Just over a week since Doug Marrone opted out of his contract, the Buffalo Bills already have twelve plus candidates that they will interview for the head coaching position. Among these candidates are offensive coordinators Adam Gase, Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan, former head coaches, Hue Jackson and Pat Shurmur, current defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and previous Super Bowl winner Mike Shanahan.
The most intriguing of these names is Shanahan, as he has the most experience and has won two championships in his career. If he were awarded the job, he would be the 18th head coach in Bills history, and first with a winning record since Wade Philips.
In his career, Shanahan has won over 175 games (including playoffs), and owns a .553 winning percentage. His best years were between 1996-98 where he won 39 games and back to back Super Bowls. There is no doubt that Shanahan has had success in the NFL; however, that was 15 years ago, and there are still many questions regarding if he can still coach successfully at age 62.
There is no doubt that Shanahan will be taking over a talent loaded roster with lots of potential, but he will have difficult decisions to make on the current coaches who are under contract. In particular, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will be looked at as a coach who may be fired, and theres no doubt in my mind that he will be.
Hackett struggled with his play calling, and was a big reason as to why the Bills were held back offensively this season. If you look at the interviews the Bills have set up, it is interesting to note a certain offensive coordinator who has had an interview. And that coordinator turns out to be Shanahan’s son, Kyle.
Kyle Shanahan coached with Mike back in 2010 where he would serve as an offensive coordinator for four seasons, before he was fired along with his dad in 2013. However it didn’t take long for Kyle to find a job, as he was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their offensive coordinator. In 2014, Kyle’s offence ranked 27th in points scored and 23rd in total yards. Although those don’t sound like appealing numbers, the Browns had a young and inexperienced offense from day one. Kyle worked with what he was given and made the most of it.
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The question still remains, whether or not the Bills should welcome a father-son reunion with the Shanahan’s?
GM Doug Whaley is about to make his biggest move of his career, in naming the next head coach. There is zero room for error in the next couple of weeks as the Bills continue the process in finding a new coach. If you look at when the Shanahan’s last coached together, they had only one winning season, and finished last in the NFC East three out of four seasons.
Robert Griffin III had success as a rookie; however he never developed into the quarterback they had expected him to be. In fact, his numbers were substantially worse and his performance really regressed in Shanahan’s system. Both Mike and Kyle were unable to contribute in the developing of RG III, and they were eventually relieved of their duties.
Mike Shanahan has been out of coaching for over a year now and is starting to get up there in age. Although his son Kyle is still young, he has not found much success just yet at the NFL level. If Buffalo is seriously considering a Shanahan father-son reunion, than they are making a huge mistake. The Bills need a coach who is willing to take time and develop a young quarterback. Both Shanahan’s failed at doing this in Washington, so who’s to say that they will get it right in Buffalo?
Yes, the elder Shanahan has a career winning percentage of well over .500, but a lot of those wins came before the 2000 season, meaning that he hasn’t found much success recently. It is very enticing for Bills fans to ponder this potential reunion, but it would be a complete disaster if it were to occur.
Defensively, Buffalo has the talent to compete in the AFC, but it will all come down to how the offense is able to perform. Based on their previous stint together, the Shanahan’s will not be able to turn the offense around. Buffalo needs to bring in a young offensive mind who is willing to develop EJ Manuel, and has had a successful track record.
Just a week into their coaching search, and it seems like the offseason has been here for weeks. It wont be too long until Whaley will name a head coach, and for the team’s sake, lets hope we won’t be seeing a Shanahan father-son reunion.