Dick Jauron was a decent man, but he never showed the leadership skills or the passion

necessary to be a successful NFL head coach.

That's what his critics say.

The Buffalo Bills' players have a much different take.

"A lot of people say he doesn't have enough fire or passion," punter Brian Moorman said of

Jauron, who was fired Tuesday. "But he's got his ways of motivating, and I think the guys are

definitely always motivated. It's just that there were things that weren't going our way that

were costing us games."

Moorman and many of his teammates believed Jauron prepared them to play with great effort

on Sunday. What Jauron's players didn't do was win.

That's why owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. fired him.

"I realized coming into the season where we stood," defensive end Chris Kelsay said. "I

knew this was a must-win season. We obviously didn't start out the way we wanted to and we're

not playing very good football right now."

Still, several players were caught off guard by the timing of Jauron's departure. They had

heard rumors of a possible coaching change since the end of last season.

When Jauron wasn't let go at the bye week, the players figured he would be safe, at least

through this season. But after six losses in nine games, Wilson apparently had seen enough.

"It's definitely a letdown," defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said on Sirius NFL Radio.

"Coach Jauron is a great guy, a good coach. But at the same time, Mr. Wilson is the guy who

pays all the bills around here, and anytime he wants a change you have to adhere to that."

But with seven games left? The players weren't ready for that.

"It was a big surprise, but with the way things have gone and the offense not playing well,

I think that definitely had a lot to do with the decision," wide receiver Lee Evans said. "I'm

sure there are other reasons, too. A lot of transition, a lot of turnover, a lot of injuries

offensively and defensively, all those things put us behind the eight ball. Guys are trying to

fight, but it's hard to win football games shuffling guys in and out."

While fans blame Jauron for the string of woeful performances on the field, the players

blame themselves for not performing to expectations.

"I think effort wise — with maybe the exception of a few — I think we've gotten

what we've always gotten," Kelsay said. "I think if you looked at our practice film, even on

Sundays, it's not for a lack of effort that we're losing these games. Everybody wants to win.

It's a matter of attention to detail, and being disciplined and fundamentally sound, and

that's where we were lacking. I don't ever question the effort of our team.

"It comes down to the shoulders of the players. We're the ones out there playing. In a

sense I feel like we've let him down, let his family down. So that's what hurts most for me."

It also hurts the players to lose a coach they say respected them as much as they respected

him.

"He's an intelligent coach and he cares about his players," Stroud said. "He's never thrown

any of his players under the bus even when sometimes we deserved it. Any time you have a

stand-up guy like that you can't help but respect him."

Moorman, who has played for three Bills head coaches, believes the hiring of defensive

coordinator Perry Fewell as interim coach will help the players' transition because everyone

is familiar with him.

Still, it will be interesting to see how the team responds to the coaching change, starting

with Sunday's game at Jacksonville. Moorman doesn't expect anyone on the team to give up on

the season.

"We're still going out there to win ball games," he said. "At the end of the day that's

what this business is about, and I guess that's what it came down to with the decision as

well."