Sabers HC Lindy Ruff wants her team to play like Bills QB Josh Allen

It would be difficult to compile a list of the most beloved figures in Buffalo sports history without mentioning Buffalo Sabers head coach Lindy Ruff and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Their respective tenures in Western New York differ significantly in terms of length (Ruff’s roots in the area dating back decades before Allen was even born), but there’s no denying the esteem in which fans of Buffalo have them. Ruff has been associated with the Sabers since the team selected him in the second round of the 1979 draft, playing parts of 10 seasons with the team before being named head coach in 1997. He will serve behind the Buffalo bench for nearly 16 years, winning a franchise-record 571 games before his firing midway through the 2012-13 campaign. The Sabers recently rehired Ruff as head coach, giving him the opportunity to write a storybook ending to a first tenure that didn’t end as favorably as he would have hoped.

Allen, conversely, didn’t arrive in Buffalo until the Bills selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but he wasted no time getting establishing himself as one of the most appreciated figures in the region’s history. He dragged the Bills from the depths of NFL irrelevance into perpetual competition, leading the team to five straight playoff appearances as he established himself as one of the league’s best signal callers.

He endeared himself to the Buffalo faithful with his genuine nature and “never say die” mentality on the field. There are times when he simply decides he takes over, this psyche often results in obstacles on defenders, stiff arms among players and perfect passers over the opposition’s heads. There are times when he visibly puts his team, his fans and the entire city on his back, something that is simply impossible not to root for.

Related: Josh Allen is the only Bills player to make CBS Sports’ NFL Top 100 list

And as Ruff joins a Sabers team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2010-11 season, he looks to Allen — and particularly the grit with which he plays — for inspiration. The veteran coach recently had the opportunity to visit One Bills Drive to attend a training minicamp and meet with Allen before last Wednesday’s session. Ruff spoke about that experience during a recent interview with WKBW’s Matthew Bové, praising the quarterback before saying he wants his team to emulate Allen’s psyche.

“I’m thinking about shaking Josh Allen’s hand today. What an honor it was for me to shake the hand of such a good football player,” Ruff said. “He’s a tremendous athlete, he’s a tremendous quarterback. It was an honor for me to walk on his field and shake his hand.

“I have the utmost respect for the way he plays the game. If you could take the way Josh Allen plays – fearless, give me the ball, I’ll take it – part of the game he plays, it’s is the game our players should play. It’s fearless, relentless, because when the game is on the line, Josh wants the ball.

Ruff, who maintained a residence in Western New York even after his departure, embraced Bills fandom after his initial arrival and thus saw Allen evolve from a talented player in need of development to a quarterback world class which is objectively one of the best. the best in the world at this position. It’s a development Ruff hopes to oversee with the Sabres, a team that has plenty of skill and scoring ability, but needs the right voice to push it over the proverbial hump.

Ruff hopes to be the person who can once again lead the Sabers back to relevance and competition, because he knows there is no place in the world like Buffalo, New York, where its sports teams are competitive.

“This city, when the Bills win, when the Sabers win, it’s pandemonium with the fans,” Ruff told Bové. “The playoff atmosphere in this building, the number of people outside. I’m talking about football, hockey, lacrosse, we have a great sports town here.