Archives for January 19, 2010

‘”He’s got a whole lot of talent and I think he relates very well to people,” said Reeves. “He knows the game extremely well; he’s coached all phases. He won a National Championship at Troy. When I was at Denver, he was coaching at the Air Force Academy coaching defense. He called me at that time and ended up coming in and coached special teams for me, so he’s coached that and he’s coached offense, quarterbacks, and been offensive coordinator. I think he has a great background.”‘

‘Chan Gailey wasn’t a popular choice for sure, but as I see it, the Bills were actually quite fortunate to be able to land a coach of his experience and other successes at various levels. The jolting reality here though, is that with the Jets and Dolphins improving and the Patriots still the Patriots, the Bills are clearly the fourth team in the AFC East heading into the 2010 season, and even if Gailey is a stupendous coach and the Bills have a great draft, that won’t change overnight.’

‘Even though he can bring the college spread offense into Buffalo, Gailey must find the right person to run it. With the possibility of an uncapped year, the Bills would have to make a trade to get either Kyle Orton or Jason Campbell as a restricted free agent. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen could be an option if he falls to the Bills at the ninth pick, but Wilson might not be patient enough to go with a first-round quarterback. Gailey is in a tough spot.’

‘"The most unfair that I’ve ever been in anything in sports and maybe in other parts was dismissing Chan after two years," Jones said. "That wasn’t right. . . . That is one thing I look at today in my mirror and say you just weren’t as fair as you needed to be there to the team, the fans and certainly to Chan to make that change after two years."’

‘"We get the best qualified guy. He was on the list early. We wanted to do a thorough search, and we got the right guy. I got full confidence in him," said Bills general manager Buddy Nix of Gailey.’

‘The Bills feel they’re doing anything but, as they believe they’ve got a coach that can lead the team and expertly design offenses to fit the talent on his roster. Sure he ran offenses with ultra-talented quarterbacks like Troy Aikman as the head coach in Dallas (1998-99) and John Elway as offensive coordinator in Denver (1989-90), but he also orchestrated productive offenses with signal callers like Mike Tomczak, Jay Fiedler and a 25-year old first-year starter in Kordell Stewart.’

‘Gailey most recently served as the offensive coordinator for Kansas City, who relieved him of his duties before the start of the season.’

‘I can guarantee you one of the things that the Bills loved was Gailey’s attitude about how you can win without stars in the NFL. In fact, that’s the kind of team he prefers. More than once in his career, he’s told coaches he worked with: "You can win the World Series without Babe Ruth.” In Buffalo, he’s going to get that chance.’

‘The team scheduled an afternoon news conference but did not say why. Three people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Gailey would be introduced then. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had yet to announce the move.’

‘”Certainly there are going to be a lot of changes and anything can happen any day,” Butler said. “But I don’t look at that like a negative. It would be easy to sit around and not have new challenges every week, but it’s something that doesn’t really worry me. I’ve got to concentrate on myself and my rehab and just focus on getting back to full health.”‘

‘However, predictably, the news of Gailey’s ascension did not impress Bills fans who reacted overwhelmingly negatively on social networking sites such as Twitter as well as on Internet message boards, blogs and talk radio, most citing this is as a typically uninspired decision by the Bills’ front office.’

‘League sources say the Bills’ head-coaching search could come to a quick conclusion … within a day or two – and that Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is not going to be the choice for the job.’

‘People in Dallas told me Gailey is a good coach, and that he had an impossible task in his two years with the Cowboys. But the general feeling is that while Gailey was a solid offensive mind, he wasn’t very skilled at the countless nuances required of a head coach.’

‘Gailey was 44-33 in six seasons with Georgia Tech, but an 0-6 record against rival UGA led to his dismissal in 2007. He resurfaced as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator the following season but was fired last fall by new Chiefs coach Todd Haley.’

‘Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has formally asked permission from the Buffalo Bills to interview their running game coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville.’