');//-->

NCAA Announces Bracket; Syracuse to Play in Buffalo

Brady Quinn traded to Denver; Schefter - Tomlinson to Jets

Detroit Tops Buffalo 3-2 in OT

Mancari headed back to Portland

Wild Hold On For 3-2 Win Over Sabres

3/13 Sabres vs. Red Wings Highlights

3/12 Sabres vs. Wild Highlights

3/12 Darcy Regier w/ Schopp +Bulldog

3/12 Rob Ray w/ Schopp+Bulldog

3/12 Pierre McGuire w/ Schopp+Bulldog

SPORTING NEWS: Which NHL team deserves the Stanley Cup?

SIMON: Inside the Numbers - North Stars edition

SCHOPP: Talking Bills vs. dirty shoes

Who Is Chan Gailey?

Joe Buscaglia Reporting
JoeB@wgr550.com

After rising from the depths of relative anonymity, it seems as though Chan Gailey has emerged as one of the top candidates for the Buffalo Bills head coaching job. Even though there's only two candidates to my knowledge, it still raises certain questions.

Most know that Chan Gailey is an offensive based coach, and has been for quite some time. But would he be the right hire for the Bills? Let's take a look at the man that is Chan Gailey.

From 1971 to 1973, Gailey was a quarterback for the University of Florida. Just one year out of school, he became a graduate assistant for the school's football program for the next two seasons. Then in 1976, Gailey got his first real coaching gig.

Troy State University hired Gailey to be the defensive backs coach oddly enough, even though his background was geared toward the offensive side of the ball. He stayed there for three seasons before being offered the same job at a bigger school: Air Force. He served as defensive backs coach in 1979 and 1980, and was then named defensive coordinator in 1981. He stayed at that position with the school for two years before getting his first big offer.

In 1983, Troy State came calling again, and offered Gailey the head coaching position. Gailey stayed there for two seasons, finishing his 1984 campaign with the Trojans with a 12-1 record. That as it turns out, was all the NFL needed to see.

The following season Gailey was hired by the Denver Broncos as their special teams and tight ends coach. In his tenure with Denver, Gailey rose from tight ends coach to receivers coach, receivers coach to quarterbacks coach, and then in 1989 he was named the Broncos offensive coordinator. He spent two seasons in that position, where the team ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing in 1989, and eighth in total offense in 1990. In his six years with the Broncos, they made the Super Bowl three times.

After that, Gailey decided to try his hand at head coaching again, this time at a semi-professional level. He elected to fill the vacancy with the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football.

The team made the playoffs in both seasons under Gailey, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs both times. A trend that wouldn't cease to exist for Gailey. More on that later. But the league only lasted those two seasons, especially with their rule of a variable field goal point value based on yardage of kick.

Before hooking back on with the NFL, Gailey had a one year stint with Samford University in 1993, where he led the Bulldogs to a 5-6 record.

He then hooked on with Bill Cowher's staff in Pittsburgh. Starting as the Steelers wide receiver's coach for 1994 and 1995, Gailey was then named the team's offensive coordinator in 1996. In two seasons at that post, the Steelers ranked second in the NFL in rushing in 1996, then topped the league's rankings in that category in 1997. That final season was his most productive, and it led to his biggest break yet.

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys came calling.

In 1998 Gailey was named the head coach of the Cowboys. He lasted two seasons there. In his first season, the Cowboys won the NFC East and ranked eighth in the NFL for total offense. In 1999, Dallas had a record of 8-8, and Gailey's offense was sixth in rushing.

But I told you that playoff thing would come back, and here it is: the Cowboys lost in the first round of the playoffs both years. After that, the Cowboys and Jones decided it would be best if the two sides went their separate ways.

That was the high point of Gailey's coaching career, because past that his resume just hasn't been all too impressive. After losing the Dallas job, Miami hired him to assume the offensive coordinator responsibilities. But in his two seasons, the Dolphins could never get their offense going. In 2000, the Dolphins ranked 26th in total offense. It didn't get much better in 2001, ranking 21st in the NFL in that category.

But the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets saw what they wanted in their next head coach in Gailey. For the next six years, he would lead the Ramblin' Wreck to being slightly above average. These were the records of all six Gailey led teams: 7-6 (2002), 7-6 (2003), 7-5 (2004), 7-5 (2005), 9-5 (2006), 7-6 (2007). Not once did Georgia Tech finish in the final Top 25 poll in those six seasons, and they also went a whopping 0-6 against rival Georgia under Gailey.

In his last coaching stint, Gailey joined the Kansas City Chiefs as offensive coordinator in 2008. With a cast that had the likes of Tyler Thigpen running the offense, the Chiefs ranked 16th in rushing, 20th in passing and 24th in total offense.

Then with Herm Edwards relieved of his duties as head coach, the gong would soon ring for Gailey. At first, new coach Todd Haley kept Gailey on his staff, although he stripped him of his play calling duties. With only one preseason game left in 2009, Haley and the Chiefs fired him.

So what did I learn in this Chan Gailey discovery?
1) He sets up the pass by running the football, and a lot.
2) He can't win playoff games.
3) There was such a thing as the World League of American Football.

So the question remains, is he the right man for the job? Only time can tell that.

But what I can say is that one word strikes me after looking at the profile of Chan Gailey, and it just so happens to be the same word that you can use to describe the Buffalo Bills...

Mediocrity.

Gailey's head coaching window should have closed a long time ago, but apparently Ralph Wilson, Buddy Nix, Russ Brandon and the rest at One Bills Drive are enamored with the idea of Gailey as head coach. Either that, or they can't convince anyone else to take the job.

Only the Buffalo Bills.

You can follow Joe on Twitter @JoeBuscaglia.