Buffalo Bills hire Chan Gailey as head coach

The Buffalo Bills' long, twisting and arduous head coaching search will officially reach its conclusion at 2:00 PM this afternoon, when the team is expected to introduce Chan Gailey as the fifteenth head coach in team history. ESPN and multiple other outlets are reporting the move as a done deal. Mark Gaughan at The Buffalo News had the story first on Monday evening.

When the Bills named Buddy Nix their new GM, Nix made it very clear that he was seeking a candidate with previous head coaching experience. Although Ralph Wilson later denied it, the team was widely rumored to be interested in a coach with expertise on offense. Gailey gives the Bills both - offensive expertise and head coaching experience.

Gailey has coached at the pro or college levels since 1974. In that 36-year run, Gailey, 58, has spent the vast majority of his time coaching offense, whether it be quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends or running the show as an offensive coordinator. He began his career as a defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator with Troy State and the Air Force, and was also Troy State's head coach in 1983-84.

Experienced at the NFL level, Gailey has been an offensive coordinator in four separate locations - including Denver, Pittsburgh and Miami - and has been a head coach four different times (three in college), including a two-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys in 1998-99. Gailey's Cowboys went 18-14 in two seasons, making the playoffs - and losing in the first round - in both of those seasons.

Most recently, Gailey was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, where he worked for a year under Herman Edwards. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Georgia Tech University for six years, amassing a 44-32 record with two bowl wins.

With that, the biggest portions of Buffalo's organizational re-structure are complete. Russ Brandon is the CEO, Buddy Nix is the GM, and Chan Gailey is the new head coach. The work isn't done, but the big pieces are in place. Here we go.