2000 Buffalo Bills season

2000 Buffalo Bills season
Head Coach	Wade Phillips
Home Field	Ralph Wilson Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Place	4th AFC East
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	4
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1999	2001

The 2000 Buffalo Bills season was the 41st season for the team in the National Football League. The Bills total offense ranked 9th in the league, and their total defense ranked 3rd in the league. It was the first time since the 1987 season that long time Bills members Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas were not on the team together. Smith and Reed had signed with the Washington Redskins, while Thurman Thomas signed with the Miami Dolphins. The Buffalo Bills finished in fourth place in the AFC East and finished the National Football League's 2000 season with a record of 8 wins and 8 losses. The Bills season was defined by the quarterback controversy between Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson.

The 2000 season marked a turning point in Buffalo's history. After the season ended, general manager John Butler left the team to take the same position with the San Diego Chargers.

Special teams futility

Head coach Wade Phillips was fired shortly after the season by owner Ralph Wilson. Wilson cited Phillips's refusal to fire special teams coach Ronnie Jones. (Football statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that the 2000 Bills had the worst special teams unit of any single-season team from 1993–2010.) Said Wilson at the time, "“Buffalo special teams’ record was among the worst in the National Football League last season. ... I felt we needed a change and that my request was reasonable … I did not want to release Wade but his refusal left me with no option.”

Said Football Outsiders of Buffalo's special teams in 2000, "Could special teams possibly be that negative? Oh, yes. They could. The 2000 Buffalo Bills had the worst special teams of any team in any season for which [Football Outsiders has] data. I would not be shocked if they had the worst special teams of all time, except maybe for some expansion teams in the sixties and seventies. Everything about special teams was horrible for the Bills that year, but Steve Christie was the biggest black hole among a galaxy of sucking black holes. ... Christie's average kickoff went only 55.6 yards, 7.5 yards less than the league average. And the bad kickoffs didn't just come late in the season in Buffalo's usual snow and wind. ... On the season, 18 of his kickoffs went for 50 yards or less. No other kicker had more than 10 kicks that short. ... Buffalo allowed opponents kick returns worth 22 points more than the league average ... So the average opposing drive after a Buffalo kickoff started at the 37-yard line. Wow."

Buffalo hired Tom Donahoe to become the new general manager the following season. Donahoe hired Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to be the head coach in 2001, a season in which the rebuilding team struggled to a 3–13 record.

NFL Draft

Main article: 2000 NFL Draft

Round	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	26	Erik Flowers	Defensive End	Arizona State
2	58	Travares Tillman	Free Safety	Georgia Tech
3	89	Corey Moore	Linebacker	Virginia Tech
4	121	Avion Black	Wide Receiver	Tennessee State
5	156	Sammy Morris	Fullback	Texas Tech
6	194	Leif Larsen	Defensive End	Texas-El Paso (UTEP)
7	233	Drew Haddad	Wide Receiver	Buffalo
7	251	DaShon Polk	Linebacker	Arizona

Personnel

Staff

2000 Buffalo Bills staff
	Front office President – Ralph Wilson Executive Vice President/General Manager – John Butler Vice President of Player Personnel – Dwight Adams Director of Pro Personnel – A. J. Smith Head coaches Vice President of Football Operations/Head Coach – Wade Phillips Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry Quarterbacks – Turk Schonert Running Backs – James Saxon Wide Receivers – Charlie Joiner Assistant to the Head Coach/Tight Ends – Max Bowman Offensive Line – Carl Mauck Offensive Quality Control – Chris Dickson			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ted Cottrell Defensive Line – John Levra Linebackers – Chuck Lester Defensive Backs – Bill Bradley Special teams coaches Special Teams – Ronnie Jones Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks  7 Doug Flutie  10 Alex Van Pelt  11 Rob Johnson Running Backs 23 Antowain Smith 33 Sammy Morris 38 Shawn Bryson 35 Jonathan Linton Wide Receivers 80 Eric Moulds 81 Peerless Price 82 Kwame Cavil 89 Avion Black 86 Jeremy McDaniel Tight Ends 85 Jay Riemersma 88 Sheldon Jackson 84 Bobby Collins		Offensive Linemen 70 John Fina LT 79 Ruben Brown LG 60 Jerry Ostroski C 74 Jamie Nails RG 69 Marcus Spriggs RT 77 Robert Hicks RT 76 Ethan Albright G 72 Joe Panos G		Defensive Linemen 90 Phil Hansen DE 93 Pat Williams DT 92 Ted Washington DT 75 Marcellus Wiley DE 91 Shawn Price DE 96 Erik Flowers DE		Linebackers 52 John Holecek LB 56 Sam Cowart LB Defensive Backs 20 Henry Jones S 27 Ken Irvin CB 26 Antoine Winfield CB 29 Keion Carpenter S 25 Donovan Greer DB Special Teams  2 Steve Christie K  9 Chris Mohr DE

Regular season

Quarterback controversy

Flutie led the Bills to a 10–5 record in 1999 but, in a controversial decision, was replaced by Rob Johnson for the playoffs by coach Wade Phillips, who later said he had permission from Bills owner Ralph Wilson to do so. The Bills lost 22–16 to the eventual AFC Champion Tennessee Titans in a game that has become known for the Music City Miracle, where the Titans scored on the penultimate play of the game – a kickoff return following the Bills' apparent game-clinching field goal. After the season had ended, Flutie was named the Bills' backup and only played late in games or when Johnson was injured. Despite getting his chances in December to help the team, Flutie was unable to get the team key wins in December, sealing his fate as a casualty to a roster cut.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Location	Record	Attendance
1	September 3, 2000	Tennessee Titans	W 16–13	Ralph Wilson Stadium	1-0	72,492
2	September 10, 2000	Green Bay Packers	W 27–18	Ralph Wilson Stadium	2-0	72,722
3	September 17, 2000	at New York Jets	L 27–14	The Meadowlands	2-1	77,884
4	Bye
5	October 1, 2000	Indianapolis Colts	L 18–16	Ralph Wilson Stadium	2-2	72,617
6	October 8, 2000	at Miami Dolphins	L 22–13	Pro Player Stadium	2-3	73,901
7	October 15, 2000	San Diego Chargers	W 27–24	Ralph Wilson Stadium	3-3	72,351
8	October 22, 2000	at Minnesota Vikings	L 31–27	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	3-4	64,116
9	October 29, 2000	New York Jets	W 23–20	Ralph Wilson Stadium	4-4	72,861
10	November 5, 2000	at New England Patriots	W 16–13	Foxboro Stadium	5-4	60,292
11	November 12, 2000	Chicago Bears	W 20–3	Ralph Wilson Stadium	6-4	72,420
12	November 19, 2000	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–17	Arrowhead Stadium	7-4	78,457
13	November 26, 2000	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 31–17	Raymond James Stadium	7-5	65,546
14	December 3, 2000	Miami Dolphins	L 33–6	Ralph Wilson Stadium	7-6	73,002
15	December 11, 2000	at Indianapolis Colts	L 44–20	RCA Dome	7-7	56,671
16	December 17, 2000	New England Patriots	L 13–10	Ralph Wilson Stadium	7-8	47,230
17	December 23, 2000	at Seattle Seahawks	W 42–23	Husky Stadium	8-8	61,025

Standings

AFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Miami Dolphins	11	5	0	.688	323	226
Indianapolis Colts	10	6	0	.625	429	326
New York Jets	9	7	0	.563	321	321
Buffalo Bills	8	8	0	.500	315	350
New England Patriots	5	11	0	.313	276	338

Awards and records

• Ruben Brown, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,
• Sam Cowart, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,
• Bob Kalsu's name was added to the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame
• Eric Moulds, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,
• Ted Washington, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,

References

• Bills on Pro Football Reference