NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Former NFL star Marshawn Lynch claimed there was some dysfunction on the part of the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching staff at the time he played for the AFC East team.
Buffalo selected the running back in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Cal. He spent just over three full seasons with the Bills before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2010 season. During that short time, Lynch played mostly under head coach Dick Jauron.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (23) runs the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium on 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 backstabbing was going on behind the scenes between Jauron and Fewell.
“When I was in Buffalo and where we were, it was like, I saw coaches backdoor other coaches,” Lynch said during the episode. “The coach was more like a player’s coach and the defensive coordinator was like (grunting). There was some shady s— to him when he got fired and they named the D coordinator the interim head coach. It was like, ‘I finally got his a– out of here. Yeah!’ Like, ‘This is my s—.’
“And when you’re in an organization like that with individuals who really have no love for everybody in the organization. You can’t be successful.”
Perry Fewell of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the game against the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium on November 29, 2009 in Orchard Park, New York. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
CARDINALS SIGN MIKE LAFLEUR, FILL LAST NFL VACANCIES
Pakinomist Digital reached out to Fewell for comment.
Lynch said players could “tell the difference” between coaches who want players to just show up for work and those who are happy they’re on the team.
“When I was in Oakland, it was just more like, ‘I’m home.’ So I don’t even know if I was processing or thinking, but I got to build a relationship with Mark (Davis) and it was outside of anything football,” he added.
Fewell joined the New York Giants staff the next season and was the team’s defensive coordinator during its Super Bowl run in 2011. He also served as interim head coach for four games in 2019 for the Carolina Panthers.
He is currently the NFL’s senior vice president of communications and 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 Pakinomist APP
Jauron died last February. The Bills’ organization was the last time he served as a head coach in the NFL. He was on the staffs of the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns through the 2012 season.
