| For those of you scratching your heads over the
Bills’ hiring of Gregg Williams as head coach, fear not, your team is in good hands. How
can I be so sure, you ask? Simple. I’ve spoken with Williams on several occasions,
and from those conversations/interviews, I have all the faith in the world in his
abilities.
Just like I had all the faith in the world in Brian Billick from talks with him, and we
all know what he just did.
To make a parallel, new Lions president Matt Millen described his new head coach, Marty
Mornhinweg, as having "good pedigree." What was Millen talking about? The
dictionary defines "pedigree" as "a distinguished ancestry." Millen
was referring to Mornhinweg’s previous employer, the 49ers, for whom he was the
offensive coordinator.
Williams comes from similar pedigree, having been the defensive coordinator for the
Titans for four seasons. Under Williams, Tennessee finished with the league’s No. 1
ranking in total defense (yards allowed per game). And mind you, DE Jevon Kearse had
nothing like the year he had as a rookie, when he led the AFC with 14 sacks and forced 10
fumbles.
Sure, Williams has had the luxury of coaching some outstanding talent. Kearse, Kenny
Holmes, Randall Godfrey, Eddie Robinson, Blaine Bishop and Samari Rolle are household
names in NFL circles. But Williams’ is a pretty good coach. The Titans didn’t
post consecutive 13-win seasons because their offense rolled up yardage. The defense
helped lead the way.
"He waited his turn, and, by golly, it’s like everything else. If you win,
everybody benefits. And he’s been a big part of that," Titans general manager
Floyd Reese said. "It’s his time, and we’re happy for him."
Williams’ pedigree also comes from the head coach under whom he worked. Very
quietly, Jeff Fisher has become arguably the top head coach in the NFL. Few, if any, other
head coaches could have guided the a team through four different home venues in four
season and not only maintain his job, but take his squad to a new level.
Fisher did, and Williams watched him every step of the way.
"Gregg brings to our franchise a long list of impressive credentials," Bills
president Tom Donahoe said. "His strengths are in the areas of leadership, knowledge
of the game, organizational skills and people skills. I’m confident that we have
selected the candidate who best fits our needs."
Williams has been preparing himself for a head-coaching job for years now. In fact, he
has meticulous files ranking those he would like to hire not only as assistants, but
trainers, video and personnel people.
Beyond his preparation, Williams inherits a heck of a defense in its own right.
Understand, the Bills finished the 2000 season with the third-ranked defense in the league
behind Tennessee and Baltimore – and that was in spite of numerous injuries to key
players, including stud LBs Sam Rodgers and Sam Cowart.
However, Williams won’t have RB Eddie George to fall back on. The Bills have been
trying to piece a running game together for years. Perhaps they finally will through in
the draft. But they definitely will have another strong defense. Williams will see to
that.
I’m not ready to put the Bills atop the AFC East. But the division is there for
the taking, and I have faith in Buffalo’s hierarchy. Imagine: They lose a class act
in John Butler, only to replace him with another highly regarded exec in Donahoe and an
up-and-coming head coach in Williams.
Fear not Bills, fans. Your table is waiting. |
