The Buffalo Bills hoped this would be the season they snapped a playoff drought that dates back to 1999. Didn't happen.
New coach Rex Ryan was supposed to turn things around. The roster general manager Doug Whaley built had some very good players. But by the end of the season, the Bills were out of the playoff race and there were plenty of stories of Whaley and the coaching staff clashing.
If there was unrest between the staff and the front office, they better figure it out because Ryan and Whaley are both coming back, team owner Terry Pegula said on Wednesday.
"Our management team and coaching staff are very capable and work well together," Pegula said in the statement announcing both Ryan and Whaley will be back. "This stable foundation is necessary to achieve long term success in the NFL."
It is generally true that knee-jerk reactions that lead to firings aren't best for an organization. One year wasn't enough to decide if the Ryan-Whaley pairing will work. There were reported disagreements about why the team kept EJ Manuel at backup quarterback over veteran Matt Cassel, especially when Manuel struggled as Tyrod Taylor was hurt, and also about receiver Sammy Watkins' usage. The Bills will have to iron out issues like that, and also navigate some salary-cap problems.
The Bills already have $154 million committed to next year's salary cap, the third-most in the NFL according to Spotrac. Buffalo can clear some space with some cuts, most notably to defensive end Mario Williams and his $19.9 million cap hit, but that doesn't necessarily make them a better team. The Bills invested in making a playoff run this season, most notably trading for running back LeSean McCoy and his big salary, and it didn't work out.
The Bills hope that their leadership can work together well and figure out the right formula in 2016. The fans would like nothing more than to finally experience a postseason game again.
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