Levy, 80, Hired as GM in Buffalo

Marv Levy is back in football and feels like a newcomer.

Referring to himself as “an 80-year-old rookie,” the Hall of Fame coach returned to the Buffalo Bill franchise he led to an unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s, accepting the position of general manager Thursday.

“My enthusiasm is unbounded,” said Levy, who retired as the team’s coach after the 1997 season.

Levy’s return comes a day after Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson fired team president and general manager Tom Donahoe.

Although Levy had input in personnel decisions during his coaching career, his only previous front-office experience came in 1985 when he served as director of football operations for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

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Atlanta Falcon Coach Jim Mora has been fined $25,000 by the NFL for using a cellphone on the sidelines during the team’s overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 24.

Mora was fined under a rule prohibiting the use of cellphones or any other form of communications by coaches or players on the field -- other than the regular phones used by teams to communicate between the sideline and press box.

Mora used the phone to determine how a tie might affect his team’s playoff chances.

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Seattle Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander, who set an NFL mark with 28 touchdowns and led the league in rushing, won the Associated Press most valuable player award.... New England Patriot linebacker Tedy Bruschi and Carolina Panther receiver Steve Smith shared the Associated Press comeback player of the year award. Bruschi recovered from a stroke and made it back into the lineup Oct. 30. Smith sat out nearly all of the 2004 season because of a broken leg.