It just so happens that A) even though I'm the furthest thing from a Mac fan there's no way one could reasonably argue coaching, play calling and overall roster construction didn't play a HUGE part in him not becoming a competent NFL QB and B) they'll be looking for a new QB next year to start yet another rebuild and it's reasonable to question whether the guy that failed in identifying and developing the previous one should be in charge of making that pick. The idea that Bill was sabotaged by terrible QB play would be a whole lot more valid if he didn't have control over the entirety of the roster/staff.
If we're just going by those four years to make a judgment and not taking any past success into account, then yes, that's a poor job by NFL standards and one that would get most coaches/GMs fired. I mean, Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley are widely seen as absolute jokes and were just fired midseason after 3 years of .500 ball and one playoff appearance. Now, of course Bill should get a lore more leeway than Brandon Staley and Tom Telesco, but the past four years have been bad, man.
Except for, as you say, his consistent record of excellence that is unlikely to be repeated as both a coach or GM.
Year one (2020): 7-9 with Cam as a stopgap at QB. The rebuild begins.
We all knew this year was not going to be great. I remember multiple times hearing it said this might have been one of BB's best coaching jobs with this team. The details are getting hazy but they were a couple of late game fumbles (one by Cam) away from the playoffs. I do not view this as an awful result for the season given where we had been, where we were, etc.
Year two (2021): 10-7 with a rookie at QB. Makes the playoffs. (terrible GMing to build a team to go to the playoffs with a rookie QB? only in bizarro-world)
I would argue the difference between 7-9 and 10-7 was Mac Jones for the first 2/3 of the season. There was also the no pass game against Buffalo. We could all see it though, they were not equipped for a deep run in the playoffs.
Year three (2022): 8-9 misses the playoffs. Yeah, bad year, but just one game under .500. (so for these first three years of a rebuild they went 25-25 with a playoff appearance)
This was by far the year I hated most. One thing I do fault Bill for was he let so many coaches walk out the door with McDaniels. We should have hung on to some of those guys - maybe a case of Bill being too nice for Josh? This resulted in the Patricia/Judge experiment, the Mac Jones soft mutiny and tantrums, the freaking Raiders game and a missed playoff game due to meatheadery. It also showed some of us Mac was not going to be the guy, and slowly as more people switched to this view in that year and current year they laid it all on Bill. I guess for me, it is 85%+ on Mac as just not being good enough as a player and also quite immature. In fairness to both Mac and Bill, most QB do not make it in the NFL.
Year four (2023): 3-11 with 7 of those 11 losses being one score games. Still, a disaster.
I think this year is a disaster. There is no way not to look at 3-11 as being anything but. I am not a fan of tanking, but many people clamoring for Bills head have been pro tank. It is a weird conundrum. For me, watching the games it has been frustrating to see the continuation of errors from the past. However, my own personal theory is they went into this year with Mac or bust. They brought in a familiar (to mac and bill) OC, set him up to succeed playcalling etc. However, this year we just saw Mac be worse than Desmond Ridder, Zach Wilson etc. He was literally the worst starter in the NFL and yeah thats about ballgame there. I like the defense, see it as a solid draft, appreciate the players are still giving it their all, and that they have basically been in all but 2 games. I am very glad we are done with the Mac experience.
The team has a ton of money to spend in the offseason, has a high draft pick coming in and a top of the round slot in every round. It strikes me that with competent QB play, players returning from injury, shoring up left tackle (Brown is def gone), adding a very good receiver, and some improvements to the pass rush, and a little health this team will be at worst back above 500 next year. I keep thinking back to the early/mid 1990s.
1993 5-11
1994 10-6
1995 6-10
1996 11-5
'
I keep thinking of 1995. I believe that was the year Shannon Sharpe said call out the national guard we done killed the patriots. I still remember walking into that game thinking this was going to be the year we smacked the broncos and turned the season around lol.
Look, I am not someone who is blindly all in on Bill. He has lost his core people in recent years (Adams, Scar, Fears, and a host of others), he is getting up there in age, and the NFL is not a patient business. All that being said, I still see well crafted game plans, him putting them in a position to be in it almost every week, and so on. If Mac had shown last year was a blip or a bump, what do you think they would be? 8-6? 7-7? 6-7? worse? better? We all knew going in they had a really tough schedule this year and when you add that to Mac fail, all the injuries, and some bad luck their tiny margin of error is a joke.
I guess I still believe enough in Bill and the way he builds teams to see possibility here. I am all in on Bill as coach and GM for next year, with an expectation of a big improvement. If that is not forthcoming, he has at best one more year here if I owned the team.