2001 Buffalo Bills season

2001 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Gregg Williams
General manager Tom Donahoe
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record 3–13
Division place 5th AFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 2001 Buffalo Bills season was the team's 42nd season. Previous head coach Wade Phillips was relieved of his duties as coach and replaced by Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. They finished the season at 3-13 and last in the AFC East division for the first time since 1985.

John Butler, who had been the Bills general manager from 1993–2000, left to take the same position with the San Diego Chargers. Butler was replaced by Tom Donahoe, who would remain with the Bills through the 2005 season.

In the wake of Buffalo's quarterback controversy, Doug Flutie was released by the Bills, prior to the season and followed Butler to San Diego. Buffalo named Rob Johnson their starting quarterback for the 2001 season, which would ultimately be his last in Buffalo. Bills defensive end Marcellus Wiley and linebacker John Holecek also left Buffalo for San Diego in 2001, leaving a gap in Buffalo's defense. The special teams also saw a major overhaul. Placekicker Steve Christie was also among the defectors to San Diego, forcing the Bills to sign rookie Jake Arians (son of longtime offensive coordinator Bruce Arians) as a replacement, then after several weeks of Arians's poor play, Shayne Graham. Chris Mohr left for the Atlanta Falcons and was replaced by Brian Moorman, who would stay with the team for the next eleven seasons.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 2001 NFL draft

Buffalo's 2001 draft was general manager Tom Donahoe first with the team. The Bills' first three draft picks — Nate Clements, Aaron Schobel and Travis Henry — went on to make the Pro Bowl with the Bills.

= Pro Bowler [1]
Round Pick # Player Position College
1 21 Nate Clements[2] Cornerback Ohio State
2 46 Aaron Schobel[3] Defensive End TCU
2 58 Travis Henry[4] Running Back Tennessee
3 76 Ron Edwards Defensive Tackle Texas A&M
3 95 Jonas Jennings Tackle Georgia
4 110 Brandon Spoon Linebacker North Carolina
5 144 Marques Sullivan Tackle Illinois
6 178 Tony Driver Free Safety Notre Dame
6 195 Dan O'Leary Tight End Notre Dame
6 196 Jimmy R. Williams Cornerback Vanderbilt
7 214 Reggie Germany Wide Receiver Ohio State
7 238 Tyrone Robertson Defensive Tackle Hinds C.C.

Personnel

Staff

2001 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office
  • Owner – Ralph Wilson
  • President and General Manager – Tom Donahoe
  • Vice President of Player Personnel – Dwight Adams
  • Director of Football Operations – Tom Modrak
  • Director of Pro Personnel – John Guy

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Gregg Williams
  • Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator – Jerry Gray
  • Defensive Line – John Levra
  • Linebackers – Miles Aldridge
  • Defensive Backs – Pat Thomas
  • Assistant Defensive Backs/Third Down Specialist – Steve Jackson
  • Defensive Assistant – Chuck Lester

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Danny Smith
  • Special Teams Assistant – Tommy Kaiser

Strength and conditioning

Roster

Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site TV Time (EST) Attendance
1 September 9, 2001 New Orleans Saints L 6–24 0–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium FOX 1:00PM EST
71,447
2 September 23, 2001 at Indianapolis Colts L 26–42 0–2 RCA Dome CBS 1:00PM EST
56,135
3 September 30, 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–20 0–3 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
72,874
4 October 7, 2001 New York Jets L 36–42 0–4 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 4:00PM EST
72,654
5 Bye
6 October 18, 2001 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 13–10 1–4 Alltel Stadium ESPN 8:30PM EST
58,893
7 October 28, 2001 at San Diego Chargers L 24–27 1–5 Qualcomm Stadium CBS 4:00PM EST
63,698
8 November 4, 2001 Indianapolis Colts L 14–30 1–6 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
63,786
9 November 11, 2001 at New England Patriots L 11–21 1–7 Foxboro Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
60,292
10 November 18, 2001 Seattle Seahawks L 20–23 1–8 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
60,836
11 November 25, 2001 Miami Dolphins L 27–34 1–9 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
73,063
12 December 2, 2001 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–35 1–10 3Com Park ESPN 8:30PM EST
67,252
13 December 9, 2001 Carolina Panthers W 25–24 2–10 Ralph Wilson Stadium FOX 1:00PM EST
44,549
14 December 16, 2001 New England Patriots L 9–12 2–11 Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS 1:00PM EST
45,527
15 December 23, 2001 at Atlanta Falcons L 30–33 2–12 Georgia Dome CBS 1:00PM EST
43,320
16 December 30, 2001 at New York Jets W 14–9 3–12 The Meadowlands CBS 1:00PM EST
78,200
17 January 6, 2002 at Miami Dolphins L 7–34 3–13 Pro Player Stadium CBS 4:00PM EST
73,428

Game summaries

Week 6

1 234Total
• Bills 0 373 13
Jaguars 0 073 10

[5]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(2) New England Patriots 11 5 0 .688 371 272 W6
(4) Miami Dolphins 11 5 0 .688 344 290 W2
(6) New York Jets 10 6 0 .625 308 295 W1
Indianapolis Colts 6 10 0 .375 413 486 W1
Buffalo Bills 3 13 0 .188 265 420 L1

References

  1. ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  2. ↑ Pro Bowl: 2004 season
  3. ↑ Pro Bowl: 2006, 2007
  4. ↑ Pro Bowl: 2002 season
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

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