Two Bills Drive

‘Joe Pendry, the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, was hired by the Washington Redskins on Wednesday to coach the offensive line.’

According to radio reports out of the nation’s capitol, Joe Pendry has been hired by Marty Schottenheimer to be the Redskins’ Offensive Line coach. Pendry was Schottenheimer’s Offensive Coordinator back in Kansas City during the Barry Word/Christian Okoye years. Former Bills’ Head Coach Wade Phillips will be interviewing for Washington’s Defensive Coordinator’s position on Monday.

Why is he complaining? Personally, I am glad the Texans got Capers. Let’s hope the “back door” deal with Lewis is true….

‘Attempts to reach Joel and Kelly Enterprises on Tuesday evening were unsuccessful. No reason was given for the firing.’

‘Vick originally signed with Jim Kelly Enterprises of Buffalo to handle promotional activities and Joel Enterprises of Richmond, Va., to negotiate his contract… But league officials here for Super Bowl XXXV confirmed for SportsLine.com on Tuesday night that Vick has terminated the two firms.’

‘"If you think of the guys who were most responsible for the success of this team over the last several years, John Butler, Wade Phillips and Ted Cottrell are the first three names that come to mind," said defensive end Marcellus Wiley. "It’s tough for me personally because I feel like my network has been taken out of the situation. Those three names as well as Bruce (Smith) and Phil (Hansen) were key as far as my progress as a player.’

‘Both Parker and Zeigler refuse to say "I told you so" to those in Buffalo who doubted them.’

‘The wife of former Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas will have charges related to a bar fight [in a Franklin Street bistro] dropped if she stays out of trouble for six months, a judge ruled Tuesday.’

‘A year after signing Buffalo Bills free-agent defensive end Bruce Smith, the Washington Redskins are ready to announce the signing of offensive coordinator Joe Pendry as their offensive line coach and possibly fired head coach Wade Phillips as their defensive coordinator.’

‘"Wade and Ronnie both said they’d want me back, but they’re both gone so that’s all out the door," said Christie, one of the NFL’s most reliable placekickers. "I’m pretty confident somebody will pick me up."’

Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston: “two highly ranked Ravens officials said yesterday that Lewis and the Bills are each their No. 1 choices and want to make the deal happen.” Preston also speculates that Lewis will bring with him “secondary coach Donnie Henderson and Chip Morton, the Ravens’ assistant strength and conditioning coach.” Finally, Preston also notes that “when he first came to Baltimore, Lewis tried to teach the ex-Browns the Steelers’ way. Big mistake. In the past two seasons, he has won over the players.”

‘In Buffalo, Fox’ main competition will come from Marvin Lewis, the Ravens defensive coordinator. Fox has extremely strong ties with Tom Donahoe, who was recently hired as the Bills general manager, from their days together in Pittsburgh. Lewis also has ties to Donahoe and the Steelers.’

‘Lewis is considered the front-runner in Buffalo because he worked with new Bills GM Tom Donahoe during his 14-year tenure in Pittsburgh. Black assistants are no longer being interviewed by strangers, a factor that should help minorities gain a fair chance in the process.’

‘So far, the score is Marvin Lewis 3, John Fox 2, in the matchup of Super Bowl defensive coordinators. That’s three head coaching interviews lined up for Lewis and two for Fox after the Super Bowl.’

‘Ted Cottrell, the new assistant head coach/defensive coordinator, has a three-year contract that allows him to opt out if he is offered the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job, for which he already has interviewed.’