Bills hire Gailey as new head coach

Chan Gailey was hired by the Buffalo Bills yesterday, getting a second chance to prove himself as an NFL coach and inheriting a team that has missed the playoffs for 10 straight years.

Gailey was introduced by general manager Buddy Nix at a news conference which ended a 2-month search to replace Dick Jauron, who was fired in November. Gailey takes over a team that finished 6-10 and becomes the Bills' fifth coach since Marv Levy retired after the 1997 season.

Gailey has spent 15 of his 38 years of coaching in the NFL. In his 2 years coaching the Dallas Cowboys, he went 18-14 and led the team to consecutive playoff appearances - both losses. He was dismissed after the 1999 season, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his mistake in firing Gailey.

The 58-year-old Gailey acknowledged he didn't know if he'd get another opportunity to be a head coach again.

"If you sit there, and say you lose confidence in yourself, no you don't. But then you see opportunities go by. And you hope that your body of work will speak for itself," Gailey said.

For Nix, it was Gailey's extensive background that impressed him and met most of the criteria the GM set out when he took over the search 2 weeks ago.

Nix was eager to find someone with previous head-coaching experience and an offensive background.

"This guy met more of the criteria than I thought we could find," Nix said. "And this guy's won everywhere he's been . . . He'll get us back to winning and get to where we want to go."

* Seattle hired Green Bay executive John Schneider as its new general manager.

Schneider, a 17-year veteran of NFL personnel work, will share those responsibilities with new coach Pete Carroll under Seattle's revamped football operations.

The team will formally introduce Schneider today.

Schneider replaces Tim Ruskell. The Seahawks forced Ruskell to resign last month after Seattle finished 5-11, losing its last four games.

Schneider has been the Packers' director of football operations since May 2008. He was the top personnel assistant to Green Bay's GM for 6 years before that.

* Dallas coach Wade Phillips is on the verge of signing a 3-year contract extension with the Cowboys, according to a report.

The Dallas Morning News reported that team officials refused to acknowledge an agreement had been reached and removed a story briefly posted on its own Web site confirming a deal was in place. However, Phillips told associates a deal has been offered.

* Miami hired Mike Nolan as its new defensive coordinator, replacing Paul Pasqualoni, who was fired after the Dolphins' defense backslid in his second season. The Dolphins also announced the hiring of former New York Giants assistant coach Bill Sheridan as inside linebackers coach.

Nolan spent four seasons as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, where he went 18-37 before being fired midway through the 2008 season.

* The expected heavy influx of non-seniors applying for this year's NFL draft did not happen despite looming labor unrest in the league. Although a recordtying 53 players declared for early entry, that number was short of most projections.

"I think that the colleges have really done a good job of telling these young men how it is to their advantage to stay in school," said NFL draft consultant Gil Brandt.

* Washington guard Chad Rinehart was arrested on public intoxication charges in Cedar Falls, Iowa after he pulled on a locked door at a pizza restaurant.

University of Northern Iowa police spokesman Dave Zariffs said officers responded to a door alarm at the restaurant at about 2 a.m. on Monday. When they arrived they found Rinehart pulling on a locked door.

A police report says Rinehart, who played at Northern Iowa from 2004-07, appeared to be intoxicated. Rinehart refused a breath test and was arrested.

* Pittsburgh's Randy Fichtner is taking over as quarterbacks coach after previously coaching the wide receivers. Ken Anderson, the quarterbacks coach the last three seasons under coach Mike Tomlin, retired at the end of the season.

In other news, the Steelers signed linebacker Derrick Doggett, one of the top special teams players in the Canadian Football League.

* Oakland long snapper Jon Condo has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster. Condo is the third Raiders player selected to the Pro Bowl, joining cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and punter Shane Lechler.