Bruce Smith is pleased how it all turned out, but not until years later.
At the time, he seethed.
Smith, whose Buffalo Bills jersey number is retired, and some of his Super Bowl teammates wanted to endorse a candidate for the team’s coaching vacancy. Bills president Russ Brandon wouldn’t return Smith’s calls.
“I tried to talk to several people,” Smith said.
Two sources with knowledge of the Bills’ 2015 coaching search said Brandon and GM Doug Whaley — and, by extension owners Terry and Kim Pegula — were concerned Reich would be too submissive to keep former teammates from meddling with football decisions.
“When we would all go out and act like idiots,” left tackle Will Wolford said, “Frank wasn’t with us.
“I can see Bruce being frustrated. They wouldn’t listen to him. It was, like, ‘Hey, I’m not asking you to hire my buddy I partied with. I’m recommending the best guy I know who would be the best coach.’ That was always Frank.”
“I was pitching Frank to the Bills then,” Wolford said, “and I wish they would have hired him the last time, as well.
“But it sure looks like the Bills have a pretty good head coach-quarterback combo in the works right now.”
https://theathletic.com/757350/2019/01/09/we-knew-he-would-excel-frank-reichs-bills-brothers-are-rooting-for-him-even-though-they-couldnt-get-him-to-buffalo/