The Bills have hired sixteen head coaches.

Four (Saban, Knox, Levy, Phillips) have finished with a winning record.

Let’s try this again.

6 KNOWN CANDIDATES:

(Quoted text courtesy of ESPN.com’s James Walker)

Ray Horton

The good: Horton is an up-and-coming assistant who could infuse energy into the Bills. Like Whisenhunt, Horton also has Pittsburgh ties to Whaley — both came up in the successful Steelers’ organization. Horton could be the next assistant ready to become a quality head coach. He is getting plenty of interest from several teams.

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “Young. Fresh ideas!”
• “Looks tough with his crazy hair.”
• “Former player so he can relate.”

The bad: Horton is somewhat of an unknown with zero head-coaching experience. Is he the next Mike Tomlin or the next Jauron? You never know for sure. Horton has only been defensive coordinator for two seasons. Horton is very much a defensive coach and would require a strong offensive coordinator to call the shots on the other side of the football.

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Never heard of him.”
• “Didn’t we try this with Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey?”
• “Didn’t the Bills beat the Cardinals this year?”

*****

Chip Kelly

The good: Kelly is an innovative coach whose fast-paced, up-tempo offense is redefining the sport. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick credits Kelly for helping the Patriots improve their tempo on offense this season. Kelly has produced plenty of NFL players during his tenure at Oregon.

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “New! Fresh ideas!”
• “High speed offense! K-Gun was high speed! Spiller is fast!”
• “Chip Kelly sounds like Jim Kelly if you say it quickly!”

The bad: The pro level isn’t for every college coach. Even top college coaches such as Nick Saban failed in the NFL. Can Kelly make it in the pros? That’s the big unknown. But Kelly has a cushy job at Oregon and tons of interest from other NFL teams. The Bills might have to pay top dollar and perhaps get into a bidding war to convince Kelly to leave the college ranks and choose Buffalo over other NFL teams.

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Steve Spurrier couldn’t do it! Why can he?”
• “He wears visors!”
• “Chip? What kind of name is Chip?”

*****

Doug Marrone

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “New! Fresh ideas!”
• “WNY connection!”
• “Sean Payton coaching tree!”

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Steve Spurrier couldn’t do it! Why can he?”
• “He wears visors!”
• “Chip? What kind of name is Chip? Doug is an OK name. I actually don’t hate Doug.”

*****

Mike McCoy

The good: McCoy’s star continues to rise after the stellar job he’s done the past two years with quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning — two very different signal-callers in terms of experience level and talents. Yet, McCoy thrived and made it to at least the divisional round with both players. Buffalo is unsure of its quarterback situation. But whoever next year’s quarterback is, he’ll most likely would benefit if taught by McCoy.

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “Young. Fresh ideas!”
• “The Broncos score TDs all the time!”
• “Mike McCoy! Sounds like a coach!”

The bad: The Bills, or any other team, must wait for McCoy to finish his season. The Broncos are expected to make a deep playoff run. Some predict Denver will make it the Super Bowl. That would significantly push back any timeline for the Bills to get started with McCoy — and time is of the essence.

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Never heard of him.”
• “Didn’t we try this with Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey?”
• “Didn’t the Bills beat the Broncos last year?”

*****

Lovie Smith

The good: Smith was head coach of the Bears for nine years and holds a solid 81-63 record. He is 3-3 in the playoffs with one Super Bowl appearance. That is proof that Smith knows how to win in the postseason. Smith has an even-keeled demeanor that worked well in a large, pressure-packed city like Chicago. Buffalo pales in comparison and is a much smaller market.

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “Seems like a Buffalo guy!”
• “Look, a winter cap!”
• “He knows how to coach in the elements!”

The bad: Smith, another retread, only led Chicago to the playoffs in three of his nine seasons. That’s not a good ratio. Smith didn’t have many awful years, but he didn’t have many tremendous years, either. The Bears were about average and finished with seven to nine wins in four of Smith’s nine seasons. Smith is a good defensive coach, but his offenses have been terrible. The Bears were 23rd or worse in total offense in all but one of Smith’s nine seasons.

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Retread! Not good enough for Chicago. Why is he good enough for us?”
• “Ruben Brown loves him and he took too many holding penalties so what does he know?”
• “What kind of name is Lovie? Mrs. Howell? C’mon!”

*****

Ken Whisenhunt

The good: Whisenhunt comes with good head-coaching experience and Super Bowl experience with the Arizona Cardinals. Whisenhunt also worked with Bills assistant general manager Doug Whaley in Pittsburgh; that familiarity helps. Whisenhunt is a good offensive mind when he has a quality quarterback, such as Kurt Warner or Ben Roethlisberger.

BILLS FANS LOVE:

• “Steelers connection! Cowher coaching tree! Model franchise!”
• “He knows how to coach in the elements!”
• “Makes a very mean face!”

The bad: Whisenhunt is another retread — a head coach who was fired for failing somewhere else and then given a second chance by Buffalo. That trend hasn’t worked well for the Bills, who hired the wrong retreads in Chan Gailey and Dick Jauron. Whisenhunt’s career record is 45-51 and he led Arizona to the playoffs in only two of his six seasons there.

BILLS FANS HATE:

• “Retread! Not good enough for Arizona! Why is he good enough for us?”
• “Funny name.”
• “Didn’t the Bills beat the Cardinals this year?”