O-line coaches set to make big impact

The hiring of well-respected offensive line coaches could put the Bills, Redskins and Falcons over the top.

Updated: January 26, 2004, 3:32 PM ET
By By Darrell Trimble | NFL Insider
The Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons are only three of the seven teams that will go into next season with a new head coach. The Bills went with the offensive-minded Mike Mularkey, the Redskins brought back coaching legend Joe Gibbs and the Falcons hired San Francisco defensive coordinator Jim Mora, Jr.

What could set these three teams apart is not their new skippers, but their new assistant coaches. If it's true that behind every great man is a great woman, then behind every great coach is a great offensive line coach.

The Bills hired former New York Giants line coach Jim McNally. Buffalo was excited about the hiring of Mularkey, but McNally is the name that gets Bills fans excited. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe has been sacked 103 times in the past two seasons. Part of that is the result of him holding onto the ball too long, but a big part of it was the poor play of the front five.


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