Buffalo News

‘”That’s who Wade is,” defensive end Marcellus Wiley said. “He’s extremely loyal to people, especially his players and coaches. As everyone has seen, he’ll go down with the ship.”‘

‘It was mixed emotions time here. On one hand Wade is one of the nicest people I’ve encountered in pro football and a wonderful defensive coordinator. On the other hand, despite a won-lost record of which almost any coach would be proud, the Bills were on the verge of imploding with Phillips at the helm.’

‘”I want to make it very clear that I like Wade, both as a person and a coach,” Wilson said in a statement released this afternoon by the team. “Wade has done a good job for us, reaching the playoffs two out of the last three seasons. But I felt the dismissal of the special teams coach was imperative for the improvement of our team. I did not want to release Wade, but his refusal left me with no option.”‘

‘But for all his success, Phillips was 0-3 in the playoffs, including his only postseason appearance in Denver. The Bills suffered a last-minute 24-17 loss in Miami in the first round of the 1998 playoffs and were victimized by Home Run Throwback in a devastating 22-16 wild-card playoff defeat at Tennessee last year.’

‘At any rate, let’s wish him luck in his next position. If it’s a head coaching job, he’ll need it. Regardless of his record, he has proven twice (here and in Denver) that he’s unsuited for a head coaching job. Houston, where the expectations would be minimal, would be a good fit if the Texans were foolish enough to hire him.’

‘Donahoe, 53, is widely viewed around the NFL as the most respected available GM candidate on the market. He spent 14 years with Pittsburgh, the last eight in charge of the personnel department. He helped the Steelers to six straight playoff appearances and three trips to the AFC championship game.’

‘”It’s not easy, but I’ve been in this situation before,” Cottrell said. “It happened with the Cardinals on Joe Bugel’s staff before they hired Buddy Ryan (in 1993). There’s a lot of uncertainty. You just keep going until something happens. The bottom line is you can’t worry about things that you have absolutely no control over. That’s the situation here.”‘

‘For the last decade, NFL rivals have considered the Bills a model franchise, a team to copy in their search for success. Right now, the Bills appear to be modeling themselves after the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘Those subtractions alone could put Butler and the Chargers in position to sign Moulds, but there would be serious competition for the Bills’ sole offensive superstar. The Green Bay Packers are homing in on Moulds as successor to Antonio Freeman, whom they don’t intend to re-sign.’

‘However, it now has been 10 days since the first meeting between Wilson and Donahoe. If the Bills are anxious about striking a deal with the former personnel chief of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they don’t appear to be showing it.’

‘Butler will triple his salary, according to NFL and San Diego sources. His deal is worth $7.5 million over five years, the sources said, which is believed to put him among the top five paid GMs in the league.’

‘Butler was always supportive of the Bills’ players, sometimes to a fault. No matter how serious a player’s transgressions off the field, he wouldn’t publicly condemn his actions. He sometimes would protect players by limiting our access to them. That circle-the-wagons mentality didn’t go over well with the media or the public, but it made him a hero in the Bills’ locker room.’

‘Whether Phillips remains the head coach after a general manager is hired remains to be seen. Whether his coaching staff will survive the week intact is even more uncertain.’

‘It certainly didn’t help Phillips’ prospects any when Marv Levy referred to the firing of Bruce DeHaven as a “scapegoating” in a recent interview. That’s pretty harsh criticism coming from Levy, who coached with Phillips and is usually judicious in his choice of words.’

‘”He taught me how to read offenses and play at a fast pace at all times,” FSU linebacker Tommy Polley said. “I just admire how he plays.”‘