Archives for January 2004

‘Both Buffalo Bills general manager Tom Donahoe and new head coach Mike Mularkey say in terms of pure physical talent, the Bills are almost where they need to be. But to become a playoff contender and eventually reach the pinnacle — the Super Bowl — both believe a greater emphasis needs to be placed on the team’s mental focus.’

‘”He’s going to be here, there’s no question about it,” Mularkey said at Thursday’s press conference. “I had a conversation with Drew yesterday, and we seem to be on the same page.”‘

‘”We said we would wait for the right guy,” Donahoe said. “We got the right guy with Mike Mularkey.”‘

It appears Cowher has won the tug of war with Buffalo to hire Dick LeBeau as his defensive coordinator as soon as today. LeBeau, who was defensive coordinator of the Steelers in the 1990s when he was an assistant coach under Cowher for five years, was the subject of intense salesmanship by the Steelers and new Bills coach Mike Mularkey, Cowher’s former offensive coordinator.

‘”Mike’s ability to understand players and understand players’ abilities is so essential in the game today,” Donahoe said. “That has always been one of Mike’s strengths.”‘

‘As for the loss of quarterbacks coach Tom Clements (Buffalo, offensive coordinator), that would have been much more of a concern if the Steelers were still trying to turn Kordell Stewart into a quarterback. So, it all comes back to LeBeau. If it’s money he wants, pony up. If it’s defensive autonomy he needs, guarantee it. Coach LeBeau is the key.’

‘Williams, 45, is certainly the best-paid defensive mind in the game. The $1.8 million he’ll earn as Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2004 is $800,000 more than he made as the Buffalo Bills’ head coach in 2003.’

‘”We are very honored to have Mike Mularkey as our coach. I think it’s obvious to people who follow professional football what individuals think of Mike Mularkey. He has been a candidate for numerous jobs over the past few years and certainly was an outstanding candidate for this job. In talking to Mike and looking at our position here with the Buffalo Bills, there are certain things that stood out about Mike in comparison to the other candidates. I think a couple of those things were leadership, which is very important to be a head coach, the ability to teach and to communicate. Mike will bring toughness to our team, which we feel we need. Particularly, mental toughness. Maybe the most important thing is Mike’s ability to understand players and to understand players’ abilities, which is so essential in the game today.”‘

‘”We are very honored to have Mike Mularkey as our coach. I think it’s obvious to people who follow professional football what individuals think of Mike Mularkey. He has been a candidate for numerous job over the past few years and certainly was an outstanding candidate for this job. In talking Mike and looking at our position here with the Buffalo Bills, there are certain things that stood out about Mike in comparison to the other candidates. I think a couple of those things were leadership, which is very important to be a head coach, the ability to teach and to communicate. Mike will bring toughness to our team, which we feel we need. Particularly, mental toughness. Maybe the most important thing is Mike’s ability to understand players and to understand players’ abilities, which is so essential in the game today.”‘

‘”I’m just excited to have a coach because we were all in limbo for a while kind of wondering what was going to happen. I think it’s nice to know what kind of direction the team is going in and I’m just kind of looking forward to getting on the right track this coming year. Every time you get a new coach you take the stuff you learned from other guys and then hopefully learn some more stuff and hopefully that makes you a better player.”‘

‘”I’m just relieved that we finally got a head coach I don’t really know alot about Mularkey, but I understand he is one of the youngest head coaches which is pretty cool. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”‘

‘”I think it will be good for us. Looking at his past two years and reading his stats, I think he is a positive coach for us. It will definitely be a positive influence for our offense and for our team as a whole. He comes from an offensive background, looking at last year that is where we had some problems. I’m not saying we were perfect on defense but as a whole I think an offensive minded coach of this caliber is definitely a big positive for our team.”‘

‘Somehow, when Mularkey says the Bills will control the clock offensively and wear people down, you believe him. More importantly, I have the feeling Bills players will believe him too.’

‘The new Bills head coach also talked about installing an offensive philosophy that fits the team, and fits the personnel. There have been plenty of questions about the effectiveness of Drew Bledsoe, but Mularkey was quick to say he thinks the team can win with Bledsoe as quarterback. “I don’t think he’s broken. We’re probably going to take a step back, to take two steps forward.” Mularkey talked about simplifying the offense in order to become more productive.’

‘At the news conference to announce his hiring, Mularkey said, “I told Tom (Donohoe) during the interview, “You can break my bank account, get into my garage, you can do a lot of things becausee Super Bowl has been my password for a long time. It’s just the number behind that you have to figure out.”‘