Sullivan: Bills could use blast from Super Bowls past
Thank heavens for the bye week. We can all use a week off from the Bills' mind-numbing run of brutal, boring offense. If it's any consolation, things are equally dreary at the other end of Lake Erie, where the Browns also arrive at the bye with a dysfunctional offense and an angry, disaffected fan base.
Cleveland is 1-7 after losing at Chicago on Sunday, 30-6. Their fans are planning to boycott the opening kickoff of the Nov. 16 home game against Baltimore to show their displeasure with the product.
Derek Anderson finished Sunday's loss with a 10.5 quarterback rating, which was somehow even lower than he had here last month, when he went 2 for 17. I'm not sure what's more amazing — that the Browns actually won here, or that their only two wins in the last 17 games have been in Buffalo.
That alone should qualify as a fireable offense for Dick Jauron. But I digress.
As I said at the time of the Browns game, at least they admit they have a problem. Owner Randy Lerner watched the Bears game in a tunnel at Soldier Field, where reporters could see his reaction to the debacle. "I'm sick about it," Lerner said.
Lerner said he did not plan to fire his first-year coach, Eric Mangini. But he said it was a priority to hire someone to run his football operation, "a credible, vocal leader that is accountable for all levels of performance."
It's a resounding slap to the head of Mangini, and to George Kokinis, who was the Browns' rookie general manager until they relieved him of those duties late Monday.
Lerner said he was determined to find "another set of eyes" to identify where the franchise went wrong and how to fix it.
The obvious candidate is Bernie Kosar, the former Browns quarterback. Lerner brought in Kosar as a consultant two weeks ago. Kosar, who is still extremely popular in Cleveland, has expressed his interest in a more permanent position.
Meanwhile, Ralph Wilson allows his team to founder in mediocrity, allowing Russ Brandon and a proven cast of mediocre personnel men to run the show. After Sunday's home loss to the Texans, Wilson was ushered through the locker room without addressing Jauron's fate or the dismal state of the offense.
It's too bad Wilson can't see the light, the way Lerner has. The Bills have needed a respected football man to run the show since Tom Donahoe was shown the door. Instead, Wilson reached for Marv Levy, someone he knew. Then it was Brandon, a marketing whiz, another inside guy the owner felt he could trust.
Wilson isn't hiring another Donahoe type any time soon. But maybe it's time he reached out to prominent former players, as Lerner has (Jim Brown is a Browns consultant). How about making Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, his fellow Hall of Famers, consultants to the offense?
Normally, I'm skeptical when fans clamor to bring back players from the Super Bowl era. But what does Wilson have to lose? Many former players are dismayed with the state of affairs. After the Bills lost in Miami last month, Darryl Talley said some of the current Bills didn't deserve to wear the uniform.
Kelly and Thomas aren't working in the NFL. They're not wired in. But neither was Levy. They have credibility with players, and with the public. Wilson owes his fans a gesture, some sign that he understands people's frustration, even if it's the simple act of giving two Bills legends a voice.
It would make Jauron and management uncomfortable. Great. People are too comfortable at One Bills Drive. They need a healthy sense of fear and accountability. Jauron, like Mangini, has to realize he's not simply coaching a team. He's the caretaker of a proud tradition. People who care, including the ex-players, don't like seeing that tradition trampled.
Reaching out to former stars might help, at least in the short term. Kelly must have something to offer Alex Van Pelt, a rookie offensive coordinator. Kelly has a brilliant offensive mind. He knows more than Jauron, that's for sure.
Thomas knows the current players. He's the one who told Donte Whitner about the famous parties at Kelly's house, and how they fostered a winning chemistry on the Super Bowl squads. That's when Whitner decided to get players together outside of work to bond and watch film.
An outside perspective is always useful. It didn't take Lerner long to figure that out. The Bills and Browns are both in last place. But only one of them is in denial.
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