Evaluating 1st year Bills coaches

Alan Draper

Sports Editor

December 8 2010 11 min read

As Bills fans, we always tend to look at the past regarding current players. If the Bills sign a QB from California, there’s a collective groan of “Oh, not another California kid” because of Rob Johnson, JP Losman and Trent Edwards. Then there’s the drafting of any player from the University of Texas (See: Mike Williams). Then my personal favorite, “Draft a QB from a cold weather state like Pennsylvania because Jim Kelly is from there.” Anyways, my point is that when covering or watching sports, you always tend to flash back to similar situations from the past. So, I’ve decided to look at the last 5 head coaches for the Bills and assess their first years on the job and compare them to what we have with this 2010 bunch.

1987-Marv Levy
Now, I could have gone with his 1986 season, but Levy had taken over mid-season and I thought that to really give a first year coach a true evaluation, it should really be his first full year. Anyways, alot of fans have pointed to 1987 as being a key season for the team’s run in the early 90’s. The team was surrounded by youthful talent like Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, Cornelius Bennett, Shane Conlan and Andre Reed. The year was highlighted by a comeback win in Miami, where the Bills trailed 21-0 in the first half, but stormed back to win 34-31 in OT. The team had standout performances from Bruce Smith, who had 12 sacks and Cornelius Bennett, who as a rookie, chipped in with 8.5 sacks. In Andre Reed’s third year, he lead the club in receptions with 57. As for Jim Kelly, he only started 12 games, but he passed for 19 touchdowns and only threw 11 picks. The Bills finished at 7-8, but the season was mostly geared as a prelude for many great things to come from the core unit.

As far as simiularites go, it’s kind of tough to find some. That team was loaded with first round picks who contributed, while none of the current Bills 1st or 2nd round picks are doing much of anything this year. Plus, to compare a team that had the star power that would be the class of the AFC during the 90’s to that of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson is a little unfair.

1998-Wade Phillips
When Wade Phillips took over as the Bills head coach, he was inheriting a squad that seemed to be on the cusp of rebuilding. Marv Levy had just quit and the team finished their 1997 season with a 6-10 mark. Gone from years past were Jim Kelly, Kent Hull, Steve Tasker, Darryl Talley and Cornelius Bennett. Replacing the pro bowlers were Rob Johnson, Dusty Ziegler, Sam Cowart and a couple other young players. In other words, the 1998 season looked to be a bleak one, especially the way the team stumbled out of the gate with a 0-3 record. However, a Rob Johnson rib injury (the first of about a thousand), opened the door for one Doug Flutie. Flutie went 7-3 as the starter and passed for a career high 19 touchdowns and guided the Bills to a wild card birth. Essentially, Flutie became the talk of the NFL, where he did countless interviews, came out with his own cereal and even had a made for TV movie about him. Whether you liked him or not, you couldn’t deny that he was a star. Besides Flutie’s play, the team saw Cowart emerge as a play-making inside linebacker and the much maligned Eric Moulds, who was a disaster his first two years in the NFL, kicked major ass during the year. Moulds led the AFC in receiving yards with 1,368 and averaged over 20 yards a reception. The Bills finished the season with a 10-6 record.

As far as similarities go, I think you can look at how Stevie Johnson has performed and maybe you could put it on par with what Eric Moulds did. Both guys were really an after thought during their first two years in the NFL. I see a little bit of Moulds in Johnson, as both players are exceptional route runners and make plays after the catch. I don’t want to compare Fitzpatrick to Flutie, because I felt Flutie was a better player that year, and the record showed it. However, their stats are almost the same and you have to consider that Flutie had a defense with guys like Smith, Ted Washington and Cowart backing him up. Those guys are way better than Marcus Stroud, Poz and Williams.

2001-Gregg Williams
I’ve been watching Bills football for over 20 years and this team had to be the worst that I saw during that stretch. This was the first year of the Tom Donahoe regime, and the GM inherited a team that was in salary cap hell. The team was in transition, losing Doug Flutie, Marcellus Wiley and Ted Washington. With Williams taking over, the former Titans defensive coordinator switched the Bills to a 4-3 defense, that was predicated on blitzing as much as humanly possible. He also instituted a west coast offense for Rob Johnson, which was designed to help RJ get rid of the ball faster on quick outs. Problem is, Johnson is a moron and the west coast offense is more geared towards smart quarterbacks. The Bills finished with a 3-13 record and ranked 27th in points scored (16.6/g) and 29th in points allowed (26.2/g). The team was outscored by 155 points on the season. Um, yeah. I think we can say this was a rebuilding situation.

As far as similarities go, there are some in this comparison. Both years represented a new regime in the front office (Donahoe then, Nix now). Like Gailey, Williams brought in two new systems on offense and defense. However, if Williams was a defensive expert, we didn’t see it at all that first year. Now, I’m sure Williams would chalk that up to not having the right personnel yet. On the other hand, Gailey has gotten a lot out of the offensive talent that he’s been given. On the bright side for the 2001 squad, the team had contributions from their 1st and 2nd round picks of Aaron Schobel, Travis Henry and Nate Clements. As I said earlier, Gailey hasn’t gotten much from his high draft picks, but he’s getting a lot out of his low round picks. Another similarity are the records of both teams. Judging by the Bills remaining schedule, I think the best they could finish is 4-12.

2004-Mike Mularkey
Ah, yes. The apex season of the 2000’s. When Greg Williams was fired after going 6-10 in 2003, Tom Donahoe decided to hire someone from his Pittsburgh roots in Mularkey. The coach’s directive was simple: Try and resurrect Drew Bledsoe’s career. We all know how bad Bledsoe performed in 2003, as the Bills offense set records in offensive futitlty. Like Wade Phillips first season in Buffalo, the Bills struggled out of the gates, going 0-4, but were only outscored by a combined 22 points in those games. They had games where they lost by 3, 2 and 3 points. Then, the team got lightning in a bottle with Willis McGahee. The former Miami product was the talk of the city, as he rushed for 1,128 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 11 starts. The Bills offense found new life, as they ranked 7th in scoring and had a smash mouth, power attack. As for the defense, the Bills were still running Williams defense and once they got the personnel they needed in Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher, Sam Adams and Lawyer Milloy, the 46 system was at its finest; ranking 2nd in the NFL. However, in hindsight, the season was mostly a mirage, as the Bills took advantage of a weak schedule, where they only beat two teams above .500 (Seahawks and Jets). The defense took advantage of beating QBs by the names of Ken Dorsey, Jay Fiedler and The McCown brothers. Bottom line, they could beat up on the weak teams, but when they had to play the Patriots, forget it. Of course, we all know what happened against the Steelers…So, I’m not going to revisit that. The Bills finished with a 9-7 record and cut Drew Bledsoe in the offseason.

As far as similarities go, it’s kind of hard to find some, as both teams were entirely different. The 2004 version was a veteran team, whose core bottomed out the following season. This Bills team is way younger than that version. Plus, expectations were a lot higher during Murlarkey’s years than now, because Donahoe was entering his 4th year as the emperor of the team.

2006-Dick Jauron
Of all the 2000 Bills teams, the 2006 version seems to go under the category of “What the hell happened that year again?” Yes, sometimes, the Bills seasons seem to get all rolled up into one. However, 2006 really was a decent season for a team that was in the mists of transition. Tom Donahoe was fired and replaced by Marv Levy (Terrible hiring) and Dick Jauron was instituting his cover 2 defense and a new offense. Again, I know this season led to nothing, but if you were mapping out a 3-year plan for a franchise in rebuilding mode, going 7-9 in your first season would be termed as a success. During the season, the Bills kept it close against some of the NFL’s elite teams. They lost by only 1 point against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Colts. They only lost by three points against a Chargers team that finished the season at 14-2. They jumped out to a 17-7 lead against the Patriots in Foxborough, only to have the Pats come back and win on a safety in the 4th quarter by a 19-17 score. Now, beyond the score, their were some things to like about the team. JP Losman actually had a decent year for being a 2nd year starter; Throwing for 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Lee Evans burst onto the scene as being a legit #1 option, by catching 82 passes for over 1,200 yards (Um, yeah. I’d like that Lee Evans to come back sometime soon). Overall, things were kind of looking up after Jauron’s first year.

As far as similarities go, there are a couple and they actually have to do with the offseason. The 2006 version went into the offseason and declined to match Nate Clements contract offer from the 49ers. They also traded Takeo Spikes and Willis McGahee for draft picks, and they let London Fletcher leave for Washington as a free agent. I mention this, because instead of the Bills trying to build on their 2006 season, they decided to draft the replacements for the guys they lost. Frankly, I kind of hate when that happens. When you look back, I still think Fletcher is a better option than Poz. You could also say that McGahee (during his Bills days) was way better than what Marshawn Lynch brought to the table. I mention this, because the Bills may be facing similar things in the offseason. Drayton Florence, Donte Whitner and Poz are free agents and if the Bills let those guys walk, more than likely, they may use draft picks to fill in those holes. Hey, I’ll say it now, but don’t be surprised if the Bills use a high draft pick on a corner. I’m not saying they would use their top 10 pick on a defensive back (God, I hope not), but look for them to find someone in round two if they elect to have Florence and Whitner walk. On the field wise, both teams did keep it relatively close against playoff teams.

Overall, I think if you look at what Gailey has done with this unit, you have to give him the most credit for getting the most out of his talent. Yes, Gailey’s team may have a worst record than the other first year coaches. However, there are some things he’s done better than his predecessors. He’s gotten more out of his trait for knowing offenses, than what Jauron and Williams got out of their defenses during their first years. If you look at what Levy and Phillips had talent wise, you can’t compare it to what Gailey has. On the bad side, as I indicated, it’s all about wins/losses and Gailey is trailing in that respect.

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