Could Gailey be a better coach with a team he built?

[BillsWin]

In the NFL coaching turnover can be often times, quick and frequent.

Very few times can a coach come in and truly start from scratch, building a team that they want, with the personnel they need that fit the schemes they want to run.

With Buffalo, Gailey can come in with a GM that he is on the same page with. Together, the two have a team with a lot of youth, but very little in the way of established talent. This makes it easier to build from the bottom up.

With Dallas, Gailey inherited a team he didn't build. So essentially he was coaching someone else's team, someone else's plan and someone else's creation. Implementing his own philosophies into a veteran squad set in its own ways.

Could coaching in Buffalo actually help Gailey reach his full potential as an NFL head coach?

Although it may mean we have to sink lower than low, and essentially "bottom out". But, could starting from scratch play not only to Gailey's strengths, but to Nix's and even some of the young players we already have.

Jauron tried to do this, and failed epically. But, I don't think he was any good of a coach. It was almost as if him, and our sub par front office were butting heads on how they wanted to build the team so instead of heading in a linear path, they floundered around in circles going nowhere.

Gailey is highly regarded in the league as a good offensive mind who pounds discipline and structure into his player's minds.

With all that in mind, does rebuilding a team completely from scratch play right into a coach like Gailey's hands?

This is up for discussion of course. I am just "typing outloud" I guess.

It just seems to me that Gailey never really got a chance in Dallas to build his own team. Maybe, if Gailey is any good of a coach, Buffalo will suit him better in that aspect.

[justasportsfan]

only time will tell

[Buddo]

It's certainly 'food for thought'. Something that is in his favour, is that many of the 'veteran' players, seem to be prepared to take thenew schemes on board, and view them as challenges rather than just part of the job.
I think offensively, we might actually see the largest 'jump' in performance this year, as players will actually have a real offense, and real play calling to work behind.
While there's a long way to go yet, I can still see the Bills having a decent season, providing a couple of the moves being made on defense, actually do work out.
This group of players isn't without talent, but it has been devoid of genuine leadership. Gailey might not be the 'be all, end all' of NFL coaches, but I think he isn't going to be messed with, and will get Nix's backing there. The players will have to 'shape up' or be 'shipped out'.
We may well have to 'make do' in a couple of areas his year, but I'd guarantee that wherever there is a 'weakness', they will be working hard to improve it.
While we may not have got Cowher, I think that the team that Gailey builds, will have much in the way of similarities, to the Steelers of his era, that Gailey spent a fair amount of time with.

[mikemac2001]

ANd i don't want to hear he sucked as a college coach because talent is completely different there and so is recruiting most players won't pick GT over schools in that area.

[Don't Panic]

I just feel like, by year four, Jauron's approach was stale and his players were going soft on him. That makes me feel like even with the few areas we've really addressed, we're going to be more competitive as a team this season.

With Gailey, there are still a lot of unknowns. Like most, I like what I'm hearing this week, but with all of the changes and the schedule we're looking at, it is going to be hard to expect much this year.

But your premise is sound - we are building with the leftovers and a host of new talent so we will get to see what he's made of probably by next year. I still say 8 wins is a great goal for this year. One step at a time...

[Typ0]

The team has been getting better for three years.

[jamze132]

I think anytime a coach who actually knows football gets to build his own team, he will be more successful than not, as long as he is given the reign to do what he needs to do and not have his hands tied behind his back by the GM.

I like this duo and look forward to wathcing the players grow together.

[TigerJ]

It's certainly true that different schemes require different kinds of players. The West Coast offense requires big physical receivers, but places less of a premium on speed. The Tampa 2 offense demands speedy linebackers, but they don't have to be very big. Although I think the Bills have done a decent job of retooling the roster to fit Gailey's needs, it's still not going to happen overnight. Moreover, a lot of the new guys are very young. They are going to take a bit of time to get seasoned. Ralph Wilson does seem to value patience and continuity most of the time. That turned out badly with Jauron as the head coach, but it certainly could play into Gailey's favor.

[justasportsfan]

The team has been getting better for three years.


the only thing this team was getting better at under Dick was that they were getting better from their injuries.

[trapezeus]

billswin, what you wrote certainly is the hope and what we are all tying our boats to. it might not be the case. but at first glance, it seems like they are making the right moves.

during the jauron years, you were scratching your ehead on every single deciusion he made. gailey and nix have moved in a path that i get. they said what their plan was on defense, and then shockingly went out and got players to fill some of those roles. they seem to know they need 2-3 drafts to get this right and they had a good one in 09, this one seems to be ok but we won't know and then the following year will hopefully close out all our issues.

[PromoTheRobot]

Reading today's Buffalo News about the team doing basic fitness stuff tells me Gailey knows what he's doing more than Jauron, or Levy for that matter, ever did. If the Jauron-led Bills could win 6-7 games, I don''t see why this team, in in year one, couldn't win 9 games.

PTR

[ddaryl]

I think regardless if we build a team for Gailey that the upgrade over Jauron alone will be evident from day 1.

Gailey did OK in Dallas, and many still wonder why he was terminated.... The kicker is if Gailey is successful here and Nix continues to bring in players for Gailey to use in his schemes then is that enough to propel us back to glory ???

All I want is to feel what its like to have your team win a championship.,

[ddaryl]

Reading today's Buffalo News about the team doing basic fitness stuff tells me Gailey knows what he's doing more than Jauron, or Levy for that matter, ever did. If the Jauron-led Bills could win 6-7 games, I don''t see why this team, in in year one, couldn't win 9 games.

PTR


I imagine reading this kind of stuff pisses us all off. This is pro football where athletes make millions.... No reason not to be working this hard from the the 1st OTA IMO...

Jauron was club Med, and maybe that works with a good veteran team dedicated to tasks, but it does not work with a team that has lost any winning tradition it had and is in a decade long funk that is mixed with 3 rebuilding projects

[Jan Reimers]

There's no doubt that Gailey - or any coach not named Dick Jauron - will get better as he adds players that best fit his philosophy. But the most promising thing about Gailey, right now, is the success he has had with some of the not-so-good teams he has inherited.

[billz83]

Gailey will be a better coach then Jauron..he will have this team prepared for the team we are playing and i think the offense will HOPEFULLY be better then last year..considering we have no OLINE or a QB and 1 WR Gailey better show off his coaching "skills"..still disagree with them about the QB..i KNOW we dont have a starting NFL QB..they seem to think so i hope they are right.

[DynaPaul]

I thought that one of Gailey's strengths was that he could customize any offense according to the personnel?

[Night Train]

I'll give him a chance. Heck, I gave the safari hat wearing skeletor a chance and hated his hiring from Day 1.

Gaileys' hire didn't infuriate me and he seems to have an actual plan. His gameday playcalling will be the deciding factor. So far, the players like his organized, hard practice approach. That's a good thing.