Mularkey Reportedly Resigns as Bills’ Coach

Mike Mularkey submitted his resignation to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, a person familiar with discussions involving the coach and the team told the Associated Press.

The Bills will formally announce the coach’s resignation during a news conference today, the source said.

ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, first reported that Mularkey had reached a settlement with the team to cover the final three years of his contract. ESPN.com also reported that Mularkey’s decision to leave the team was because of undisclosed family reasons.

Reached by the Associated Press, Mularkey declined to comment on the report, except to say: “Right now is not the best time to talk.”

Mularkey’s departure is a major surprise after team owner Ralph Wilson announced last week that Mularkey would be retained. Wilson went out of his way to back Mularkey, holding a second news conference Jan. 4, hours after he announced the firing of team president and general manager Tom Donahoe.

A day later, Wilson replaced Donahoe by luring Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy out of retirement to take over as general manager. Thursday was Levy’s first full day on the job.

Mularkey was forced to dismiss five assistants, including offensive coordinator Tom Clements. He also faced the possibility of losing defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who is a candidate for several head coaching jobs.

Mularkey was 14-18 in two seasons with Buffalo.

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Carson Palmer’s knee injury was “devastating and potentially career-ending,” involving numerous ligament tears, a shredded ligament, damaged cartilage and a dislocated kneecap, his surgeon said.

The Cincinnati Bengal quarterback tore ligaments in his left knee when he was hit by Pittsburgh’s Kimo von Oelhoffen on his first pass during the Steelers’ 31-17 playoff victory Sunday.

The team announced that he had torn the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. The damage was much more extensive and severe, but Dr. Lonnie Paulos said surgery went well and Palmer could be back for the start of the season.

“It’s not just like it was a torn ACL,” Paulos said. “It’s a magnitude more difficult to recover from and repair. It can and has ended careers, without a doubt.

“However, I feel very comfortable with Carson as an athlete and the heart that he’s got.”

He said the medial collateral ligament, which runs along the side of the knee, was damaged “real bad.”

“On a scale of 1 to 3, it was a 4,” he said. “It was off the chart. It was pretty badly damaged -- shredded is the better term.”

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The Green Bay Packers hired Mike McCarthy as their coach, giving the former San Francisco 49er offensive coordinator a three-year deal.

McCarthy was Green Bay’s quarterbacks coach in 1999 -- a forgettable 8-8 season under Ray Rhodes.

The 42-year-old was the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator from 2000 to 2004 before going to San Francisco. The 49ers finished 4-12, ranking last in the league in yards per game (224.2) and 30th in scoring (14.9 points per game).

Brett Favre struggled in his only year with McCarthy, throwing 23 passes that were intercepted and 22 touchdowns. But Favre played much of the season with a sprained thumb on his throwing hand.

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Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton interviewed with the Oakland Raiders, the second person in as many days brought in to discuss the team’s head coaching vacancy.

Lofton, who has been the San Diego Chargers’ receivers coach for four seasons, is the first minority candidate to meet with owner Al Davis and his top personnel man, Michael Lombardi.

Oakland officials interviewed Kansas City Chief offensive coordinator Al Saunders on Wednesday as a potential successor to Norv Turner, fired Jan. 3 after consecutive losing seasons.

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The Baltimore Ravens hired former Pro Bowl defensive back and USC player Mark Carrier as their secondary coach.

Carrier, a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1990, was an assistant coach at Arizona State the last two seasons.