The Buffalo News, N.Y., Allen Wilson column: Allen Wilson: Bills' quest for coach isn't a lost cause
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When they began this head coaching search, there seemed to be no shortage of candidates. And they even gave us the impression that they were going to swing for the fences and get the biggest name possible.
As it turns out, that was a pipe dream. Once Mike Shanahan and, apparently, Bill Cowher shunned the Bills, they had to set their sights a little lower. So far, that approach hasn't borne much fruit either with New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer saying thanks but no thanks to Buffalo.
Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said during his introductory news conference that head coaching experience in the NFL was preferred, but not necessary. While Shanahan or Cowher would have made Bills fans happy, they shouldn't be upset if the team has to settle for a less-seasoned coach.
Hiring a former NFL head coach can be overrated anyway. Watching teams hire the endless line of retread head coaches is tiresome. Such a move closes the door on assistants who are primed for a move up the coaching ladder.
That's why I have no problem with the Bills considering Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and trying to talk to Schottenheimer and Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach Russ Grimm. No one knows if any of them are any good, but the Bills wouldn't be the first or the last team to give an assistant coach a shot.
Besides, we all remember the last time the Bills went for the experienced coach. So how did the Dick Jauron hire turn out?
I've heard veteran coaches like Brian Billick and Jim Fassel bandied about in e-mails and online chat rooms. As far as we know, the Bills haven't contacted either of them. Yes, both have led teams to Super Bowls, with Billick bringing home the Lombardi Trophy. But their resumes don't guarantee success.
Billick is a forceful personality, but he wasn't the same keen offensive mind in Baltimore that he was in Minnesota during the late 1990s. In fact, the Ravens' offenses were mostly average during his watch. He also made several dubious decisions at quarterback. And his Super Bowl championship was due to an all-time great defense.
Fassel had some success with the New York Giants, leading them to the Super Bowl against Billick's Ravens. But things ended badly for Fassel, whose team quit on him and finished 4-12 in 2003, leading to his firing. He has been out of the NFL since 2006 when Billick canned him as coordinator of a Ravens offense that ranked near the bottom of the league during Fassel's three years on the job. He did coach Las Vegas to a UFL championship. That hardly qualifies as a major accomplishment, unless you consider he pulled it off with J.P. Losman at quarterback.
I know Bills fans want to be wowed. They want someone who will excite them enough to run to the ticket counter.
But Mike Tomlin wasn't a sexy hire in Pittsburgh. John Harbaugh didn't excite the masses in Baltimore. Mike Smith didn't generate a lot of buzz in Atlanta. Miami didn't hail the hiring of Tony Sparano.
None of those guys had ever been a head coach, but guess what? All of them have proved to be naturals at the job.
I know the Bills struck out with head coaching neophytes Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey, but they shouldn't be held prisoner by the past. If the Bills decide that hiring someone who hasn't been a head coach in the league is the way to go, then so be it.
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