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Bills Set to Hire Jauron As Coach

Posted on: Monday, 23 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By JOHN WAWROW

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills are bucking the NFL's hiring trend. Instead of selecting a first-timer as their coach, the Bills are going with experience and hiring Dick Jauron.

The former Chicago Bears head coach arrived in Buffalo on Sunday to finalize the details of his contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. He's expected to be formally introduced at a news conference the Bills have scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EST Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made.

Reached on his cell phone, Jauron confirmed to the AP that he was in Buffalo but declined to comment, referring questions to the team.

Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold declined comment.

Jauron prepares to take over 10 days after Mike Mularkey abruptly resigned. He will become the Bills' fourth head coach since current GM and Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy retired following the 1997 season.

Levy is back with the Bills, replacing team president and general manager Tom Donahoe, who was fired earlier this month.

Jauron went 35-46 in five seasons with the Bears and was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2001, following a 13-3 finish, the only year in which he had a winning record.

Jauron spent the past two years as the Lions' defensive coordinator and finished last season as the team's interim coach after Steve Mariucci was fired in late November.

A defensive specialist, Jauron will take over a Bills team that underachieved in going 5-11 last season and missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year - Buffalo's longest drought since the NFL merger.

Jauron's previous head coaching experience played a major factor with the Bills, who had gone with rookie head coaches with their previous two hires - Mularkey and Gregg Williams, who went 17-31 in three years before being released following the 2003 season.

Jauron's arrival is a switch among NFL coaching changes this offseason.

Of the seven teams that have hired new coaches, six have gone with first-timers. The only exception has been Herm Edwards, who the Chiefs lured away from the Jets.

Houston, meanwhile, is also prepared to hire a rookie when team owner Bob McNair announced Sunday that he will hire Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak. The Oakland Raiders are the only team that has yet to identify a coach it plans to hire.

Jauron was a Bills head coaching candidate in 2004 before losing out to Mularkey.

This is also a sort of homecoming for Jauron, a former NFL defensive back, who got his first break as a defensive assistant with the Bills in 1985.

Wilson and Levy interviewed five other candidates for the job in a weeklong search that focused mostly on those with previous head coaching experience. Among those also interviewed were former Green Bay coach Mike Sherman and former Houston coach Dom Capers.

Although Jauron never coached under Levy, the two have developed a relationship. Levy, who maintains a home in Chicago, had previously worked as a Bears broadcaster during Jauron's tenure with the team.

Jauron must begin address filling his staff.

The Bills retained nine of Mularkey's assistants, a list that includes defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who previously has said that he doesn't expect to be back. Offensive coordinator Tom Clements was among five assistants released earlier this month.

The team must also determine whether to retain several players, particularly starting cornerback Nate Clements, who's eligible for free agency in March.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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