JohnNord Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy. I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement. Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach. So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach. Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside? Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC? Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators. Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches? Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC. This was the start of my fandom so I don’t remember much things like this… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochesterLifer Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Ralph was cheap. 7 6 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 2 minutes ago, RochesterLifer said: Ralph was cheap. We all know that…, 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochesterLifer Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Just now, Don Otreply said: We all know that…, It felt like a funny response. Perhaps I was mistaken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Otreply Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 1 minute ago, RochesterLifer said: It felt like a funny response. Perhaps I was mistaken. You were not mistaken 😁👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS. 2 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special K Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 Jim Kelly was OC.👍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with No Name Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 this is interesting. never realized all of this stuff since i was a kid. kelly definitely peaked in his last two years with marchibroda, if you look back at the stats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnNord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 41 minutes ago, transient said: Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS. Yeah I had assumed that the fact that Kelly was calling the plays on offense was the reason why he never really found a replacement. Still it does make you wonder what would have happened if a fresh set of eyes at OC added some new wrinkles to the K-Gun. I’m actually surprised at how long Walt Corey lasted as DC. My guess is because the team went to 4 straight Super Bowls and features a lot of All-Pro’s with a tendency to make big plays at key moments. 52 minutes ago, RochesterLifer said: Ralph was cheap. I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not. I do remember reading that Ralph was against giving coaches big contracts. He never did this when he owned the Bills though rumor was that he was willing to break out the checkbook for Shannahan and Cower years later. I remember when Rex Ryan was hired and added a huge coaching staff. The old beat reporters would comment how times had changed because Ralph would never allow this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris heff Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 I don’t think replacing a coach like Ted Marchibroda is that easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnNord Posted February 6, 2022 Author Share Posted February 6, 2022 Just now, chris heff said: I don’t think replacing a coach like Ted Marchibroda is that easy. Replacing a successful OC is never easy but teams usually try to hire someone. For some reason Levy didn’t do that. He simply merged the position with Bresnahan the OL coach. It seemed like an odd decision 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitzShowUsYourTitz Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 Marv asked me to be the OC, being Ted‘s brother he thought the transition would be seamless. I on the other hand had a greater passion for old timer beer league hockey. ✌🏼 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 3 minutes ago, JohnNord said: Yeah I had assumed that the fact that Kelly was calling the plays on offense was the reason why he never really found a replacement. Still it does make you wonder what would have happened if a fresh set of eyes at OC added some new wrinkles to the K-Gun. I’m actually surprised at how long Walt Corey lasted as DC. My guess is because the team went to 4 straight Super Bowls and features a lot of All-Pro’s with a tendency to make big plays at key moments. I'm not a big Levy fan. He was good at getting a locker room full of big egos on the same page, for the most part, but he could never get out of the way of his own ego. If not for Polian providing the collection of HOF talent on both sides of the ball there's no way he's a HOF coach. The lack of a true OC after Marchibroda, the wasted talent on defense with Corey, and his asinine insistence that the Bills could just "out execute" their opponent in the SB's as Parcells, Gibbs, and Johnson outschemed and outcoached him to an embarrassing extent was infuriating. He was blinded by the fact the Bills were just that much more talented than the AFC for that stretch of the early 90s. He never figured out you couldn't win a championship on talent alone when you're up against a similarly talented opponent. 1 1 1 1 2 5 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 I think it's a matter of what someone alluded to above. Staffs weren't as large as they are now (nor were rosters). Way back when, teams had like 3 or 4 coaches. I'd bet Marv typically had about a dozen or so, which was probably typical. It's only recently (Rex was an innovator ) that typical staffs are 20+ w/ multiple "quality control" and assistant position coaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 1 hour ago, JohnNord said: The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy. I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement. Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach. So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach. Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside? Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC? He still served as the RB coach. I believe the "promotion" to Asst HC was more about giving Pitts a title more than anything else. 1 hour ago, JohnNord said: Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators. Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches? Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC. Even though there was no official position while he was on staff, Marchibroda also served as the QB coach. After Ted left in '91, the Bills created the QB coach position, and hired Jim Shofner. Football back then is not like it is today in regards to the coaching staff. It was not uncommon for an assistant coach to pull double duty back then. Walt Corey was both the DC and the LB coach. 35 minutes ago, Special K said: Jim Kelly was OC.👍 This. Did not matter who helped set up the game plan, Kelly was calling the plays when he took the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 I love revisionist history! Can we go back and fire Marv? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Round Bust Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) he did, in-house ,Tom Bresnahan, but using K-gun hurry-up set Kelly called the plays as mentioned. https://pro-football-history.com/franchpos/7/7/buffalo-bills-offensive-coordinator-history - seems the position was invented in 1978 or was recorded as of then... Had the opportunity to watch a cliub Marv training camp practive at Fredonia State, lived down the slow pace, esp the position drills, picked-up with O versus D but by then the wife and kid were long for the car and the drive to Ohio... Edited February 6, 2022 by First Round Bust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buftex Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 1 hour ago, transient said: Levy's hubris. For some reason I remember that he didn't really give Marchibroda the credit he deserved for the K-gun/no huddle concept and he thought Kelly was sufficient to keep it afloat without a true coordinator. It was a situation similar to wasting HOF talent on the defensive side of the ball with Walt Corey's putrid read and react BS. Do you have any source for this, other than your memory? If he were alive today, it may be news to Ted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transient Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 6 minutes ago, Buftex said: Do you have any source for this, other than your memory? If he were alive today, it may be news to Ted. I remember it being talked about at the time of Marchibroda's departure and the fact that Levy didn't replace him with a true OC. And, take it for what you will, there's this https://www.allsportswny.com/k-gun-creator-ted-marchibroda-not-forgotten/. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djp14150 Posted February 6, 2022 Share Posted February 6, 2022 1 hour ago, JohnNord said: The other day, I couldn’t remember who the Bills offense coordinator during the SB era was after Ted Marchiabroda left to coach Indy. I looked it up only to find that there really wasn’t a direct replacement. Marv did two things - promoted running backs coach Elijah Pitts to Assistant HC and named Tom Bresnahan OC on top of duties as OL coach. So it wasn’t a situation like we just had in Buffalo where Dorsey was promoted to OC and then Joe Brady was hired to take his job as QB coach. Does anyone remember what went into this decision to not replace Marchiabroda with someone from the outside? Also what was the role of Elijah Pitts as Assistant HC? Finally I noticed that Bresnahan along with DC Walt Corey had position responsibilities on top of their jobs as coordinators. Was this something the Bills did to save money on coaches? Oddly enough Marchiabroda was only OC. This was the start of my fandom so I don’t remember much things like this… kellycalled the plays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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