Quote:I agree. Gene (and Shaq Harris too) and his regime set this franchise up for failure for years. Look at all the first round picks they screwed up on (i.e. Reggie Williams, Matt Jones). During that era we had the best rushing attack in the league with an old but very effective oline. Chris Naeola, Vince M. Brad Meester were beasts but we never drafted to replace them. That is a large factor in our anemic offense. We have done horrible in FA acquisitions with Poz and Marks being the best pickups in 7(?) years.


With that being said, I think another problem this faces is the fact that we arent a storied franchise that has 3 Lombardi Trophies sitting on the shelf. Or a team that has 6 Pro Bowlers on the roster just needing to be coached to the SB. We have been bad for a long time and this is not where Bill Cowher comes out of retirement to coach. It seems to me like we've been a last resort for the most part when it comes to experienced/notable coaches and FA.


The best thing for us was to pick up a high energy, positive, and motivating coach in Gus. His character is contagious and players love playing for him. He's made mistakes but he's learning too. I think he is well aware of the challenges that plague us and has known since day 1. Yes, he needs more time. What I do see is, while the team is completely rebuilding, we've acquired some young core players. The only thing we can do is sit in the passenger seat and watch it grow.