Either way, both must live with the consequences, but my understanding was that McDermott accepted the job with the condition of being able to equally collaborate with Whaley on how the roster is assembled.

Entering his first season as a head coach, it would behoove him to want to maximize his ability to start off on the right foot, which means doing all he can to avoid a worse finish than 8-8. Taylor, at the minimum, gives you a better chance of holding the fort than Jones or a rookie. And perhaps coordinator Rick Dennison and the rest of the new offensive staff will find ways to improve Taylor's game, which has yet to reach the level of indisputable franchise quality.

Does keeping Taylor make the Bills better? That's the $30.75-million question McDermott and Whaley will try to answer.

@BVattimo: Do you think the Pegulas purposely searched for an anti-Rex type of head coach?

VC: I'm only speculating, because I don't know the precise nature of what they were thinking during the search, but it's common for NFL owners to hire the opposite of the coach they fired.