BILLS FINALLY ADMIT TO HIRING MULARKEY
After denying that Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had been hired as their new head coach, the Buffalo Bills finally have announced that Mularkey is their man.
The delay, we hear, was intended to give G.M. Tom Donahoe sufficient time to work on persuading several members of the coaching staff to stick around for the new regime.
And after John Clayton broke the story of the Mularkey hire for ESPN.com, Donahoe (we're told) tapped into his network of resources in an effort to get the story back under wraps, temporarily.
Word is that the Bills are planning to keep offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and to release defensive coordinator Jerry Gray. As to the rest of the staff, their specific status is unknown, but most are expected to stick around.
This development is prompting some league insiders to question whether Donahoe was looking to install a puppet. A head coach, after all, is only as good as his assistants.
If anything, the decision not to allow Mularkey to name his own staff (Dante calls his "Pinkie") should make Donahoe even more accountable if the Bills don't turn it around, since the move confirms that Donahoe's fingerprints are smudged deeply upon every aspect of the organization.
Thus, if the team continues to lose more games than it wins, Donahoe is the one who should be catching the blame.
After denying that Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey had been hired as their new head coach, the Buffalo Bills finally have announced that Mularkey is their man.
The delay, we hear, was intended to give G.M. Tom Donahoe sufficient time to work on persuading several members of the coaching staff to stick around for the new regime.
And after John Clayton broke the story of the Mularkey hire for ESPN.com, Donahoe (we're told) tapped into his network of resources in an effort to get the story back under wraps, temporarily.
Word is that the Bills are planning to keep offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and to release defensive coordinator Jerry Gray. As to the rest of the staff, their specific status is unknown, but most are expected to stick around.
This development is prompting some league insiders to question whether Donahoe was looking to install a puppet. A head coach, after all, is only as good as his assistants.
If anything, the decision not to allow Mularkey to name his own staff (Dante calls his "Pinkie") should make Donahoe even more accountable if the Bills don't turn it around, since the move confirms that Donahoe's fingerprints are smudged deeply upon every aspect of the organization.
Thus, if the team continues to lose more games than it wins, Donahoe is the one who should be catching the blame.
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