# Buffalo Bills inexplicably hire Chan Gailey as head coach **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645 "2010-01-20T01:41:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/41 "2010-01-21T14:03:54Z")
> [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](#): > > He was the worst playcaller I’ve ever seen… Then you haven’t been a Tech fan for very long. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/42 "2010-01-21T14:51:24Z")
The Fewell firing did not make any sense. The guy had coached the team for part of the year and done pretty well, although I can’t put too much stock in the last couple of games. The “we’re firing him but we still might want to interview him” thing was complete nonsense and suggests the organization didn’t know what it wanted. Given the team that they have right now, it makes more sense to go with a defensive guy and pick an experienced coordinator for the offense to manage what they do have on that side of the ball while trying to improve it through the draft and free agency. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/43 "2010-01-21T14:52:05Z")
> [@El\_Nene](#): > > He wasn’t good enough to be offensive coordinator for the crappy Chiefs offense. He was an average coach, at best, in college. When he was with the Cowboys, the players routinely walked all over him. He managed to loose to the Cardinals…with Jake Plummer. Jake Plummer. Chan Gailey wouldn’t been my choice, but it’s NOT his fault in the least that he couldn’t command respect from Cowboys players. Nobody could have, under the circumstances. When a team is owned by somebody like Jerry Jones or Al Davis, the star players KNOW the coach isn’t really in charge of squat, and that they can go over his head any time they want. That’s the situation Chan Gailey found himself in. He wasn’t really the head coach; Jerry Jones hired almost all of Gailey’s assistant coaches, and wouldn’t let him touch the defense. All Jerry really wanted was a new offensive coordinator, and that’s really all he ever let Gailey be. If I fault Ralph Wilson, it’s for one thing only: you should NEVER fire your coach unless you have a firm idea of who you want to replace him with. If Jauron had to go, fine, but it was foolish for Wilson to can him before he were sure there was somebody much better out there to replace him with. Gailey isn’t a horrible choice, but he doesn’t strike me as a big improvement over Jauron. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/44 "2010-01-21T15:11:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The Fewell firing did not make any sense. The guy had coached the team for part of the year and done pretty well, although I can’t put too much stock in the last couple of games. The “we’re firing him but we still might want to interview him” thing was complete nonsense and suggests the organization didn’t know what it wanted. Given the team that they have right now, it makes more sense to go with a defensive guy and pick an experienced coordinator for the offense to manage what they do have on that side of the ball while trying to improve it through the draft and free agency. Fewell _is_ an offensive guy. I agree that he should have gotten at least another year, though. The team was noticeably improved over the last few weeks of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/45 "2010-01-21T15:14:44Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Fewell _is_ an offensive guy. No, he isn’t. He’s been a defensive backs coach in college and the pros, was the Bills defensive coordinator from 2006 to this season, and now he’s the DC for the Giants. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/46 "2010-01-21T15:15:53Z")
Oh, whoops. I thought he was the Bills’ OC. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/47 "2010-01-21T16:57:15Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Buffalo is easily ahead of at least 8 other cities in the NFL as far as appeal. The Bills weren’t blacked out at all this season, which is more than several other teams can say. A coach has to work with the owner, and a host of other issues. Gee, it is nice the fans are so loyal, but a top tiered coaching prospect is looking at a whole host of issues before he moves into anything that doesn’t offer him a chance to succeed, which can include parts of the GM control, influence over the organization/draft/etc/. If you put up a ‘help wanted’ sign, and you don’t get the best coaching prospects beating your door down, it might have nothing to do with the fans. It’s a good football town… Not much else for it to be really, but a bad owner/franchise/stadium/recent history can piss down on all the fans have to offer. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/48 "2010-01-21T23:11:11Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Not much else for it to be really, but a bad owner/franchise/stadium/recent history can piss down on all the fans have to offer. Yet there are at least 6 other teams with those same issues who don’t have fan support or have a worse roster right now. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645/49 "2010-01-23T03:38:10Z")
All i know is when Tech fired their ad and let Gailey walk they hired a better ad… and got a much better football coach… Paul Johnson has put tech back into the conversation and won the acc… all Gailey did was win one game a year he shouldn’t lose two games a year he shouldn’t have…go to a bowl game in a cold weather site and never beat Georgia… Good luck Buffalo… and Buddy Nix is full of shit… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffalo-bills-inexplicably-hire-chan-gailey-as-head-coach/525645.md?page=2)