In a sure sign of the dysfunction that has come to define the Buffalo Bills’ 2016 season, interim head coach Anthony Lynn indicated on Wednesday that he was not in the room when the decision was made Tuesday to bench Tyrod Taylor in favor of EJ Manuel.
#Bills interim HC Anthony Lynn on Tyrod not starting: I wasn't in on that room when that decision was made.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) December 28, 2016
The reports of Taylor’s benching came mere minutes after Buffalo announced the firing of head coach Rex Ryan, ultimately deciding on offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to take over for the final game of the season (more on that here).
There’s definitely a lot more to all of this.
Taylor’s benching wasn’t due to his performance on the field. After all, the quarterback is coming off a career-best 300-plus yard, three-touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins this past weekend.
Instead, it seemed to be purely financially motivated. With a ton of guaranteed cash coming his way in March, the Bills’ brass wanted to check out other potential internal options, including the first-round bust that goes by the name of EJ Manuel.
This decision was likely made by general manager Doug Whaley, who the Bills have tasked with overseeing the head coaching search. The selection of Manuel in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft was a monumental mistake in a tenure that hasn’t exactly been too fruitful for Whaley and the Bills.
So why not give it one last go around? In the process, just make sure one of the top candidates to take over the head coaching duties on a full-time basis is left out in the cold.
Buffalo enters Week 17 with a 7-8 record and will miss out on the playoffs for the 17 consecutive season. This dysfunction has to be considered one of the primary reasons the Bills have struggled so much over near a two-decade stretch.