From Pro Football Weekly's "The Way We Hear It":
The way we hear it, two well-known veterans of the league’s front-office wars — Texans GM Charley Casserly and Bills GM Tom Donahoe — are good bets to be sent packing after their teams’ disappointing seasons mercifully grind to a halt in a couple of weeks....
As for Donahoe, Bills fans and media have been clamoring for a change, and it’s now expected that owner Ralph Wilson will pull the plug on his GM’s tenure after five seasons. The Bills have a 30-48 record under Donahoe, and, should the Bengals and Jaguars make the playoffs this season, the Bills would join the Texans as the only AFC teams not to make the playoffs in the past five seasons.
Wilson’s choice to succeed Donahoe may already be on the staff in Buffalo, with assistant GM Tom Modrak, the ex-GM of the Eagles, arguably the top candidate available. Word is Modrak would be more likely to keep head coach Mike Mularkey (Donahoe’s second head-coaching hire with the Bills) than if someone from outside the organization were brought in.
We hear Wilson, who at 87 wants to win sooner rather than later, would also not be averse to bringing in a big-name GM such as Ron Wolf, who is reportedly interested in returning to the NFL for the right price (including a piece of team ownership) and the opportunity to further his son’s career in the NFL. (Eliot Wolf is employed as a pro personnel assistant with the Packers.)
Word is Wilson has been unhappy with the direction of the team since this past April’s draft, questioning the wisdom of Donahoe’s decision to select WR Roscoe Parrish with the Bills’ top pick (a second-round choice) and then following up that pick by selecting TE Kevin Everett in the third round when the Bills had more pressing needs along the offensive and defensive lines after the free-agency departures of OLT Jonas Jennings and DT Pat Williams.
They also have this note on Jason Peters:
In an otherwise dismal 2005 season, we hear that ORT Jason Peters has been a big bright spot for the Bills. Word is that the Bills believe the second-year player out of Arkansas, who went undrafted as a tight end and signed with the Bills following the 2004 draft, will be a foundation at a tackle spot on the Bills’ O-line for years to come. Peters, who has awed Bills players and coaches with incredible athleticism for a 6-foot-4, 320-pounder, had never played right tackle before assuming the starting ORT spot from disappointing Mike Williams in Week 10. He told PFW that he has earned praise for his pass blocking from O-line coach Jim McNally and is open to playing either right or left tackle. “I will play wherever the coaches decide is the best to help the team win,” he said. “Both right and left tackle are similar, but you do need different techniques. Right now, I feel as comfortable on the left side as I do on the right side, so wherever they decide to put me, I will go out and do my best to help the team win.”
The way we hear it, two well-known veterans of the league’s front-office wars — Texans GM Charley Casserly and Bills GM Tom Donahoe — are good bets to be sent packing after their teams’ disappointing seasons mercifully grind to a halt in a couple of weeks....
As for Donahoe, Bills fans and media have been clamoring for a change, and it’s now expected that owner Ralph Wilson will pull the plug on his GM’s tenure after five seasons. The Bills have a 30-48 record under Donahoe, and, should the Bengals and Jaguars make the playoffs this season, the Bills would join the Texans as the only AFC teams not to make the playoffs in the past five seasons.
Wilson’s choice to succeed Donahoe may already be on the staff in Buffalo, with assistant GM Tom Modrak, the ex-GM of the Eagles, arguably the top candidate available. Word is Modrak would be more likely to keep head coach Mike Mularkey (Donahoe’s second head-coaching hire with the Bills) than if someone from outside the organization were brought in.
We hear Wilson, who at 87 wants to win sooner rather than later, would also not be averse to bringing in a big-name GM such as Ron Wolf, who is reportedly interested in returning to the NFL for the right price (including a piece of team ownership) and the opportunity to further his son’s career in the NFL. (Eliot Wolf is employed as a pro personnel assistant with the Packers.)
Word is Wilson has been unhappy with the direction of the team since this past April’s draft, questioning the wisdom of Donahoe’s decision to select WR Roscoe Parrish with the Bills’ top pick (a second-round choice) and then following up that pick by selecting TE Kevin Everett in the third round when the Bills had more pressing needs along the offensive and defensive lines after the free-agency departures of OLT Jonas Jennings and DT Pat Williams.
They also have this note on Jason Peters:
In an otherwise dismal 2005 season, we hear that ORT Jason Peters has been a big bright spot for the Bills. Word is that the Bills believe the second-year player out of Arkansas, who went undrafted as a tight end and signed with the Bills following the 2004 draft, will be a foundation at a tackle spot on the Bills’ O-line for years to come. Peters, who has awed Bills players and coaches with incredible athleticism for a 6-foot-4, 320-pounder, had never played right tackle before assuming the starting ORT spot from disappointing Mike Williams in Week 10. He told PFW that he has earned praise for his pass blocking from O-line coach Jim McNally and is open to playing either right or left tackle. “I will play wherever the coaches decide is the best to help the team win,” he said. “Both right and left tackle are similar, but you do need different techniques. Right now, I feel as comfortable on the left side as I do on the right side, so wherever they decide to put me, I will go out and do my best to help the team win.”
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