Why did Marv not directly replace Ted Marchiabroda?

[JohnNord]

The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy.  
 

I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement.  Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach.   So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach.  
 

Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside?

 

Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC?

 

Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators.  Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches?  Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC.  
 

This was the start of my fandom so I don’t remember much things like this…

[RochesterLifer]

Ralph was cheap.

[Don Otreply]

2 minutes ago, RochesterLifer said:

Ralph was cheap.

We all know that…,

[RochesterLifer]

Just now, Don Otreply said:

We all know that…,

It felt like a funny response. Perhaps I was mistaken.

[Don Otreply]

1 minute ago, RochesterLifer said:

It felt like a funny response. Perhaps I was mistaken.

You were not mistaken 😁👍

[transient]

Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS.

[Special K]

Jim Kelly was OC.👍

[Man with No Name]

this is interesting. never realized all of this stuff since i was a kid. kelly definitely peaked in his last two years with marchibroda, if you look back at the stats. 

[JohnNord]

41 minutes ago, transient said:

Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS.

Yeah I had assumed that the fact that Kelly was calling the plays on offense was the reason why he never really found a replacement.  Still it does make you wonder what would have happened if a fresh set of eyes at OC added some new wrinkles to the K-Gun.  
 

I’m actually surprised at how long Walt Corey lasted as DC.  My guess is because the team went to 4 straight Super Bowls and features a lot of All-Pro’s with a tendency to make big plays at key moments.  

52 minutes ago, RochesterLifer said:

Ralph was cheap.

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not.  I do remember reading that Ralph was against giving coaches big contracts.  He never did this when he owned the Bills though rumor was that he was willing to break out the checkbook for Shannahan and Cower years later.  
 

I remember when Rex Ryan was hired and added a huge coaching staff.  The old beat reporters would comment how times had changed because Ralph would never allow this

[chris heff]

I don’t think replacing a coach like Ted Marchibroda is that easy. 

[JohnNord]

Just now, chris heff said:

I don’t think replacing a coach like Ted Marchibroda is that easy. 

Replacing a successful OC is never easy but teams usually try to hire someone.  For some reason Levy didn’t do that.  He simply merged the position with Bresnahan the OL coach.  It seemed like an odd decision 

[FitzShowUsYourTitz]

Marv asked me to be the OC, being Ted‘s brother he thought the transition would be seamless.  I on the other hand had a greater passion for old timer beer league hockey.  ✌🏼

[transient]

3 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

Yeah I had assumed that the fact that Kelly was calling the plays on offense was the reason why he never really found a replacement.  Still it does make you wonder what would have happened if a fresh set of eyes at OC added some new wrinkles to the K-Gun.  
 

I’m actually surprised at how long Walt Corey lasted as DC.  My guess is because the team went to 4 straight Super Bowls and features a lot of All-Pro’s with a tendency to make big plays at key moments.  

I'm not a big Levy fan. He was good at getting a locker room full of big egos on the same page, for the most part, but he could never get out of the way of his own ego. If not for Polian providing the collection of HOF talent on both sides of the ball there's no way he's a HOF coach. The lack of a true OC after Marchibroda, the wasted talent on defense with Corey, and his asinine insistence that the Bills could just "out execute" their opponent in the SB's as Parcells, Gibbs, and Johnson outschemed and outcoached him to an embarrassing extent was infuriating. He was blinded by the fact the Bills were just that much more talented than the AFC for that stretch of the early 90s. He never figured out you couldn't win a championship on talent alone when you're up against a similarly talented opponent.

[eSJayDee]

I think it's a matter of what someone alluded to above.  Staffs weren't as large as they are now (nor were rosters).  Way back when, teams had like 3 or 4 coaches.  I'd bet Marv typically had about a dozen or so, which was probably typical.  It's only recently (Rex was an innovator ) that typical staffs are 20+ w/ multiple "quality control" and assistant position coaches.

[Cynical]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy.  
 

I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement.  Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach.   So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach.  
 

Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside?

 

Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC?

 

He still served as the RB coach.

I believe the "promotion" to Asst HC was more about giving Pitts a title more than anything else.

 

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

 

Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators.  Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches?  Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC.  

 

Even though there was no official position while he was on staff, Marchibroda also served as the QB coach.

After Ted left in '91, the Bills created the QB coach position, and hired Jim Shofner.

 

Football back then is not like it is today in regards to the coaching staff.

It was not uncommon for an assistant coach to pull double duty back then.

Walt Corey was both the DC and the LB coach.

 

35 minutes ago, Special K said:

Jim Kelly was OC.👍

 

This.

Did not matter who helped set up the game plan, Kelly was calling the plays when he took the field.

[Buftex]

I love revisionist history!

Can we go back and fire Marv?

 

[First Round Bust]

he did, in-house ,Tom Bresnahan, but using K-gun hurry-up set Kelly called the plays as mentioned.

 

https://pro-football-history.com/franchpos/7/7/buffalo-bills-offensive-coordinator-history - seems the position was invented in 1978 or was recorded as of then...

 

Had the opportunity to watch a cliub Marv training camp practive at Fredonia State, lived down the slow pace, esp the position drills, picked-up with O versus D but by then the wife and kid were long for the car and the drive to Ohio...

 

 

Edited February 6, 2022 by First Round Bust

[Buftex]

1 hour ago, transient said:

Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS.

Do you have any source for this, other than your memory?  If he were alive today, it may be news to Ted.

[transient]

6 minutes ago, Buftex said:

Do you have any source for this, other than your memory?  If he were alive today, it may be news to Ted.

I remember it being talked about at the time of Marchibroda's departure and the fact that Levy didn't replace him with a true OC. And, take it for what you will, there's this https://www.allsportswny.com/k-gun-creator-ted-marchibroda-not-forgotten/.

[djp14150]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy.  
 

I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement.  Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach.   So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach.  
 

Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside?

 

Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC?

 

Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators.  Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches?  Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC.  
 

This was the start of my fandom so I don’t remember much things like this…

 

kellycalled the plays