NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Former NFL star Marshawn Lynch claimed there was some dysfunction within the Buffalo Bills head coaching staff during his time playing for the AFC East team.
Buffalo selected the running back in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of California. He spent just over three full seasons with the Bills before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2010 season. During this short period, Lynch primarily played under head coach Dick Jauron.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (23) runs the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium November 4, 2007. (John David Mercer/USA TODAY)
Jauron was fired after nine games in 2009 and was replaced by then-defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. The team finished 6-10 that year.
Lynch appeared on “Club Random with Bill Maher” and alleged that there was backstabbing going on behind the scenes between Jauron and Fewell.
“When I was in Buffalo, and where we were, it was like I was looking at coaches through the back door of other coaches,” Lynch said during the episode. “The coach was more like a player’s coach and the defensive coordinator was like (groaning). There was some shady shit going on with him when he got fired and they made Coordinator D the interim head coach. It was like, ‘I finally made it out of here. Yes!’ Like, “That’s my shit—.”
“And when you’re in an organization like that with individuals who really don’t like everyone in the organization. You can’t be successful.”
Perry Fewell of the Buffalo Bills watches the game against the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium on November 29, 2009 in Orchard Park, New York. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
CARDINALS HIRE MIKE LAFLEUR, FILL LATEST NFL HEAD COACHING POSITION
PK Press Club Digital has contacted Fewell for comment.
Lynch said players can “feel the difference” between coaches who want players to just show up for work and those who are happy to be part of the team.
“When I was in Oakland, it was more like, ‘I’m home.’ So I don’t even know if I was thinking or thinking, but I was able to build a relationship with Mark (Davis) and it had nothing to do with football,” he added.
Fewell joined the New York Giants the following season and served as the team’s defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl run in 2011. He also served as interim head coach for four games in 2019 for the Carolina Panthers.
He currently serves as the NFL’s senior vice president of communications and officiating administration.
Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (23) during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on October 5, 2008. (Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Jauron died last February. The Bills organization was his last time as a head coach in the NFL. He was on staff for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns throughout the 2012 season.
