Bills announce that Jauron will coach in 2009
December 31
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
"The Buffalo Bills today announced that Dick Jauron will remain the head coach heading into next season.
It has been widely speculated that Jauron may be fired after directing the team to a 7-9 record for the a third straight season. The Bills jumped out to a 5-1 start this season, but lost 8 of their final 10 to miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season. The Bills were 0-6 against AFC East rivals.
Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson admitted that he's not happy with the way his team's offense played during the 2008 season, but he's not willing to make Jauron pay the price.
Wilson announced late Tuesday afternoon in a statement released by the team's media relations department that he is retaining Jauron as the Bills' head coach, at least for the 2009 season.
"It is well known that I share many of the fans' dissatisfaction with our offensive game management," Wilson said. "That being said, I believe that this team, at this time, is better served by continuity in the coaching staff rather than a disruptive overhaul.''
Wilson, who agreed with Jauron on a three-year contract extension a couple months ago though an official announcement was never made, insinuated that while Jauron will be back, some or all of his offensive coaching staff could be in jeopardy.
"The team played hard all year long and there are many positives to build on," Wilson said. "This is not to say that we will be complacent. In my discussions with Dick and our senior football people the issues are recognized and I am confident they will be addressed.''
Whether that means Jauron will be asked to fire offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, or any of the other assistants on that side of the ball - line coaches Sean Kugler and Ray Brown, tight ends coach Charlie Coiner, running backs coach Eric Studesville, wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt - is uncertain.
The Bills actually made slight improvements on offense from 2007 when they ranked 30th in both yards (4,434) and scoring (252 points). This season they ranked 23rd in scoring with 336 points and 25th in yards gained with 4,882.
However, there was a dreadful stretch at the end of the season when the Bills were trying to stay alive in the playoff chase when they scored three points each in losses to Miami and San Francisco, and then were shutout in the meaningless season finale against New England.
"Things were clicking, going in the right direction, and I really don't know why it went the way it did," quarterback Trent Edwards said of Buffalo's slide.
Edwards endured a major slump in the middle of the season as he and the coaching staff could not figure out how to attack the 3-4 defenses that the Bills were facing, particularly in AFC East games against Miami, New York and New England.
And the running game was not effective until late in the season and Marshawn Lynch had only three 100-yard games and Fred Jackson had one, a
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