POSTED 10:15 a.m. EST, February 1, 2004
MULARKEY WOULD'VE BEEN FIRED
A solid, reliable source (as compared to our usual shaky, suspicious sources) tells us that Steelers coach Bill Cowher planned to fire offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey if he hadn't been hired by the Bills as the new head coach in Buffalo.
Per the source, Cowher opted to wait until the Bills made their decision because he was concerned that, if he'd fired Mularkey in advance, the Bills would have scratched Mularkey's name off of the list.
The Falcons did just that when Cowher fired defensive coordinator Tim Lewis. Lewis already had one interview in Atlanta, and a return visit was planned. When Cowher cut him loose, however, the session was canceled.
This news hardly surprises us. When we reported several weeks back that Lewis would be released (even before Cowher denied that any changes to the coaching staff would be made), it seemed odd to us that Lewis would be on the chopping block while Mularkey was being mentioned for head coaching jobs.
Though Lewis's defense was the Steelers' biggest liability in a disappointing 2002 season, Mularkey's offense was the problem in 2003.
We don't expect this news to make Bills fans feel any better about their new head coach, and we predict that G.M. Tom Donahoe will tap into his network of media contacts to cajole someone into saying that we're full of caa-caa. Regardless, our mission is to bring out the unfiltered, unsanitized truth -- and as far as we can tell, the truth is that Mularkey was done in Pittsburgh with or without a promotion in a new town.
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POSTED 12:42 a.m. EST, UPDATED 9:25 a.m. EST, February 2, 2004
MULARKEY STORY OFF THE MARK
A source whom we regard as being even more connected and reliable than the source who told us that the Steelers were going to fire offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey tells us that Mularkey was not going to get the heave-ho if he hadn't been hired by the Bills.
Per this source, Mularkey actually was in line for a contract extension in Pittsburgh.
On Sunday morning, we reported that the Steelers would have fired Mularkey if the Bills had not named him the successor to Gregg Williams. As it turns out, we were wr-wr-wr-wrong.
MULARKEY WOULD'VE BEEN FIRED
A solid, reliable source (as compared to our usual shaky, suspicious sources) tells us that Steelers coach Bill Cowher planned to fire offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey if he hadn't been hired by the Bills as the new head coach in Buffalo.
Per the source, Cowher opted to wait until the Bills made their decision because he was concerned that, if he'd fired Mularkey in advance, the Bills would have scratched Mularkey's name off of the list.
The Falcons did just that when Cowher fired defensive coordinator Tim Lewis. Lewis already had one interview in Atlanta, and a return visit was planned. When Cowher cut him loose, however, the session was canceled.
This news hardly surprises us. When we reported several weeks back that Lewis would be released (even before Cowher denied that any changes to the coaching staff would be made), it seemed odd to us that Lewis would be on the chopping block while Mularkey was being mentioned for head coaching jobs.
Though Lewis's defense was the Steelers' biggest liability in a disappointing 2002 season, Mularkey's offense was the problem in 2003.
We don't expect this news to make Bills fans feel any better about their new head coach, and we predict that G.M. Tom Donahoe will tap into his network of media contacts to cajole someone into saying that we're full of caa-caa. Regardless, our mission is to bring out the unfiltered, unsanitized truth -- and as far as we can tell, the truth is that Mularkey was done in Pittsburgh with or without a promotion in a new town.
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POSTED 12:42 a.m. EST, UPDATED 9:25 a.m. EST, February 2, 2004
MULARKEY STORY OFF THE MARK
A source whom we regard as being even more connected and reliable than the source who told us that the Steelers were going to fire offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey tells us that Mularkey was not going to get the heave-ho if he hadn't been hired by the Bills.
Per this source, Mularkey actually was in line for a contract extension in Pittsburgh.
On Sunday morning, we reported that the Steelers would have fired Mularkey if the Bills had not named him the successor to Gregg Williams. As it turns out, we were wr-wr-wr-wrong.
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