Chan Gailey Named Bills New Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator

The Buffalo Bills had a hard time getting NFL assistants to interview for their formerly vacant head coaching gig. Among those who passed on an interview was Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Perhaps now we know why: his dad reportedly wanted the job.

ESPN’s Tim Graham reports that sources close to Marty Schottenheimer say the ex-Browns, Chiefs, Redskins and Chargers coach had a “strong desire” to coach Buffalo, a franchise he played for in the 1960s. While Marty Schottenheimer is close with Bills GM Buddy Nix due to their days working together in San Diego, Buffalo’s owner Ralph Wilson apparently “wasn’t comfortable” with Schottenheimer.

Marty Schottenheimer has been out of coaching for three years, after getting the ax in San Diego following a disappointing home loss in the divisional round to the Patriots. He has a 200-126-1 regular season record, but has seen his teams consistently come up in short in the playoffs, to the tune of a 5-13 record.

The Bills held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to officially introduce Chan Gailey as the team’s new head coach. It’s a confusing decision that most Bills fans seem displeased with, but don’t worry Buffalo: GM Buddy Nix knows exactly what he’s doing:

It may have caught Bills fans off guard, but Chan Gailey fits exactly what general manager Buddy Nix was looking for in a head coach when he began his search 19 days ago. Hired as the 15th head coach in Bills history Tuesday, Gailey is a 35-year coaching veteran with 15 years under his belt in the NFL, including nine as a coordinator and head coach.

Nix made it clear when he was hired as general manager that while it was not essential, it was important that a candidate have prior head coaching experience.

"There is not a way to prepare for it, it is different," said Nix of being a head coach. "I don’t care how good an assistant you are, when you get to be the head man and have it all, then you might be successful at it or you might not. You are rolling the dice."

Gailey will also be the team’s offensive coordinator, a position he previously held with the Broncos, Cowboys, Steelers and Dolphins.

Capping an unexpected turn in their coaching search, the Buffalo Bills are expected to announce Chan Gailey as their new head coach at a 2PM ET press conference today, according to reports from ESPN.

Gailey's apparent hiring marks the end of what SB Nation's resident Bills blogger Brian Galliford called a "twisting and arduous head coaching search" that included numerous assistant coaches around the league declining to even interview with Buffalo. ESPN reports that the Bills zeroed in on Gailey not only because of his previous head coaching experience and offensive expertise, but also because Bill Cowher, who the Bills doggedly pursued, recommended him to the team.

Gailey has had a long career in both college and the pros. He's been the head coach of both the Cowboys and Georgia Tech, as well as serving as the offensive coordinator in Denver, Pittsburgh, Miamia, and -- most recently -- in Kansas City, where he was precipitously fired this preseason after the new coaching regime came in.

Bills fans at SB Nation's Buffalo Rumblings were none too pleased with the announcement that Gailey is expected to be announced as the new head coach, with 58% expressing disapproval.

Indeed, the rather shocking denouement of the Bills' coaching search has left many of their fans exasperated at the lack of imagination of the team's front office for hiring another retread. SB Nation's Buffalo Rumblings didn't quite feel that way, but certainly understood it:

This news, if it ends up becoming reality, is surreal, almost to the point of a complete loss for words on my part. I'm not angry or exasperated or apathetic, which I understand puts me in a very distinct minority for the time being. But I don't think I can accurately summarize my feelings on the matter in a tidy, coherent post. Nothing about Buffalo's coaching search has been tidy or coherent [...]

Chan Gailey is a good football coach. I'm not sure I'd call him a good head football coach, but I certainly wouldn't call him a bad head football coach. Everyone's equating him to Dick Jauron, but Jauron came to Buffalo with 36 wins in five-plus years of coaching; Gailey has half as many (18) in two years of experience. [...]

That's about where the good news ends. I don't get caught up in the political or image aspects of things like this, but I fully understand why folks would be upset or worried. Bill Cowher has been dangled in front of us for weeks - even the owner mentioned he'd spoken with him - and to ride that roller coaster from Cowher all the way down to coordinators turning down interview requests to landing at Gailey, well, it's not hard to figure out why some stomachs might have turned. I'm not sure I believe the vast majority of folks threatening to drop season tickets or spend Sundays at the Home Depot, but yeah, I get the angst.

The only thing that matters going forward from the moment Gailey is introduced as head coach - remember, we're assuming it's a foregone conclusion - is what happens next. The only way Gailey will prove if he can handle head coaching responsibilities in this league is by winning ball games and making smart management decisions during games and with his personnel.

Whether the Bills would have been better served going with the one hot young assistant willing to interview with them -- Leslie Frazier, the defensive coordinator of the Vikings, who happens to have the Bill Polian/Tony Dungy "stamp of approval" -- is now a moot point. In Gailey, the Bills should have a decent, if uninspiring, choice. Par for the course in Buffalo.

In a rather stunning development, former Cowboys and Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey has emerged as a "strong candidate" to be the Buffalo Bills' next head coach, according to The Buffalo News.

Despite interviewing Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, he is apparently no longer in the picture, and Gailey’s arrival in Buffalo appears imminent. Indeed, the always trustworthy Adam Schefter of ESPN says that a deal is all but done, while Fox Sport’s Jay Glazer confirms that “barring a breakdown” Gailey will be announced as the Bills’ new head coach.

Gailey secretively interviewed with the Bills last week, and would meet Bills general manager Buddy Nix’s preference of hiring someone with previous head coaching experience and expertise on the offensive side of the ball. Gailey last worked in the NFL as the offensive coordinator of the Chiefs last season in 2008. He was abruptly fired two weeks before the beginning of the regular season this year after new head coach Todd Haley came in.

For more on the Buffalo Bills, head over to SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings.

And then were three. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has informed the Bills that he will not interview them for their vacant head coaching spot either this week or after the season.

SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings points out that due to the close relationship between Bills GM Buddy Nix and Brian’s father and former NFL head coach Marty, that it was widely assumed that the team had a good shot of landing him. However, Schottenheimer had maintained throughout the process that he was happy where he was in New York as the Jets’ offensive coordinator. It turns out that — at least this time — he went what he said.

With Schottenheimer out of the picture, the Bills are left with three coaches they have either already or asked to inteview. Buffalo has spoken with interim head coach and Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, as well as requesting an interview with Cardinals offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

The Buffalo Bills have requested permission to interview Arizona Cardinals’ assistant head coach and offensive line coach Russ Grimm as well as and New York Jets’ offensive coordinator Brain Schottenheimer for their head coaching vacancy.

Whether either actually interviews for the position remains to be seen as both seem content where they are now.

Reports have circulated over the past several days – from WIVB’s John Murphy as well as from ESPN’s John Clayton – that Grimm would turn down any interview requests that came his way from Buffalo. Meanwhile, Schottenheimer has repeatedly said that he’s happy in New York.

Buffalo’s interim head coach Perry Fewell and Vikings’ defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who has been deemed the favorite for the job by some, have already interviewed for the position.

The Bills have fired their entire coaching staff, according to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer. This would presumably include Perry Fewell, who has served as interim head coach since the firing of Dick Jauron on November 17th. Here’s the full rundown of Buffalo’s coaching staff.

Fewell led the Bills to a 3-4 record as head coach, including a Week 17 win over the Colts’ back-up players.

For reaction from Bills fans, head over to SB Nation's Buffalo Rumblings.

Interim head coach Perry Fewell said his philosophy he wants to bring to the Buffalo Bills the final seven games of the season is simple:

“Play like hell and win,” Fewell said this evening in addressing the media.

With that quote, Perry Fewell has completely stepped away from the Dick Jauron era. Jauron was criticized by the Buffalo media for not showing enough emotion during his time as Buffalo head coach.

Fewell will continue to call the defensive plays and has stated that he won’t overhaul the offensive gameplan. The Buffalo offense is 29th in the league.

Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny had no idea his head coach had been fired Tuesday afternoon. In fact, he learned of Dick Jauron’s dismissal from ESPN.com reporter Tim Graham, who called Posluszny to get his reaction to the news.

From Graham:

“I’m completely surprised,” Posluszny said. “Obviously, we don’t have a good record, but we were all under the impression that we would have at least to the end of the season. If something was going to happen, then it had to happen, but to have him fired now in the middle of the things is very, very surprising.”

“You didn’t want it to happen this way,” Posluszny said. "Every time we lose, we say ’We’ve got to turn this around. We’ve got to turn this around.’ We weren’t able to do that, and this, obviously, is the consequence for that.

“The players have the utmost respect for Dick Jauron. He’s a great guy, a great person. But in this league, you’ve got to win. Unfairly, since we’re not playing well, it gets put on him. He has to take all the heat for it. Whether that’s fair or not, that’s just the reality. We all love Dick Jauron. He’s a great guy and a great man. It’s just unfortunate that it had to happen this way.”

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson had apparently finally had enough of Dick Jauron coaching his football team (a 24-33 record over three-plus seasons will have that effect), and fired him earlier today. But it was not a move that came easy.

"It's the toughest thing I ever had to do personally because he's such a great guy," Wilson said. "But nothing ever seemed to go right." [...]

"He's just a great guy, and I feel very bad about it," Wilson said. "But I think it's best for the team and the fans and everybody."

Others, like Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan, aren't expressing the same mixed feelings.

It's about time. I can't give Wilson much credit for making a move that should have happened last January. He saved a couple of million dollars on the ill-advised contract extension he gave Jauron last season. That's a small benefit, indeed, for wasting more than half an NFL season waiting for Jauron to confirm what any lucid person knew long ago: That he was a failure as an NFL head coach.

It's also hard to get encouraged when you consider Wilson's history of underpaying for head coaches. This is where the hard part begins: Will the owner finally loosen the purse strings and find a proven head coach who will command an elite salary? Or will he go the typical route and hire some young coordinator who will learn on the job?

If Buffalo opts to make a splash with their hire, there are plenty of big names to choose from: Mike Shanahan, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren and Brian Billick are all out there. Wilson has a chance to turn around the franchise, and get the Bills back to their winning ways. He'll just have to (finally) be willing to pay the money that it takes to do so.