I suppose the average Bills fan doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. But in retrospect, it was a pipe dream to think that any of the top guys, the A-list coaches, would have been remotely interested in coaching the Bills.

Bill Cowher? What chance was there to get Cowher when Cardinals assistant Russ Grimm, who

is 50 years old and dreamed of landing his first NFL head job, isn't interested in

interviewing with the Bills?

Mike Shanahan? Do you really believe a man with his credentials would have worked for Ralph

Wilson, when Brian Schottenheimer, a 36-year-old offensive coordinator with connections to

Bills General Manager Buddy Nix, said he was happy to remain with the Jets?

The snubs keep on coming. The latest report is that Stanford's Jim Harbaugh was offered the

job but decided to stay at a second-tier college program, presumably to wait for a more

attractive NFL opportunity. Harbaugh was my personal choice, a rising star with NFL

aspirations. I should have known he'd be shooting higher than the Bills.

The coaching search has become a sad joke. Leslie Frazier is the leading candidate, because

he's the only candidate. I'd prefer a coach with an offensive background, but maybe the Bills

should hire him and be done with it. If the Bills keep sniffing out new candidates, Frazier

might get offended and pull out. If this goes on much longer, they'll be interviewing Joe

Frazier.

The process has confirmed that Buffalo is the worst job in the NFL. Yes, even worse than

Oakland.

The Raiders have their own erratic owner, Al Davis. But their franchise doesn't farm out

games to Canada, and the Bay Area is a more attractive place to live. It wouldn't shock me if

Harbaugh wound up there.

The more you look at the situation, the more depressing it becomes. Grimm, who isn't the

most polished speaker, left the door open a crack for the Bills, but said he needed to "see

what it all contains and pertains to and how it's run."

Sounds to me like Grimm already has a notion of "how it runs" and realizes the Bills are a

dysfunctional mess, overseen by a 91-year-old owner who is terrified of giving power to

outsiders.

Grimm is tight with former Bills coach Mike Mularkey. I'm sure Mularkey gave him an earful

and reminded him of that charming episode when Wilson fired half his coaches and brought in

Marv Levy to be his GM.

Mularkey walked away from $1 million, rather than coach for Wilson as a lame duck and have

Levy looking over his shoulder. At the time, I said it was a powerful statement for a coach to

walk away and say "No thanks" to one of the precious 32 NFL head jobs — and an

indictment of the Bills organization.

Pull the thread and this current search leads right back to Mularkey, to Levy and Wilson

and the misguided path the Bills chose after the Tom Donahoe era ended. Wilson made some

colossal mistakes and he is paying for them to this day.

As Grimm says, there are only 32 of "these jobs." But that doesn't make the Bills one of

the top 32 jobs in football. If Harbaugh isn't interested in leaving a second-tier college

job, that means lots of top college coaches would turn their nose up at Wilson. So the Buffalo

job isn't even close.

And if rising stars would rather be coordinators than the head coach of the Bills, what

sort of people will be coming here as the Bills' coordinators? Jeff Quinn's staff at UB might

be more capable than the next Bills crew.

So much for the idea that Buffalo is this charming NFL outpost, a vital part of the

league's history and culture. No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills? From what I

can tell, the best coaches see the wagons aflame in the distance, pull up on the reins and go

galloping as fast as they can in the other direction.

Maybe that's why Wilson rushed to hire Nix as his GM. If the Bills had actually done a

search, reaching out to the top candidates around the league — Floyd Reese, for example

— they probably would have been similarly embarrassed when the league's more respected

personnel people declined the offer.

Something tells me Nix isn't as well-regarded as the Bills would have us believe.

If he's tight with the Schottenheimers from their San Diego days, why didn't Brian want to

interview? Why is Marty staying apart from the fray? Why is Ron Rivera reluctant to get

involved?

Apparently, anyone with a centimeter's leverage would rather keep his options open. The

Bills might be targeting Jason Garrett, the Cowboys' offensive coordinator. But Garrett turned

down the Ravens and Falcons two years ago. He got a raise to $3 million from Jerry Jones. It's

hard to imagine him coming to a team with a bad offense and no quarterback. Plus, Wade

Phillips, who left on bad terms, might dissuade him from working for Wilson.

Amazing how many people are out there who left Buffalo on bad terms and are in a position

to deter coaches from coming to the Bills. Phillips, Mularkey, A.J. Smith in San Diego ...

it's like a negative headhunters' firm.

The trail of dysfunction is catching up to the Hall of Fame owner. Wilson was a pioneer in

the league, but he's lost his way as an owner. He's trashed the reputation of a proud NFL

franchise. Wilson has been saying for years that he can't compete with the big boys, and this

coaching search is evidence of that.

It's a second-rate franchise, struggling to hire a second-rate coach. Much as it hurts to

say it, I fear more than ever for its long-term survival.