Good read, especially for anyone hoping Mularkey is gone:
BTW this can be found on the billszone.com homepage.
BTW this can be found on the billszone.com homepage.
While Mularkey is lumped into the same fan/media doghouse that’s been occupied by Tom Donahoe, he probably shouldn’t be. True, Donahoe hired Mularkey, but this shouldn’t be an entry. Each should stand on his own merit, or lack thereof.
Big Mike doesn’t get a free pass here; far from it, but he didn’t inherit the same team he had a year ago and that should be a part of Ralph C. Wilson’s eventual off-season decision process.
I think it matters that Mularkey survives, because there is far from any guarantee a head coaching change at this juncture would put the Bills in any better position than they’re in right now. They need some player help, more than they need a coaching change.
On top of that, the 34 year old Mularkey has some qualities that have either been forgotten or lost in the pall of pessimism permeating the premises.
As offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, Mularkey’s Steelers were in the top 5 in the NFL in total offense in 2001 and 2002, and in his first year as head coach with the Bills in 2004, the offense scored 152 more points than it had the previous season.
That team also started 0-4, and it was Mularkey’s steadiness that helped the team turn things around and narrowly miss the playoffs with six straight wins on the way to a 9-7 season, which is three more wins than the previous season as well.
Big Mike doesn’t get a free pass here; far from it, but he didn’t inherit the same team he had a year ago and that should be a part of Ralph C. Wilson’s eventual off-season decision process.
I think it matters that Mularkey survives, because there is far from any guarantee a head coaching change at this juncture would put the Bills in any better position than they’re in right now. They need some player help, more than they need a coaching change.
On top of that, the 34 year old Mularkey has some qualities that have either been forgotten or lost in the pall of pessimism permeating the premises.
As offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh, Mularkey’s Steelers were in the top 5 in the NFL in total offense in 2001 and 2002, and in his first year as head coach with the Bills in 2004, the offense scored 152 more points than it had the previous season.
That team also started 0-4, and it was Mularkey’s steadiness that helped the team turn things around and narrowly miss the playoffs with six straight wins on the way to a 9-7 season, which is three more wins than the previous season as well.
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