|
|
Buffalo Bills general manager Tom Donahoe went looking for a coach with an offensive mind and ended up turning to a familiar face.
The Bills on Wednesday named Mike Mularkey the 13th coach in franchise history and entrusted him with the task of repairing a team that ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring offense.
Mularkey, 42, spent
the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Under Mularkey, the Steelers twice ranked in the top five in the NFL in total
offense.
Donahoe was director of football operations for Pittsburgh when Mularkey played
for the Steelers from 1989-91. Donahue was still in that post when Steelers
coach Bill Cowher hired Mularkey as tight ends coach in 1996.
Expected to contend for a playoff spot, the Bills finished a disappointing 6-10 this past season under Gregg Williams, who was fired December 29. Tickets
The Bills were tied for 30th in the NFL with an average of 15.2 points per game. They also ranked 30th with just 271.8 total yards and 28th in passing yards with 167.8.
Drew Bledsoe threw for just 11 touchdowns, his worst full-season total. The 11-year veteran passed for 2,860 yards, his fewest in a year in which he's started 13 or more games.
Buffalo, which has not made the playoffs since 1999, does have a solid offensive trio in Bledsoe, running back Travis Henry and wide receiver Eric Moulds.
Former Chicago Bears coach Dick Jauron and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis also were in the running for the job.
Mularkey was named Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator on January 5, 2001 after five seasons as Pittsburgh's tight ends coach. Prior to that, he spent two seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mularkey played nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh.
The hiring of Mularkey by Buffalo and Lovie Smith by the Bears, also on Wednesday, leaves the Oakland Raiders as the only team left with a head coaching vacancy.