Dick Jauron, HC, Buffalo Bills

February 1, 2006 @ 14:29:34

By Bryce McRae
Edited by KFFL Staff

With the Buffalo Bills coming off their sixth consecutive losing season, and with the surprise resignation of head coach Mike Mularkey, Bills general manager Marv Levy will turn to former Detroit Lions interim head coach Dick Jauron to lead this team back to the playoffs. Jauron brings over two decades of coaching experience to the Bills and will hope to lead them to the playoffs for the first time since they fell victim to the infamous "Music City Miracle" against Tennessee in 2000.

BACKGROUND

Jauron began his playing career (at least on the collegiate level) at Yale in the early 70's as a running back. He would enter the NFL as a defensive back however, playing for the Detroit Lions from 1973-78 and the Cincinnati Bengals from 1979-80. After retiring from the NFL, he took a few years off before joining the Bills organization as defensive backs coach for the 1985 season. From there he joined the Green Bay Packers where he would spend the most time he has spent with an NFL team, coaching defensive backs from 1986-94. He would leave before the Packers won the Super Bowl in 1996, joining the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars as defensive coordinator from 1995-98. 

Jauron's first head coaching job came with the Chicago Bears in 1999. After Dave Wannstedt was fired by the Bears, Jauron was the emergency coaching replacement after the Bears' first choice for the job (Dave McGinnis) turned it down. His best season in Chicago came when he led the Bears to a 13-3 record and the playoffs, although they would be beaten at home by the Philadelphia Eagles. Jauron would win the NFL Coach of the Year award for turning around that team. 

His luck was not to last, however, as he had two dismal seasons after that lone playoff appearance, and having failed to set up a decent offense to go along with his top-notch defense, he was let go by the Bears in 2003. He would return to the NFC North in 2004 with the Detroit Lions as their defensive coordinator and took over head coaching duties for the last five games of 2005 after Steve Mariucci had been fired. 

Jauron beat out former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman for the Bills job and will bring a strong defensive mind to an already strong defensive team.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE BILLS OFFENSE

On the offensive side of the ball, Jauron will try to distance himself from his past as much as he can. This will be a good thing as the Bears were one of the lowest ranked teams in the league during his tenure as head coach (although this can be partially due to personnel issues - having QB Jim Miller behind center doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in anyone). 

The Bills' offense was one of the worst in the league last year. Looking at the some stats from last year, it was clear a change was needed:

• Offensive Points Scored: 255 (26th in the NFL)
• Passing Yards: 2,852 (29th)
• Rushing Yards: 1,605 (22nd)

In order to improve this, Jauron has brought in former Bills running backs coach Steve Fairchild as his offensive coordinator, which was a move in the right direction. Fairchild previously coached as the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator and was quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons. In St. Louis in 2003, Fairchild coached QB Marc Bulger to his first Pro Bowl appearance. Last season his offense ranked second in the league in passing yardage (252.3 passing yards per game). This will be benefit whichever quarterback starts, be it QB J.P. Losman or QB Kelly Holcomb. However, it should also greatly increase the targets and benefits for the wide receivers. In the offense last year, they were too often forgotten as the team played a very low-frills, grind it out offense.

WR Eric Moulds, who despite having an off-year still remains the No. 1 wide receiver on the team, should benefit from the team's tendency to open up the passing game. WR Lee Evans should also improve from his stellar sophomore year where he led the team with a 15.5 yards per catch average. WR Josh Reed, a former second-round draft pick, also had a better season than last, catching 32 passes for 449 yards. The talent at this position is there and has yet to show, mainly because of ineptitude at the quarterback position.

Fairchild also coached former Bills running back Travis Henry to his first Pro Bowl season in 2002 when Henry ran for 1,438 yards. Jauron hopes he can do the same with the self-proclaimed "best running back in the league", RB Willis McGahee. After declaring midway through the season he was the top back in the league, he proceeded to have no 100 yard rushing games the rest of the season and put up a total of 1,247 yards.

Buffalo will re-structure their whole offensive line as they allowed 42 sacks last year and had only a 3.7 yards per rush attempt last year. Former first round draft pick OT Mike Williams has been a bust so far, but it is the whole line that needs to be upgraded.

If Fairchild gets Holcomb or Losman to play within themselves, then this side of the ball has the talent (at least at the skill positions) to be explosive, words not associated with the Bills offense in over a decade. Fairchild will be the main one in charge of the offense here and will favor a more open game. Jauron hopes he has learned well from his former mentor Mike Martz.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE BILLS' DEFENSE

Jauron's expertise lies on the defensive side of the ball, which is good as this team was one of the worst in that area. However, the talent is still there from their 2004 team which was one of the top in the league. Some numbers from last year's defensive debacle:

• Points Allowed: 344 (7th most in the NFL)
• Rushing Yards Allowed: 2,205 (3rd)
• Passing Yards Alowed: 3,560 (12th)

Jauron has yet to choose a defensive coordinator, as incumbent coordinator Jerry Gray is still under contract with the team. However, it is expected Gray will not remain with the team much longer and Jauron will be looking for another defensive mind. He has already hired Bill Kollar from the St. Louis Rams as his defensive line coach. It is expected any defensive coordinator the Bills hire will install a 4-3 defense and judging by Jauron's past defenses, it will be one that likes to get up and be physical. 

The Bills were not a bad team against the pass last year as they were in the top 10 in interceptions and were constantly having to bring up extra guys to stop the run. Their defensive backs are full of big names who are on the tail ends of their careers. FS Troy Vincent had his best year from an interception standpoint (four interceptions) however this is his 14th year in the league and he is starting to look as though age is catching up with him. SS Lawyer Milloy is in the same boat. Both players are former Pro Bowlers who will provide experience and stability but are a step slow now and lack big play ability.

At cornerback, they have two young guys who will get up and play physical, which is something Jauron likes to do with his defenses. His defenses in Chicago and Jacksonville were some of the most physical in the league in their respective years. CB Nate Clements played well last year, as he was showing prospective teams what they will get if they sign him (he is a free agent this year). However, he was almost too aggressive as he often times got beat deep. CB Terrence McGee has the speed and aggressiveness to fit nicely in Jauron's scheme and should build off the great progress he showed last year.

At the linebacker position, the Bills suffered their most debilitating loss last year when WLB Takeo Spikes went down with an Achilles injury in Week 3. If he can return to his form of the previous year when he was a Pro Bowler, he should provide a huge boost to this defense as he was their leader on and off the field. With the defensive line constantly breaking down last year, it was an off-year for most of the Bills linebackers, especially SLB Jeff Posey who was constantly taken out by offensive linemen who got through due to their poor defensive line. 

DE Aaron Schobel had 12 sacks last year from the right side and was the lone bright spot on the defensive line. New defensive line coach Bill Kollar will hope to improve play as he coached an underrated line in St. Louis. DT Sam Adams, who has won a Super Bowl in the past, should improve this year and he can still play at a top level and fill space, which is just what this defense will want him to do.

This defense is largely already in place and as long as they can get a few additions and returnees from injury the Bills should be much better then last year.

FINAL COMMENTS

Last year, Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban inherited a team similar to Jauron is inheriting with the Bills. They both had tough, intimidating defenses and sputtering offenses. However, there is talent on the Bills offense, something Miami lacked. Jauron has had success turning teams around quickly (see Chicago Bears in 2001) and with the talent already in place he should be able to have some success next year. 

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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