Two Bills Drive

‘Any chance Butler can entice Bills free-agent defensive end Marcellus Wiley (10 1/2 sacks) and/or disgruntled quarterback Rob Johnson – both Southern California residents – to tag along? Those familiar with Butler’s success wouldn’t be shocked.’

‘"But Doug gets them going much more when he’s on the field. He changes things when he’s out there, it’s a different game with Doug. But he is 38."’

‘It’s been learned Donahoe, who has comparable credentials to Butler, also wants a five-year deal worth at least $1 million annually, parameters Wilson may be unwilling to commit to.’

‘The San Diego Chargers fired their top two talent evaluators Wednesday, presumably to clear the way for John Butler to be hired as general manager of the NFL’s worst team.’

‘He is the first Bills player to admit publicly how deeply the rift affected the team. Bills officials were not immediately available for comment.’

‘It’s believed Butler will be accompanied to San Diego by a number of his underlings in Buffalo. The most prominent person is A.J. Smith, the Bills’ director of pro personnel.’

‘"I don’t care what happened back then, because it’s not going to change," Gash said. "It’s one of those things where you’ll always remember it; you’ll never forget it, but you learn from it."

‘Barring an unexpected setback, the Chargers will announce fired Buffalo Bills executive John Butler as their new general manager by the end of the week, a source close to the situation said last night.’

‘"Mr. Wilson confirmed, as he did three weeks ago, that Wade Phillips is head coach of the Bills," team spokesman Scott Berchtold said after Wilson and Phillips held a daylong meeting at Wilson’s home in West Palm Beach, Fla.’

‘"He’s the one I’m putting most of my focus on," Spanos said. "He’s the one who struck me as the most outstanding guy."’

‘Reached last night, Wilson praised the job Phillips has done in his three seasons but stopped short of saying Phillips would return for the 2001 season and the final year of his contract. That decision apparently will have to wait until the next general manager is named. Wilson fired former Bills GM John Butler on Dec. 19.’

‘Butler is expected to receive a multi-year deal worth in the range of $1.3 million to $1.5 million per season. He was fired two weeks ago by Bills owner Ralph Wilson, after in essence refusing to accept a contract offer of about $1 million per year from Wilson.’

‘Butler, who was fired by the Bills last week, said yesterday he would like to sign with a new team before Jan. 8, the date teams open practice for the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco.’

‘The only reason Donohoe is out of a job is because he lost a power struggle with Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher. To settle it, Steelers’ owner and president, Dan Rooney, opted to fire the personnel man, feeling it would have less effect on the team than axing the coach. He never said Cowher was more valuable than Donohoe.’

‘"We had a good meeting and talked about a lot of things," said Donahoe, who met with Wilson on Wednesday. "Ralph’s doing what any good owner should do at the end of a season and that’s evaluate things in the organization. We decided we’d talk further at some point next week."’