was that the Bills were going to talk with Cowher on Tuesday, and the second that Cowher is OK with the salary the Bills can offer but wants a commitment to ensure he has the tools to win. I have no idea if he will be the next coach for the Buffalo Bills, but maybe we can all do something about that.
PS, please stop asking who our source is ; )
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