Buffalo Rising Online

Jan 6th 2006, 12:09am By Tatonka

I wanted to hold off judgement about Marv Levy being General Manager until after hearing his introduction first. I must say, it is refreshing to hear the GM tell it the way it is instead of the usual BS that we have been fed the past 5 years. There were about 2 hours in between press conferences yesterday when I thought I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Donahoe was fired, Marv was coming back at some capacity and the future of the head coach was in doubt. Then, Ralph Wilson announced that Mike Mularkey would remain the head coach and darkness covered the land once again. I suppose that at the very least, fans will not be EXPECTING to make the playoffs next year. There will be no false hopes as we can all look forward to another heavy dose of Shaud Williams, Daimon Shelton and Roscoe Parrish. Clearly Mularkey has showed that he has no faith in Losman and Kelly Holcomb will likely be the starting QB for an already inept offense. Now if that isn't something to shout about, I don't know what is.

At least Marv Levy is going to be back in the organization and will have plenty of "Help" from Tom Modrak when it comes to the draft. There are enough brains between the two men to fill certain needs on the field, but the problem is that Mike Mularkey will leave us scratching our heads for yet another year. I personally do not think that I can put myself through that kind of torture again. It is one kind of pain when the players lose a game, but it is an entirely different kind of frustration when you know the players are not prepared and are set up for failure. The only hire that can save this team right now is a top notch offensive coordinator. Even though Mularkey might feel intimidated by such a hire, he also has to realize that if he does not win, he is done. The problem with this is that NOBODY is going to want to come here knowing Mularkey is on thin ice. Owner and GM alike must realize that the playcalling has got to be removed from the gadget hands of Mike Mularkey!

Obviously there was no chance of obtaining a General Manager outside of the Bills organization and keeping Mularkey as Head Coach. Do you really think that any GM would have settled for someone who does not even have the skills to be an offensive coordinator? Mr. Wilson wanted a shakeup but did not want to blow up the entire model. It looks as though he discussed the situation with Marv Levy and everyone decided that (with certain firings) Mularkey would continue his reign of mediocrity.

I applaud Mr. Wilson for taking the first step in firing Donahoe but what does that really accomplish when you still have a coach who has absolutely no clue on how to manage a football team. He can't get the team fired up, he can't hold a lead, and most certainly does not have any respect from any of the veterans on the team. How can these recent changes be viewed as positive when the current NFL has proven time and time again that you need a better than average coach to win games in this league. This was a golden opportunity for Ralph Wilson to take ONE hit in the wallet and hire a proven winner to bring this team back to the glory days.

Frustration among Bills fans has reached an all-time high and for once, Mr. Wilson is going to feel it at the ticket office. Although Bills fans have proven to be extremely loyal and optimistic in past years, I truly believe that this is the year that many of them will see past the smokescreen and take a stand against what is surely shaping up to be another step backward. If there was ever a time for Marv to come up with one more miracle comeback, the time is now!!!!