Two Bills Drive

‘Gray is considered a long shot to land the Bills job, but it’s believed the new coach will be urged to keep him on as coordinator. Gray would not be interested in making a downward move by rejoining Williams. The Texas job does intrigue him.’

‘It will be interesting to see if pass-happy quarterback Drew Bledsoe would accept such a drastic change in offensive philosophy. For the sake of the Bills and his career, Bledsoe should buy into it 100 percent.’

‘According to a source, Williams wants to hire his former defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, defensive line coach Tim Krumrie and linebackers coach Don Blackmon. But those coaches remain under contract with the Bills, who so far have given the Redskins permission to talk only with Jackson and Smith.’

‘Williams is interested in other Bills staffers but remains in a holding pattern while Buffalo searches for his replacement.’

‘The Oakland Raiders have received permission from the Steelers to speak to Mularkey about replacing former coach Bill Callahan, who was fired at the end of the season.’

‘He was assistant head coach with the Buffalo Bills in ’03 and is hoping to return to Buffalo this season. He is tempted by the Steelers’ job possibility, but he might want to stay in Buffalo if his close friend Dick Jauron is hired as head coach. Jauron is one of seven candidates in Buffalo, including Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.’

‘Coughlin is interested in hiring Jauron to be his assistant head coach, in part so he can work with Lewis. But Jauron’s availability isn’t clear, since he’s still a candidate to be the head coach of the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Jones said Buffalo Assistant General Manager Tom Modrak told him Thursday that he remains unsure whether he wants to interview for the position.’

‘Smith is the Bills special teams coach, and his unit finished third in the league this season in kickoff coverage. Jackson is the Bills safeties coach and third-down specialist.’

‘Smith’s best fit likely would have been with the Falcons and general manager Rich McKay, who was with Smith when he coached linebackers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ”Lovie Smith is going to get a head coaching job,” offensive tackle Kyle Turley said.’

‘Both coaches of course are close to Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams who hired them when he was head coach of the Bills.’

‘Depending on Donahoe’s level of interest, the Bills search could extend into next month after the Super Bowl if the Patriots and/or Rams make it that far. Where any of the three candidates rank on the Bills’ list is uncertain. But that Donahoe has yet to make his selection while four other teams have already hired a new coach this past week is an indication that at least one of the still-employed assistants is in the running.’

‘The Bills have granted the Washington Redskins permission to interview special teams coach Danny Smith and safeties/3rd down specialist coach Steve Jackson. Both coaches are currently under contract with Buffalo.’

‘As the Bills continue to search for a new head coach, a team official said this week a decision has not been made on whether prices will increase for 2004.’

‘Donahoe is strongly considering Weis, who developed such stars as Curtis Martin, Ben Coates and Tom Brady. If New England (14-2), which has home-field advantage throughout the postseason, advances all the way to the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, Donahoe said he’d be willing to wait it out. “If it’s the right guy and you feel you have to wait, then you better wait,” he said.’