Jens1893
01-12-2006, 04:38 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2289987
Mike Mularkey has resigned as head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
After two days of meetings with Bills owner Ralph Wilson and new vice president of football operation Marv Levy, Mularkey stepped down as head coach and will start to look for a new job next week.
SportsNation on Mularkey
In his second year, Mike Mularkey started strong, receiving a 91 percent approval rating after a Week 1 win over Houston. But by the end of the season, he only managed a 34 percent rating after a Week 16 win over Cincinnati.
Mike Mularkey's weekly chart.
Terms of his settlement were not available. He had three years remaining on his contract.
The Bills have scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference to announce the changes within the organization.
According to a source close to Mularkey, he stepped down because of disagreements with the direction of the organization. He didn't feel as though the setup for hiring assistant coaches and recruiting free agents were conducive to winning.
Mularkey fired five assistant coaches last week and was beginning the process of trying to replace them. He had started to interview Falcons secondary coach Brett Maxie for the defensive coordinator job, which was an additional job that was going to be opened. Current defensive coordinator Jerry Gray has been interviewing for head coaching jobs but he wasn't expected to be back.
That would mean six openings on the coaching staff to fill, which Mularkey was finding hard to do.
Mularkey expressed his concerns about the organizational structure to Wilson and Levy on Wednesday. At that time, he mentioned the possibility to quitting.
Talks continued into Thursday without a resolution that Mularkey liked. According to a source close to Mularkey, he didn't resign for family reasons. The reason were all professional.
Basically, he didn't think the way the Bills were being set up were going to create an environment in which he could be successful.
Mularkey had a 9-7 season in his first season as head coach. The team fell to 5-11 this year after letting quarterback Drew Bledsoe go and going with inexperienced J.P. Losman as the starting quarterback. After the season, Wilson fired general manager Tom Donahoe.
Wilson met with Mularkey after the season and decided to bring in Levy as the vice president of football operations along with promoting Tom Modrak to make draft decisions and coordinate the pro personnel office.
The past week has been set figuring out the organizational structure.
Rather than stay in a situation he didn't think he could success, Mularkey spent 20 hours over the past two days discussing whether or not stay. He left the building for good on Thurday afternoon.
John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com
Mike Mularkey has resigned as head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
After two days of meetings with Bills owner Ralph Wilson and new vice president of football operation Marv Levy, Mularkey stepped down as head coach and will start to look for a new job next week.
SportsNation on Mularkey
In his second year, Mike Mularkey started strong, receiving a 91 percent approval rating after a Week 1 win over Houston. But by the end of the season, he only managed a 34 percent rating after a Week 16 win over Cincinnati.
Mike Mularkey's weekly chart.
Terms of his settlement were not available. He had three years remaining on his contract.
The Bills have scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference to announce the changes within the organization.
According to a source close to Mularkey, he stepped down because of disagreements with the direction of the organization. He didn't feel as though the setup for hiring assistant coaches and recruiting free agents were conducive to winning.
Mularkey fired five assistant coaches last week and was beginning the process of trying to replace them. He had started to interview Falcons secondary coach Brett Maxie for the defensive coordinator job, which was an additional job that was going to be opened. Current defensive coordinator Jerry Gray has been interviewing for head coaching jobs but he wasn't expected to be back.
That would mean six openings on the coaching staff to fill, which Mularkey was finding hard to do.
Mularkey expressed his concerns about the organizational structure to Wilson and Levy on Wednesday. At that time, he mentioned the possibility to quitting.
Talks continued into Thursday without a resolution that Mularkey liked. According to a source close to Mularkey, he didn't resign for family reasons. The reason were all professional.
Basically, he didn't think the way the Bills were being set up were going to create an environment in which he could be successful.
Mularkey had a 9-7 season in his first season as head coach. The team fell to 5-11 this year after letting quarterback Drew Bledsoe go and going with inexperienced J.P. Losman as the starting quarterback. After the season, Wilson fired general manager Tom Donahoe.
Wilson met with Mularkey after the season and decided to bring in Levy as the vice president of football operations along with promoting Tom Modrak to make draft decisions and coordinate the pro personnel office.
The past week has been set figuring out the organizational structure.
Rather than stay in a situation he didn't think he could success, Mularkey spent 20 hours over the past two days discussing whether or not stay. He left the building for good on Thurday afternoon.
John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com