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| WEEK IN REVIEW - JAN 15TH - JAN 21ST, 2001 | PREVIOUS WEEK |
Coaching Search Continues
This week was the quietest of the season for the Bills as Tom Donahoe quietly tried to get the team's house in order as he continues the search for a head coach. There won't be a new coach this week, as Donahoe will wait until after the Super Bowl to conduct some interviews. Here's the latest week in review complete with our take on the issues:
Donahoe said people will have to be patient because there are two candidates for the head coaching job still playing. Those candidates are Marvin Lewis and John Fox. He received permission to talk to Fox late in the week and he has yet to ask for permission to speak with Lewis but that appears to be a foregone conclusion. Ted Cottrell is the only person to interview for the job, he interviewed on Monday and it went well. Dom Capers was granted permission to speak with the Bills but he accepted the Houston job before interviewing with the Bills. A late addition to the candidates' list appears to be Tennessee defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. One other name that has surfaced is Jerry Glanville giving his longtime relationship with Ralph Wilson. Our Take: Lewis remains the top choice for the job. He will have other possible offers but the Bills job is probably the one he covets since he is very close with Donahoe. Some may criticize Donahoe for waiting until after the Super Bowl but he must have a good feeling that Lewis will take the job and that must be his top choice even though he says there is no frontrunners. Ted Cottrell was a busy man this week as he had three job interviews. He started by interviewing with the Bills on Monday. He then interviewed for the Jets head coaching job on Wednesday followed by an interview with the Redskins on Thursday for their open defensive coordinator position. Cottrell lost out on the Jets job but will interview for their coordinator position. The Washington job is his if he wants it but he is still weighing his options. He should make a decision by Monday night. Our Take: Cottrell is in a very tough spot. He can take the sure job with the Redskins or wait to see if he gets the Bills' head coaching job. Marty Schottenheimer won't wait for the Bills to decide on a coach to hire a coordinator. Since Cottrell seems to be a longshot for the head coaching job he may take the job with the Redskins as early as today. The Jets interview on Monday may be to light a fire under Buffalo. Donahoe has given the other assistant coaches permission to seek other jobs and two offensive coaches have found them. James Saxon and Charlie Joiner both went to Kansas City to assume the same positions they held in Buffalo. Our Take: Good riddance to Saxon. As the running backs coach the running game was abysmal he faces a tough challenge in Kansas City. Joiner will be missed as he survived to coaches and was instrumental in the development of Eric Moulds. Wade Phillips lost out on the Houston job, as did Cottrell when Capers was hired. If Cottrell doesn't take the Redskins coordinator position than Phillips may re-emerge as a candidate. Our Take: It is a shame, Phillips figured the Houston job was perfect for him. He would make a fine coordinator on anybody's staff. A.J. Smith spoke out against owner Ralph Wilson in an interview with the Buffalo News that was published on Saturday. Smith said he would never have taken the GM job because he saw how hard it was for John Butler and Bill Polian to work with him. He also said the Doug Flutie contract extension that put the Bills in a bad cap situation was Wilson's doing not Butler's. Our Take: Smith is a follower of Butler. Since Butler is obviously upset with the way he was dismissed so is Smith. Take these comments with a grain of salt, as they are the ramblings of a disgruntled ex-employee. The Bills signed a new four year radio deal this week that will keep the team on 97 rock in Buffalo and move them to WCMF 96.5 FM in Rochester. It is a very lucrative deal that will pay the Bills a lot more money than the previous deal. Our Take: The extra money may be used in signing bonuses of the big free agents and to free up cap space with bonuses. The move to rock and roll FM stations is a growing trend among NFL teams as they try to hit the key demographic. The bad news for people living within a 400 mile radius of Rochester is the move to WCMF. The games have been broadcast on WHAM 1180 AM for many years. This is a 50,000 watt clear station that comes in as far as the northern suburbs of New York City in the twilight hours. Jim Kelly's company Kelly enterprises is representing college star Michael Vick it was announced this week. Along with Joel enterprises they will handle his contracts and marketing. Handling this for Kelly enterprises is Jim's brother Dan Kelly who has represented Jim and Alex Van Pelt. Jim Kelly is taking Vick under his wing and he closed the deal. Our Take: It's nice to see that Kelly is staying active in football despite not working in broadcasting anymore.Talk about it on The Stadium Wall
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