ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Tom Donahoe's first task as president
and general manager of the Buffalo Bills is to find a coach.
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Wed., Jan. 10
Tom Donahoe is a good man who works hard and is well-respected around the league. He understands the game and will be able to evaluate the Bills and get the right pieces for Buffalo's puzzle.
No general manager in the history of the game has made all the right decisions. But if you size up all of his decisions with the Steelers, Donahoe is probably in the 80th percentile. There was no doubt he was responsible for much of the Steelers' success during his tenure. When the franchise started losing players to free agency, Donahoe was able to find other quality players to replace the ones who left.
Donahoe's first item of business with the Bills will be to evaluate the quarterback position with Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie. Then he needs to find a running back who can be counted on to carry the ball 25 times each week for 16 weeks. Aside from that, Donahoe will need to get Eric Moulds signed.
I don't think he will rush to hire a head coach. Marvin Lewis and Dom Capers could be the front-running candidates. Capers has a history with Donahoe in Pittsburgh, and the GM-coach relationship is important. The GM and coach need to be comfortable with each other and have confidence in one another. Capers would have that with Donahoe.
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Donahoe, hired Wednesday, is just the second president of the
NFL team, following Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who held the title
for 41 years.
As general manager, he replaces John Butler, who was fired by
the Bills last month before becoming general manager of the San
Diego Chargers.
"In my discussions with him over the past two weeks I feel he
is the most qualified man to oversee the Bills football
operations," said Wilson.
Donahoe's hiring comes two days after Wilson fired Wade Phillips
as coach. Credited with helping rebuild the Pittsburgh Steelers in
the 1990s, the 53-year-old Donahoe will attempt to do the same for
the Bills.
There has been speculation that Donahoe will go with a coach
that he has experience working with. Current NFL assistants Chan
Gailey and Dom Capers both fit that description and both have NFL
head coaching experience, Gailey with Dallas and Capers with
Carolina.
Bills defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell does not have a
previous working relationship with Donahoe but is the favorite among Bills players and received a recommendation from
Phillips.
Donahoe was in San Francisco for the East-West Shrine game and
could not be reached for comment. A Bills spokesman said that
Donahoe would decline comment until a news conference on Friday in
Buffalo to formally announce his hiring.
Donahoe was instrumental in helping the Steelers make six
straight playoff appearances in the 1990s. Pittsburgh played in
three AFC championship games and reached the Super Bowl in 1996.
Donahoe was lauded for his ability to keep the Steelers among the
elite teams of the AFC despite losing stars like Chad Brown, Hardy
Nickerson and Kevin Greene to free agency over the years.
He was fired a year ago following 14 years with Pittsburgh, the
last eight as the Steelers' director of football operations, after
a power struggle with Steelers head coach Bill Cowher. He has spent
the past season as a football analyst with ESPN.com.
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