Bears, Bills Fill Their Coaching Vacancies

Two NFL coaching vacancies were filled on Wednesday, when the Chicago Bears hired St. Louis Ram defensive coordinator Lovie Smith and the Buffalo Bills hired Pittsburgh Steeler offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.

Smith agreed to a four-year deal. He replaces Dick Jauron, fired Dec. 29.

Smith will be introduced at a news conference today. He was in St. Louis on Wednesday and unavailable for comment.

The Rams had one of the NFL’s worst defenses when Smith arrived, allowing 471 points in 2000. One year later, St. Louis had the league’s third-best defense, giving up 273 points -- a reduction of 198 -- on the way to the Super Bowl.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for Lovie,” Ram Coach Mike Martz said. “I’m excited for Lovie, and I’m also excited for the Bears’ organization.

“I’m not sure they fully realize the quality individual and the professional they are getting. They will soon realize that and fully appreciate it.”

Smith, 45, is the first black head coach in Bears’ history. He’s also the fifth black head coach in the league, joining Dennis Green, hired last week by Arizona. The others are Herman Edwards of the New York Jets, Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati and Tony Dungy of Indianapolis. There have never been more than three black head coaches in a season before.

In Buffalo, Mularkey becomes the 13th coach in franchise history. It is his first head coaching job after 10 years as an assistant. He will be officially introduced as coach of the Bills today.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mularkey and President and General Manager Tom Donahoe were unavailable for comment until the news conference.

At 42, Mularkey will be one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL.

Over the last three seasons, he has built a strong reputation for having a creative mind for offense, one of the things the Bills were searching for in a new coach.

Under Mularkey, the Steeler offense ranked in the top five two of the last three seasons.

He replaces Gregg Williams, who went 17-31 in three seasons.

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New NFL Coaches

Recent head coaching changes in the NFL:

*--* Team Previous New Arizona Cardinals Dave McGinnis Dennis Green Atlanta Falcons Dan Reeves Jim Mora Jr. Buffalo Bills Gregg Williams Mike Mularkey Chicago Bears Dick Jauron Lovie Smith New York Giants Jim Fassel Tom Coughlin Oakland Raiders Bill Callahan Still vacant Washington Redskins Steve Spurrier Joe Gibbs

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