The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results
    -Albert Einstein


Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
    -The Who

Thank God I left my phone at home today. My forgetfulness allowed me to have an enjoyable ride home this afternoon, blissfully unaware of the text bomb that my phone had received,

Dick Jauron has been retained as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills for the 2009 season. Visit Buffalobills.com for a statement from Ralph Wilson.

It felt like a huge kick in the gut. I actually felt as if I had been hit, and hit hard. After a decade of suffering as a Bills fan I thought the ultimate disgrace was the 2008 season and how promise and opportunity had slipped away. I honestly could not remember a time when I felt worse about being a Bills fan, not as easy feat. But this latest news is a knife thrust to my abdomen – betrayal by an organization I have supported for more than 30 years.

I can barely put into words the hurt and anger I have at the Buffalo Bills today. This afternoon’s announcement shows how far a once proud franchise has fallen, how willing they are to settle for mediocrity, how unwilling they are to make the changes needed to build a winner. It shows the insanity of doing the same thing year after year and expecting different results.

Dick Jauron has now lead Buffalo to 3 consecutive losing seasons. He has never beaten the New England Patriots. Under Jauron the Bills were swept by each of their 3 divisional opponents in 2008. He took a team that was 5-1 and lost 8 out of the next 10 games. Those are the types of lowlights that should get you fired as a head coach, and probably would have cost Jauron his job with 31 other NFL clubs.

How pathetic does a franchise have to be to retain a coach like Dick Jauron? How low is the bar set for a head coach? How willing are the Bills to allow each and every divisional opponent progress and beat up on them? The Bills are like the small kid at school who gets beat up on a regular basis – at first you feel bad for him, but when you realize he refuses to do anything to fight back you start to wonder if he bears some responsibility for his fate – he certainly becomes a less tragic figure.

While not all the Bills woes can be heaped onto Dick Jauron, anyone who saw the 2008 Bills saw numerous games where coaching was directly responsible for a loss. Mind boggling play calls, atrocious clock management, inability to adjust to opponents, unwillingness to stick with what had been working in key situations all lead to the Bills’ losing record. The losses caused by coaching are real and demonstrable – not open to interpretation or second guessing.

Leave it to Buffalo to settle for mediocrity. Like a Bills offense that always seems to be willing to settle for the field goal rather than go for the end zone, the Bills seem happy to simply exist in the NFL.

As fans we suffer the mediocrity year in and year out, quietly eating the same dog food served to us by One Bills Drive. Every year promises to give us another shot of being a good team, and often times the corporate spin machine plays up some reason to suggest it could be a reality – the Bills sign a few free agents, they play up the talent of their draft picks, they report on how hard the players are working and making strides in the offseason. But none of these things is enough to make much of a difference, and the Bills must know that. One Bills Drive has betrayed the trust of fans and few are willing to believe much of what comes out of the PR machine.

I have truly never felt so low as a Bills fan. I know what next season holds, and it isn’t pretty – it’s the same as what we’ve seen the past 3 seasons. Regardless of the talent that the Bills may or may not bring in, coaching will hold the team back. Dick Jauron will be outcoached by his counterparts in New England, New York and Miami. The Bills will lose games due to poor coaching, poor game plans, lack of urgency and head scratching play calls.

I’m not sure I can take more of the same old dog food, and I’m not sure my fellow Bills fans can, either. I know I won’t be going to any Bills games in 2009 – I just can’t justify the expense to go and see and see mediocrity in action. I wonder how many of my fellow Bills fans will forgo their attendance at games and how many games will sell out in Buffalo next season. With the fan anger I’ve seen today I have to believe ticket sales will suffer. Let the latest sad chapter of the Buffalo Bills begin.