GW's Career in Buffalo

Williams has also had some really good draft picks and FA pickups while being here as well. Most of the "no-namers" all came under his watch.

Guys like: Kedric Gholston, Anthony Montgomery, HB Blades, Reed Doughty, Chris Wilson, Pierson Prioleau, and Ryan Clark.

The point I'm trying to make is that I think Gregg has done a good job of evaluating talent (granted its only on the defensive side of the ball) and getting the most out if his players.

Williams went 6-10 his third year and was fired. His defense in Buffalo ranked 5th, while the offense was ranked 30th.



So, looking at these stats alone, Williams' problem in Buffalo was that the Bills' offense stunk. If he were to become head coach here, I think it's fair to say that that wouldn't be a problem. We don't exactly have a offensive juggernaut, but we have a system in place and some decent players who are now familiar with the scheme and capable of succeeding within it.

We can look at his record in Buffalo and drum up memories of Pettibon, but the fact of the matter is that his defense here in Washington, at least this year, was ultimately better than the sum of its parts. We have some solid defensive players, and LaRon could be a budding superstar, but Sean was the only difference-maker on the defensive side of the ball, and we were without him for the last seven full games of the season (and, of course, the final quarter of the game against the Eagles). The point being that it says quite a bit about the talent level of a coach when he can get a unit to perform better that the sum total of the individual talent might otherwise indicate it is capable of.

Furthermore, he would walk into a situation where he has already established respect within the locker room. That was lacking when he walked into the job with the Bills. I usually don't like citing such "intangibles," but there is no doubt, as we saw in the last four games of the season, the value of having a cohensive unit.

Lastly, the Bills job was his first as head coach (right?). You have to think that a professional might learn from some mistakes. No doubt, there are some who stink it up in one job and then stink it up at the next (see Norv in Washington, and then in Oakland). But consider what Williams did this year with his defense. His unit performed superbly in 2005, but in 2006, it went downhill. He somewhat stubbornly relied on his blitzing schemes, while the secondary got burned time and time again, and by the end of the season he was on the hot seat. This year, he returned with a more humble attitude, cut significantly back on the safety blitzes he loves so much, had almost his entire secondary playing center field for most of the season (how many commentators did we hear talk about this?), brought in an anchor he knew he could rely on (Fletcher), instead of someone he had only watched from afar (Archuletta). What was the result? Dramatic improvement. Yup, this guy has proved he can learn from mistakes. If he gets the job, I think that he's a guy who will reflect on where he went wrong in Buffalo, and make the necessary changes.

Bottom line--I don't think we should worry about what happened in Buffalo. He's the right man for the job.

Richie Pettiebone was with Gibbs for 12 years.... How did that turn out for us?.....Im just saying.....

He was fired after one season. Didn't really get a chance to prove what he could do. Given time, he would have been a good coach. Same with Buges in AZ.

It hurts to be stuck with a team that isn't going anywhere. I think he can do much better here, my question is who is the next d coordinator?

I think Williams is an extremely competent guy. I think the decision comes down to this: If you believe in the players on this team, elevate Williams. If you don't believe in these players, go outside.

As for Petitbon, the word on him was that he lacked leadership skills and that things kind of drifted towards chaos at Redskins Park. I don't think anyone can claim that Williams is not a leader.

It hurts to be stuck with a team that isn't going anywhere. I think he can do much better here, my question is who is the next d coordinator?

Greg Blache