COMMENTARY
Wilson needs to own up to Bills’ woes
Moments after the Bills’ loss to Miami, I caught up to Ralph Wilson outside the locker room. People seem to appreciate my periodic chats with the owner, so here’s an unfiltered transcript of the conversation.
Were you embarrassed by this performance today, Ralph?
“No, no. I’m getting used to that,” Wilson said with a laugh. ‘Laugh’ is too mild a word. He was positively roaring.
You’ve scored three points two weeks in a row. It’s a long way from 5-1.
“At 5-1, we got a lot of turnovers,” he said. “But we just don’t have the talent.”
What about the head coach, Ralph?
“What about him? He can’t kick field goals or tackle during a game. Let’s see, what else is there? Block. Tackle.”
Why won’t you clear up the confusion about Jauron’s contract extension?
“Ah, I’m sick and tired of this contract extension,” Wilson replied.
Well, I asked, does he have an extension or doesn’t he? Is it signed?
“No,” Wilson said, “I’m not going to talk about that.”
No, you’re not going to talk about it, or no, he doesn’t have one?
“Ah, now you’re sounding like a federal court prosecutor,” Wilson said.
So you’re not saying whether he has an extension or not?
“No.” It would be nice to know. Dick Jauron is not very popular right now.
“Neither am I,” Wilson said, chortling again. “We’ll go out together.”
Seriously, why not clear it up?
“We’ll clear it up one of these days. OK?”
Wilson reiterated his belief that the Bills’ biggest problem is a lack of talent. He said it goes back seven or eight years, and bemoaned some of the poor draft picks or ill-advised trades to move up into the first round.
That’s when things got a little scary. It’s clear that Wilson still holds Tom Donahoe mainly responsible for his team’s problems. While it’s true that Donahoe set the franchise back, they have had three years to get things right during Jauron’s time as coach.
Wilson conveniently ignores some of the dubious moves made during Marv Levy’s brief stint as general manager, like overpaying for offensive linemen Derrick Dockery and Langston Walker, or moving up into the first round for John McCargo.
This year, the Bills were supposed to take the next step. In May, Wilson said they had “good enough players” to make a playoff run “right now.” But as it turns out, they’re no better than they were when Donahoe left, and the owner has to take some responsibility for that.
It was Wilson, remember, who said the $78 million windfall from the Toronto series wouldn’t provide any more money to invest in players. He basically dismissed it as a drop in the bucket.
So rather than sign an experienced wide receiver in free agency, he brought back the same offense that was ranked 30th a year ago. He gambled that James Hardy, a fundamentally raw rookie, would be the answer, and that Turk Schonert would work miracles as the new offensive coordinator.
So it sounds as if Wilson would rather blame Donahoe than fire the coach. Unbelievable. He wants to convince himself it’s not Jauron’s fault, so he can avoid the messy process of finding another coach — some low-priced guy who would be willing to work under a doddering owner and a marketing guru who serves as head of football operations.
This is the point where Russ Brandon has to seize whatever real power he has and convince the owner he has a hell of a mess on his hands. If Wilson is reluctant to get rid of Jauron, the master salesman has to persuade him he can’t sell Jauron to this fan base any longer.
Wilson can laugh about growing accustomed to embarrassment. Someone needs to inform him that the people who buy the tickets aren’t laughing.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments
Learn more about our moderation system.