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Something I am fiercely proud of is being a loyal fan of the Buffalo Bills. They were the team my grandfather cheered for, the team he had season tickets to, the team my parents grew up cheering for, the team my first football memory is of, and the first NFL training camp I have ever attended.

We're connected pretty tight.

However, the last decade has been so embarrassing that I'm finding it hard to hurt more for this franchise than I ever thought possible. And it didn't get any better today, as the Bills hired former Dallas Cowboy and Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey to be the 15th head coach in franchise history.

This comes after the following people turned down the job or were not interested in what the Bills had to offer:

- Mike Shanahan, now the head coach of the Washington Redskins
- Perry Fewell, now the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants
- Jon Gruden, ESPN analyst and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders head coach
- Bill Cowher, CBS analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach
- Marty Schottenheimer, NFL legend and (most recently) former San Diego head coach
- Brian Schottenheimer, currently the New York Jets offensive coordinator
- Jim Harbaugh, currently the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal
- Leslie Frasier, currently the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings

The issue apparently wasn't the money; the Bills were willing to pay whatever it took to get these guys into Orchard Park. But NONE of them - really, none of them - were interested.

Thanks, but we're all set.

I want to be an NFL head coach, but not THAT badly. I'll wait another year for the Oakland Raiders or the St. Louis Rams to call (sorry to all you Raiders and Rams fans who read this blog...all two of you).

Some turned this job down gracefully. Cowher politely declined (and continued to wait for the Carolina Panthers to fire John Fox), as did Gruden (who then signed a 5-year extension with ESPN). Others led the franchise through the charade of being interested (Harbaugh was actually in the state to interview, then didn't; Shanahan actually interviewed, said it went well, then took the Redskins job within 72 hours of it opening up).

And then there's Brian Schottenheimer. Brian Schottenheimer has never been an NFL head coach. Never. Has had a few opportunities, but never a legitimate shot of landing a job. Until this job. But here's the kicker.

He didn't even want to INTERVIEW for this job.

Didn't even return the phone call. Chuckled when he saw the voicemail with the 716 area code and went back to preparing for the NFL playoffs with the division rival Jets.

It's obvious that the Bills have problems - the fact that they're picking in the top 10 in April's NFL draft could tell you that - but are they really so deep that people like Brian Schottenheimer don't even want to come to Ralph Wilson Stadium and do the management a solid by interviewing? I mean really...I'm surprised the Bills could even find a candidate to fill the Rooney Rule who wanted to go through the hoops of pretending to be interested - and the only reason he did it was because the Bills were signing his paychecks at the time (thanks, Perry Fewell for pretending to care as the interim head coach).

Look, I'd be all right if the Bills swung, missed, and still got a guy who can be a good head coach. But Chan Gailey? His last head coaching job was at Georgia Tech, and he was average there. He has NFL head coaching experience - for two years. Only after the Cowboys fired Dave Campo (yeah, remember him?). Bill Belichick is laughing at his television set because he knows the worst his team can go next season is 2-14 - with both wins coming against the Bills.

I'm okay with "almost" (shit, I'm still a fan after 4 STRAIGHT Super Bowl losses...it doesn't get much more dismal than that). I'm okay with heartbreak (Music City Miracle and Wide Right haunt my dreams). I'm even okay with mediocre (remember when getting to .500 was reason for hope the next year?).

But this?

This is pathetic.