‘Phillips’ reluctance to fire some of his assistant coaches apparently led to his dismissal. The team has no comment at this time.’
BillsBeat - January 8, 2001
Loyalty to assistants costs Bills coach Phillips his job
‘And late Sunday night, it became the bitter end for Phillips, who was dismissed by the Bills after he steadfastly declined to make staffing changes suggested by owner Ralph Wilson last week and then reiterated in the past 48 hours.’
Bills reportedly fire Wade Phillips
‘"We have no comment at this time," said Scott Berchtold, Bills vice president of communications.’
Longing For Face-Painters
‘They look at me like I’m crazy, or making the whole thing up. They don’t understand how anyone could go to the extremes that a Bills fan will go to in order to feel like part of a team.’
Pendry may chase Moulds Out of Town
PFW recently wrote, "Some Bills observers are beginning to be concerned over wide receiver Eric Moulds’ impending free agency. These sources say it is not absolute that Moulds will return to Buffalo, especially if offensive coordinator Joe Pendry remains." Listening to talk radio and reading the Stadium Wall message board, Moulds may not be the only person not present in RWS next season if Pendry remains. Some fans may elect to stay away too!
Defensive work prompted Levy to bring Phillips to Bills
‘Phillips was happy being a defensive coordinator, but his dream was to be a head coach again. He insisted he didn’t come to Buffalo to be Levy’s successor. But that’s what happened shortly after Levy announced his retirement on Jan. 31, 1998.’
Sources say wait is over, Wade's out
‘The firing apparently was a result of Phillips’ refusal to release three of his assistant coaches – offensive coordinator Joe Pendry, offensive line coach Carl Mauck and special teams coach Ronnie Jones.’
WILSON GIVES PHILLIPS THE BOOT
‘”I want to make it very clear that I like Wade, both as a person and a coach,” Wilson said in a statement released this afternoon by the team. “Wade has done a good job for us, reaching the playoffs two out of the last three seasons. But I felt the dismissal of the special teams coach was imperative for the improvement of our team. I did not want to release Wade, but his refusal left me with no option.”‘
PHILLIPS BUILT REPUTATION WITH DEFENSE
‘But for all his success, Phillips was 0-3 in the playoffs, including his only postseason appearance in Denver. The Bills suffered a last-minute 24-17 loss in Miami in the first round of the 1998 playoffs and were victimized by Home Run Throwback in a devastating 22-16 wild-card playoff defeat at Tennessee last year.’
BUMBLING PHILLIPS WAS IN OVER HIS HEAD
‘At any rate, let’s wish him luck in his next position. If it’s a head coaching job, he’ll need it. Regardless of his record, he has proven twice (here and in Denver) that he’s unsuited for a head coaching job. Houston, where the expectations would be minimal, would be a good fit if the Texans were foolish enough to hire him.’
PHILLIPS FIRING COULD CLEAR DECKS FOR DONAHOE NO CONTACT HAS BEEN MADE WITH OTHER GM PROSPECTS
‘Donahoe, 53, is widely viewed around the NFL as the most respected available GM candidate on the market. He spent 14 years with Pittsburgh, the last eight in charge of the personnel department. He helped the Steelers to six straight playoff appearances and three trips to the AFC championship game.’
BillsBeat - January 7, 2001
Jim Haslett wins AP NFL Coach of the Year
Former Bills LB Jim Haslett (’79-’85) has landed The Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award. Haslett is only in his first year of coaching the Saints and he guided them to the division title, despite a rash of injuries to his skill players. This is not the first AP award Haslett has won. He was the recipient of the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 1979. An interesting side note is that NFC coaches have received the Coach of the Year award 17 times in the past 20 years.
HOUSTON INTERVIEW MAKES LIMBO EASIER FOR COTTRELL
‘”It’s not easy, but I’ve been in this situation before,” Cottrell said. “It happened with the Cardinals on Joe Bugel’s staff before they hired Buddy Ryan (in 1993). There’s a lot of uncertainty. You just keep going until something happens. The bottom line is you can’t worry about things that you have absolutely no control over. That’s the situation here.”‘
ONE BILLS DRIVE MAY BE BURNING AS WILSON FIDDLES OVER DONAHOE HIRE
‘For the last decade, NFL rivals have considered the Bills a model franchise, a team to copy in their search for success. Right now, the Bills appear to be modeling themselves after the Cincinnati Bengals.’
BILLS FACE SERIOUS COMPETITION IN ATTEMPT TO RE-SIGN MOULDS
‘Those subtractions alone could put Butler and the Chargers in position to sign Moulds, but there would be serious competition for the Bills’ sole offensive superstar. The Green Bay Packers are homing in on Moulds as successor to Antonio Freeman, whom they don’t intend to re-sign.’