The Front Row with JIM LITKE September 10, 2010

No one except Chan Gailey knows why he set off at the end of practice to lecture a handful of teenage hecklers recently, but whatever it was, good for him.

Gailey was on the 19th and last day of his first training camp as head coach of the still-woeful Bills. Not much was going his way. His quarterback problem hasn't sorted itself out and two of the three running backs he's counting on to overhaul an anemic offense are nursing injuries. And for all the emphasis Gailey put on fundamentals, his players couldn't even break the huddle to his satisfaction.

Worse still, it's not like the first-year coach has a lot of capital to burn. Most of the people in town wanted Mike Shanahan, but he chose Washington instead.

But for one day, at least, Gailey did a little bit of roaring.

After wrapping up a brief talk to his team, he wandered over to the railing in the St. John Fisher College stadium where some kids were mocking incumbent quarterback Trent Edwards for everything from failing to lock up the starting job to his haircut and California roots.

Everything Gailey said to the handful of hecklers can't be repeated here, but since he's a temperate sort, a summary is more than sufficient. He told them not to expect any autographs from the players.

"If you say something derogatory to one of us, you're saying it to all of us. So I told them," Gailey explained afterward, "don't go sign it for that crew."

You'd think Gailey was used to getting yelled at, and you'd be right. He's been an NFL assistant on and off for 25 years and his only previous experience as a pro head coach was in Dallas, working for bombastic owner Jerry Jones. Bad as they've been - Buffalo is tied with Detroit for the league's longest playoff drought - the Bills have heard their share of howling, too - all of it deserved.

As Gailey walked away from the group of hecklers, a voice was heard in the background calling out, "You tell 'em coach! Yeah. You tell 'em!"

Somehow, though, it's hard to imagine that will be the last word.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org.