Continuing a somewhat alarming trend that’s developed in the NFL, the Bills fired their offensive coordinator, Turk Schonert, on Friday. The Chiefs made the same move with Chan Gailey earlier in the week and the Bucs fired Jeff Jagodzinski during the week too, but for different reasons. The Bills’ move was the one most directly related to a lack of production in the preseason. Dick Jauron was concerned that the first-team offense had trouble moving the ball and only scored 3 points in 15 drives during the preseason. Schonert gave his side of what happened:
“He (Jauron) told me the offense wasn’t simple enough for him,” Schonert said. “We had too many formations, too many plays. I didn’t simplify it to his liking.”
“He wants a ‘Pop Warner’ offense,” Schonert said, referring to the Bills head coach. “He limited me in formations, and limited me in plays. He’s been on my back all offseason.”
That’s not surprising considering Jauron’s reputation as a conservative coach. A lot of times I subscribe to the “less is more” theory, but when you’re a team with an inferior offensive line, you need to get creative with your sets and play calls in order to see results. It’s not as simple as run left, run right, run up the middle if your line isn’t that good. But if Schonert’s offense generated just three points in 15 drives (T.O. or not), then I have no problem with the Bills making the change. Better to do it now rather than later otherwise it’s Jauron’s ass next.
