James Walker, ESPN Staff Writer 11y

Buffalo Bills had to fire Chan Gailey

There was no way to defend the performance of Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey the past three seasons. Gailey recently said progress was being made, but he had no tangible evidence to prove it.

That likely was the conversation Gailey had with Bills owner Ralph Wilson on Monday. Gailey could not provide enough reasons to be retained after a 16-32 record, and Wilson had no choice but to fire his head coach.

Gailey did too many things wrong in Buffalo. His game management was lacking, Buffalo's defenses were horrendous the past three years, and Gailey's quarterback choice of Ryan Fitzpatrick was a major mistake. Gailey also mismanaged dynamic tailback C.J. Spiller by not giving him enough carries until it was too late.

Buffalo had to part ways with Gailey in order to move forward.

The next moves for the Bills are to find the right head coach and the right quarterback. Buffalo hasn't been to the playoffs since 1999, which is the NFL's longest playoff drought. That won't change until the Bills get these two positions right.

Buffalo has some good things going for the team. The Bills have a new stadium lease, a high draft pick, and supporting talent on their roster such as Spiller, 1,000-yard receiver Steve Johnson and $100 million defensive end Mario Williams (10.5 sacks).

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