Bills GM Declines To Back Rex Ryan
Rumor has it that the Bills are preparing to move on from Rex Ryan and the team is doing nothing to refute such talk. In an interview on WGR 550, Doug Whaley refused to put his support behind Ryan. 
“Let’s put it this way: None of us know our future,” Whaley said (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). “Look where we are. We owe it to our fans and our owners to keep it focused on Miami, because we’re still in this.”
Meanwhile, owners Terry and Kim Pegula are keeping quiet and, aside from his scheduled radio appearances, Whaley has not been made available to reporters since Nov. 1. The silence speaks volumes and lends additional credence to word that Ryan is a goner after the season.
Recently, people within the Bills front office opined to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report that it’s unfair for Ryan to be on the hot seat while Whaley is reportedly safe this offseason. Personally, I would go a step further and say that it is Whaley who should be out while Ryan should be given a third year to try and turn things around. The Bills are .500 under Ryan’s watch and that’s actually impressive given the major holes in the team’s roster and the rash of injuries they’ve dealt with this season. Those holes, including the team’s lack of a franchise quarterback, are the result of Whaley’s spotty roster construction.
Bills RB LeSean McCoy On Future
Bills running back LeSean McCoy turns 29 in July, but he believes that he can continue to play at a high level, as The Associated Press writes. The veteran is under contract for three more years at a reasonable rate and it sounds like he has every intention of playing out that deal. “I feel young,” McCoy said. “I feel good. I’m not like other backs that only take a pounding. So I’m not really concerned about time.” In 13 games this year, McCoy has rushed for 1,129 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. Shady’s hamstring has bothered him a bit this year, but all in all, he hasn’t really shown signs of slowing down. Here’s more from the AFC:
Bills Notes: McCoy, Roman, Ryan
Did Bills players help influence the team’s decision to push out former offensive coordinator Greg Roman? LeSean McCoy seemed to be hinting at that yesterday. “They actually listen to the players. The whole thing with [Roman], they were very involved, which was cool,” McCoy said (Twitter link via Tom Martin of News 4).
Here’s more from Buffalo:
- People within the Bills front office feel it’s unfair that Rex Ryan is on the hot seat while GM Doug Whaley is reportedly safe this offseason, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). The Bills’ aggressive trade up for Sammy Watkins, the ill-advised extension for Marcell Dareus, and the team’s failure to identify a franchise quarterback have left the Bills with significant holes, they argue. Ryan is in his second season in Buffalo.
- Will the Bills renegotiate Tyrod Taylor‘s contract this year to keep him? Mike Rodak of ESPN.com explains that Taylor would have leverage against such a move and wouldn’t be inclined to go along with it. If he reaches free agency, there will be multiple teams searching for a quarterback and it would probably behoove him to explore those options instead of returning to Buffalo on a discount.
- Over the weekend, one report indicated that the Bills are preparing to move on from Ryan.
2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 15
With just two weeks to go, the NFL playoff picture is starting to get clearer. The Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots, and Raiders have already punched their playoff tickets while the Chiefs, Steelers, Falcons, and Giants are considered near locks by the forecasts at Five Thirty Eight.
Here’s a look at where the draft order stands for the teams not currently slated to make the cut (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):
1. Browns 0-14
2. 49ers 1-13
3. Jaguars 2-12
4. Bears 3-11
5. Jets 4-10
6. Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-10
7. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-9
8. Chargers 5-9
9. Cardinals 5-8-1
10. Bengals 5-8-1
11. Panthers 6-8
12. Saints 6-8
13. Bills 7-7
14. Colts 7-7
15. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-7
16. Redskins 7-6-1
17. Titans 8-6
17. Ravens 8-6 (Note: The Titans and Ravens are currently knotted up in terms of both record and strength of schedule. In all statistical likelihood, the SOS logjam will be broken by the end of the season.)
19. Texans 8-6
20. Buccaneers 8-6
Bills “Preparing To Move On” From Rex Ryan
Another week, another report about Rex Ryan‘s tenuous hold on his job as head coach of the Bills. We heard last week that Ryan was exceedingly unlikely to return to Buffalo in 2017, and that if the team had lost in an embarrassing fashion to the Steelers, he could have been handed his pink slip immediately.
While that did not happen–although the Bills’ matchup with Pittsburgh was not as close as the 27-20 final score would indicate–ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports this morning that Buffalo is indeed preparing to move on from Ryan. Ryan himself is aware that he is probably coaching his final three games for the Bills, which Schefter writes has created an “awkward situation” for the team.
For what it’s worth, denied having any knowledge of his decreasing job security following the Bills victory over the Browns.
“Can I say that I never heard about it until you just said it or is that going to be another weeklong discussion?” Ryan said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “Because I never did and I really don’t care because I can tell you this, here’s what we all have in common, everybody in here. Nobody knows what my future is. A lot of you don’t know what your future is either so, to me, I just prepare the team to the best of my ability and that’s what I’m going to do.”
General manager Doug Whaley, meanwhile, is expected to keep his job, and will therefore have a chance to hire his third different head coach.
The Bills had a disappointing start to the season but then surged to an unexpected four-game winning streak, briefly putting rumors of Ryan’s job security on the back burner. But the team has slipped to 6-7 after losing five out of their last seven games and are all but out of the playoff hunt. Although the Bills could still realistically finish the 2016 season with a winning record, or at least with an 8-8 mark, team ownership has apparently not seen enough improvement (Ryan, who is in the second year of a five-year contract, also guided the Bills to an 8-8 record in 2015, his first year with the club).
The fact that Ryan is expected to lose his job while Whaley is expected to keep his lends credence to last week’s report that the relationship between Ryan and Whaley became heavily strained and that Whaley holds the upper hand because he has developed a “strong bond” with team ownership. Whaley and the Buffalo front office have repeatedly indicated that the Bills’ roster is better than its record, laying blame for this season’s results at Ryan’s feet.
We heard a few days ago that a few high-profile Bills players were rallying around Ryan, but support from his players has never been an issue for Ryan, the quintessential “player’s coach.” But he has had trouble delivering consistent results as a head coach, which leads one to believe that he is better-suited as a defensive coordinator.
Bills GM Doug Whaley Not On Hot Seat?
There has been rampant speculation about the job security of Bills head coach Rex Ryan. While the boisterous coach could be ousted at the end of the season (or, perhaps, just before the end of the season), the man who built the roster is apparently safe. Bills sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that general manager Doug Whaley is not in jeopardy of losing his job. 
The Bills are 6-7 and have only a 2% chance of making the playoffs, according to Five Thirty Eight’s projections. In all likelihood, the Bills’ postseason drought will extend to 17 seasons and Whaley has been in charge of operations for the last four. Apparently, the Pegulas are comfortable with the way things are going in the front office.
Of course, things might be different in Buffalo if not for the rash of injuries that has plagued the team all year. The Bills were highly-praised for their draft haul this year when they landed defensive end Shaq Lawson and linebacker Reggie Ragland in the first two rounds. Whaley anticipated having both in the starting lineup from the get-go, but both suffered serious injuries and Ragland never even made it to the field this season. When you then factor in the time missed by Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy‘s troublesome hamstring, and the string of defensive backs that have gone down with various maladies, it’s almost hard to believe that the Bills are near the .500 mark.
One could argue that Ryan also deserves some slack given the team’s awful luck this year, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be given another chance. If Ryan is canned, the Bills will be moving on to their sixth head coach since 2009.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: CB Sam Brown
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: LB Bryson Albright, RB Cedric O’Neal
Chicago Bears
- Signed: CB De’Vante Bausby
- Placed On P-Squad IR: TE Justin Perillo
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DL Trevon Coley
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: Kitt O’Brien
Sammy Watkins Implies Ryan On Hot Seat
- Speaking to reporters – including Mike Rodak of ESPN.com – on Wednesday, Bills receiver Sammy Watkins implied that the team could fire head coach Rex Ryan with a loss to 0-13 Cleveland on Sunday. “We know if we lose, something crazy might happen immediately,” he said. “We need to go out there and win this game.” A loss would drop the Bills to 6-8 this year and 14-16 during the Ryan era.
Bills Rallying Around Rex Ryan
- A few prominent Bills are publicly rallying around embattled head coach Rex Ryan, whom the franchise could move on from after the season. “I think Rex is the guy for the job,” running back LeSean McCoy said. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins would also like the Bills to stay the course with Ryan, he told the Associated Press. And guard Richie Incognito wants to “fight for Rex. “I want to go out there and get wins and keep him around here” (all links here). With games against winless Cleveland, a Dolphins team that could be without Ryan Tannehill and the Jets, the 6-7 Bills seemingly have a decent chance of hitting the nine-win mark by season’s end. Buffalo went 8-8 last year under Ryan in his first season with the team.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/14/16
The latest practice squad moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: Marvin Hall Jr.
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Ryan White
- Cut: OL Kevin Graf
Buffalo Bills
- Signed OLB Greg Townsend Jr.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: LB Josh Shirley
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Zac Brooks
- Cut: RB Terrell Watson
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Laurence Gibson, WR Tevin Jones
New York Giants
- Signed: RB Russell Hansbrough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: FB Austin Johnson