Winless Bills Fire Stephenson and Appoint Bullough as Coach

The winless Buffalo Bills fired Coach Kay Stephenson, a former Ram assistant under Chuck Knox, and named assistant coach and defensive coordinator Hank Bullough as his replacement.

Stephenson, who went with Knox to Buffalo in 1978 after serving one season as the Ram quarterback coach, replaced Knox as the head coach at Buffalo at the start of the 1983 season.

Stephenson, 38 at the time, became the youngest head coach in the NFL. The Bills, under Stephenson, were 8-8 in 1983 but slipped to 2-14 last season.

Attendance at 80,000-seat Rich Stadium was only 45,000 for last Sunday’s 27-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

In a prepared statement, Ralph Wilson, owner of the Bills, said: “Kay Stephenson is a friend of mine and will remain a friend of mine, but we need to move in a new direction, and it can no longer wait.”

Bullough said he will “stay with the defense” and that offensive coordinator Jim Ringo, a former Bill head coach, would continue to design the team’s offense.