Bills to fire Donahoe (1 Viewer)

[gump]

That generation truly does not know the meaning of the word "quit"!

 

[dutch]

But where I think this situation differs is that Levy isn't coming back to coach, but to run the organization and front office. And that most certainly HAS changed since he made his great run in the 90s.

Free agency and the salary cap are HUGE differences between now and how the NFL landscape looked in Levy's heyday. And the cap situation only gets more difficult as the league's CBA issues mature [i.e., less years to pro-rate contracts].

I'm not saying Levy can't navigate the new landscape, but I would assign a SIGNIFICANTLY greater risk to his failing as a front office man than I would have to his [or another steely veteran] returning to the sidelines.

Point well taken, but I usually give the benefit of the doubt to the guy that's been to several Superbowls. After 47 years of coaching, Marv retired on December 31, 1997. He will be remembered not only as the winningest coach in Buffalo Bills history and a Hall of Fame football coach, but also as one of the NFL's most classiest individuals. Levy not only molded football players but he also molded men character, class and pride.

In August of 2001, Marv was rewarded for all of his hard work when he was bestowed pro-football highest honor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio in his very first year of eligibility. In his NFL coaching career, Levy ranked 10th

all-time with a 154-120 record, had a .634 winning percentage, won six division championships and four straight AFC Championships and led the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances. He is one of only 14 coaches to win 100 games with one NFL team. Equally as impressive, Coach Levy compiled a 17-5 record against the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula and the Miami Dolphins.

God I love that fact. Marv can do whatever he wants with the Bills as far as I'm concerned.I second the motion... IN MARV WE TRUST!!

 

[Bri]

Free agency and the salary cap are HUGE differences between now and how the NFL landscape looked in Levy's heyday. And the cap situation only gets more difficult as the league's CBA issues mature [i.e., less years to pro-rate contracts].

I feel like you got the timeline here wrong but...well now I don't know.

I'm not saying Levy can't navigate the new landscape, but I would assign a SIGNIFICANTLY greater risk to his failing as a front office man than I would have to his [or another steely veteran] returning to the sidelines.

so he gets no credit for the 4 supe Bills? I'm missing something hereThe shocking thing will be the first time we hear a Bills fan insult Marv after a poor move. They adore him up in Buff, that'll be odd. Expected, comes with the territory but odd

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Free agency and the salary cap are HUGE differences between now and how the NFL landscape looked in Levy's heyday. And the cap situation only gets more difficult as the league's CBA issues mature [i.e., less years to pro-rate contracts].

I feel like you got the timeline here wrong but...well now I don't know.

I'm not saying Levy can't navigate the new landscape, but I would assign a SIGNIFICANTLY greater risk to his failing as a front office man than I would have to his [or another steely veteran] returning to the sidelines.

so he gets no credit for the 4 supe Bills? I'm missing something hereThe shocking thing will be the first time we hear a Bills fan insult Marv after a poor move. They adore him up in Buff, that'll be odd. Expected, comes with the territory but odd

I love the guy and all, but he got outcoached in pretty much every Super Bowl. However, Parcells/Belicheck, Gibbs, and Jimmy Johnson are all great coaches themselves and some of those teams were mega-talented so that's not really a huge knock on the guy. He definitely oWned Shula and the rest of the AFC back in the day. I've seen him out in Chicago recently and the guy still looks great. He's been wanting to get back in football for awhile and I don't think he'd be doing this if he didn't feel strongly that he could help out. Guy is wicked smart.

 

[Sparty]

But Marv is 78 while Gibbs is 65. That's not the same.

As for Donahoe going, yes he had to go. I didn't like the report when he told off a telephone caller on some weekly radio call-in show about 5-6 weeks ago.

As for Mularkey, if he does go, and maybe we'll find out for sure on Thursday, that would mean 3 coaches in 4 years for the players. That's not very stable, especially for potential free agents who might be interested in coming to western New York. I'd sit with Mularkey for one more year at least, bring in a new OC and DC and get rid of OL coach Jim McNally as well.

I'd think there would be too much of a bidding war on the current candidates, of which the Bills would probably lose out on, meaning they'd settle for an inferior choice (again)? Next year, there will probably be 3-4 new coaching jobs available, I'd wait until then.

Why get rid of the DC Jery Gray? He's been there for 5 years and has built a pretty good D. 2003 pretty good. 2004 very good.

Now, Buffalo D was down some this year but I thought that was mostly that the offense put them on the field most of the time and in bad field position. I blame that on the head coach and their stupid play calling.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Why get rid of the DC Jery Gray? He's been there for 5 years and has built a pretty good D. 2003 pretty good. 2004 very good.

Now, Buffalo D was down some this year but I thought that was mostly that the offense put them on the field most of the time and in bad field position. I blame that on the head coach and their stupid play calling.

the defense didn't live up to expectations this year and wound up as one of the league's worst, so Gray certainly deserves some of the blame. He does have one year left on his contract still, but also interviewed for the head coaching vacancy in Houston so that shows that he's still thought of pretty highly around the league. If Mularkey stays (which looks like it will happen), I think Gray is certainly worth keeping. He's still a young coach who should be able to learn from whatever went wrong in 2005.

 

[CanadianNFLJunkie]

One of the local TV channels just announced that D/C Jerry Gray has resigned and that assistants, DL coach Tim Krumrie, LB coach Don Blackmon and DB coach Steve Szabo have been let go. Also that O/C Tom Clements has been fired. It will probably be official Friday.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Levy Named VP of Football Operations: The Bills held a press conference this afternoon to introduce Marv Levy as the Vice President of football operations. Ralph Wilson was proud to announce the return of Levy to the organization and praised his coaching of four straight Super Bowl teams. Levy is coming back to bring stability to the organization and bring everyone together. Wilson says he is the man to do the job like he did as a coach for 12 years with the Bills. Marv will work with Mike Mularkey and the coaching staff to improve the product on the field for all the fans. Wilson joked that he was proud to bring some youth to the organization. He said you can nickname himself and Levy the two golden boys. Wilson said Levy is here as long as he wants and both men will have input on the hiring of new coordinators although they haven't made any dismissals official yet. Wilson wants the team to be aggressive in free agency but it depends on the salary cap situation. He did say the future is now for the Buffalo Bills. He said he had conversations about the football team with Marv before asking him to do the job. Both men got very excited about the prospect and Wilson is happy to have him in Buffalo and he is very satisfied that they got a good organization in place and have a great man running the football operations and he feels Mularkey will do a good job. He is comfortable and re-iterated that he will be more involved. Important decisions will have input from many people.

Levy Looking To The Future: Marv Levy thanked Ralph Wilson and said he's looking forward to the job with unbounded enthusiasm not just getting back in football but because he is doing it with the Buffalo Bills and for the great fans of Western New York and Canada. He apologized for not returning calls made to his home the past few days because it wasn't appropriate until everything was official. His role is to be the General Manager and director of football operations, he only cares about issues related to football, not things like pot holes in the parking lot. He said this isn't a return to the good old days, they will revere the great teams of the past but they are looking to the future. The past is history and the future is a mystery, Levy said. His family is very excited about his returning to Buffalo and friends they have in the area. He said he has some catching up to do but he will rely on good people like Tom Modrak to help him through it. He will have heavy input on all personnel matters but before he brings a player on the squad he will listen very heavily to the personnel people. He wants the better players playing no matter if they are a 7th round pick or a 2nd round pick and doesn't want people to feel bad if some players don't pan out. He was adamant about getting players of high character on the team. He will sit down with Tom Modrak before making decisions on the personnel department namely John Guy. He plans on sitting down with Mike Mularkey this afternoon. He said he doesn't know him very well but he does like his personality and thinks it will be fun working with him. He said the goal is to get to the Super Bowl and winning it as quickly as possible. Levy will be involved in contract negotiations but there will be someone else dealing with the salary cap and contract details. He feels chronological age is not the issue he's in excellent shape and feels great and plans on doing the job for a long time.

Gray Resigns? WIVB-TV is reporting that Jerry Gray has resigned as defensive coordinator of the Bills. Gray is a candidate for the open head coaching job with the Texans. This resignation comes on the heels of the firing of offensive coordinator Tom Clements leaving Coach Mularkey with two huge holes in his coaching staff. Other changes are expected after he finished meeting with his assistants later today.

looks like the Bills will need a couple coordinators this offseason