Inside The Bills

San Diego GM loves his Buffalo roots

He just got the job two weeks ago, so it stands to reason that Tom Telesco, the new General Manager of the San Diego Chargers, would have his hands full at the Senior Bowl.

But the Hamburg native had a chance to talk with The John Murphy Show this week in Mobile, Alabama. The 40-year old GM of the Chargers says he’s proud of his Western New York roots, and he’s made a point to mention them ever since he took the new job.

“I know in my press conference, I made sure everybody knew I was a Buffalo guy,” Telesco told host John Murphy. “I love Buffalo so much,I have friends and family back there. I still keep in touch with my high school coaches who were so much of my life.”

Two weeks ago on the radio show, one of those coaches, Jerry Smith of St Francis High School in Athol Springs, was effusive in his praise of Telesco, his former player. And Telesco returned the favor in his Monday interview in Mobile.

“Everything I’ve learned in football, it started with Jerry Smith and John Scibetta,” he said. “They kinda gave me my background in football, the foundation of the game, and my, passion for it, too. I was a basketball guy in high school but with those two coaches and their passion for it, I just started to gravitate more towards football than basketball and it’s led me in this direction.”

Telesco hit the ground running, hiring a new Head Coach for the Bolts late last week. He tapped Broncos offensive assistant Mike McCoy for the San Diego Job in what will probably be his biggest decision of his San Diego tenure.

“Some guys come in prepared for their interview, some guys come in prepared for the job,” Telesco said. “He came in prepared for the job. He had an answer for everything but he was flexible. So we got him done, which was big, and now we’re working on the assistant coaches.”

The interview with Tom Telesco is part of the podcast Monday for The John Murphy Show. Tuesday night, the radio show will air live from the Senior Bowl on the flagship station of the Bills, WGR Sports Radio 550.

Fan Friday 12-25

Merry Christmas Bills fans. Wish the team had more to put under your tree this year. We can only hope the New Year brings positive change. I have faith that it will. Let’s get to it.

1. Hey Chris,
Any chance Owens stays next year?
Thanks,
Daniel Diaz

CB: I think the chances of Terrell Owens re-signing with the Bills is pretty remote. Owens has said he wants to play two more years, and he no doubt wants to be a bigger part of the offense than he has been this season in Buffalo. With a rebuilding project set to begin in Buffalo this offseason and a lot unknowns with respect to the offensive system, quarterback, head coach, general manager, I believe Owens will look to land with a more stable situation elsewhere in the league.

Of course there has to be demand for his services too, which wasn’t the case this past offseason. We’ll see what the market looks like for him, but with his career winding down I think he’d like to still be productive. So he’s going to go to a team where he has the highest probability of doing that.

2. What’s the latest on the Bills search for a GM?  Is there a search going on or are they going to wait until the season ends and try to fill the GM/Coach with one person?

Thanks,
Bob

CB: I think Russ Brandon is playing things very close to the vest on purpose. After all the reports about the Shanahan meeting, I think he’d prefer to keep the process out of the public eye.

I believe the Bills will try to hire a proven coach with a recognizable name. If that happens then I believe the director of Football Operations will be a young football man on his way up from a proven NFL front office.
 
If they cannot land a big name head coach then I believe the Dir. of Football Ops would be a recognizable name and he will hire a promising coach.
 
I think the big name will be in one of those positions or the other, but not both. Just my opinion.

3. Hello Chris,
Well, I have already moved into the next draft.  If T.O. does not re-up and a top veteran QB is not signed, I have a hypothetical question for you.  If both of these players were available to the Bills, would they select Dez Bryant or Sam Bradford?
Jim
Skaneateles

CB: I don’t see them taking a receiver. Even though it’s not likely that Terrell Owens and possibly Josh Reed are not back with the team next season, I think receiver is not a top priority. The top position needs are quarterback, offensive tackle, linebacker and defensive tackle. I admire Bradford’s accuracy and command of an offense. He was super productive at Oklahoma his junior year.

But that throwing shoulder is going to have a lot of questions to answer coming off surgery and they might not be answered until right before the draft based on his prognosis. That’s a major, major concern when you’re investing a high draft pick. As great as that positional need is for Buffalo I just don’t know.

4. Chris,

After bringing back Buddy Nix earlier this year, do the Bills have any chance of landing a guy like Indy’s personnel director, Tom Telesco as GM? How about any other Bill Polian or John Butler/AJ Smith disciples? Have the bridges between the organization and those guys been completely burned?

Thanks for taking the time
Andy
Rome, NY

CB: No, I don’t think there are any burned bridges there. Bill Polian and Ralph Wilson are on much better terms than when Polian left the Bills organization. With respect to Tom Telesco I think he’d be a very good candidate. He’s been running the Colts pro and college scouting departments for years and he’s a Hamburg native.

I believe working for his hometown team is something he’d probably be interested in if offered a Director of Football Operations type role. Whether he’s on the Bills short list or not I do not know.

5. Hello Chris,
Have you heard anything concrete and/or rumoresque on the Bills search for a new coach?  Seems like that story went silent in a hurry. 
Thanks, Jim

CB: I think the situation now is the Bills cannot talk to any other coaching candidates they might be interested in because they are still working for other teams. By rule another team can’t speak to a coaching candidate currently working for another team until that team’s season is over and with permission from that team of course.