OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Brian Billick never came close to duplicating the success he enjoyed early in his career as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and it finally cost him his job.
Billick was fired Monday, less than 24 hours after his team concluded a season of high expectations with a disappointing 5-11 record. His entire staff, including defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, also was dismissed.
“I believed that it was time for a change, I believed that we have the nucleus of a team that can get back to the Super Bowl, and we felt that in the next five years we had a better chance with a new coach than leaving Brian in that position,” said Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, who made the decision after consulting with team president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome.
Billick won the 2001 Super Bowl in his second season with the Ravens, but since Bisciotti took over full ownership in 2004, Baltimore is only 33-33. That includes only one playoff appearance, in 2006.
Billick had three years left on a contract that pays $5 million per season.
Dolphins GM fired.
New front-office boss Bill Parcells fired Miami general manager Randy Mueller, assistant director of player personnel Mike Baugh and college scouting coordinator Rick Thompson.
Jeff Ireland, vice president of college and pro scouting for the Dallas Cowboys, was the front-runner to replace Mueller and confirmed he was flying today to South Florida for an interview.
Titans’ Young may sit.
Tennessee quarterback Vince Young reinjured his right quadriceps muscle Sunday against Indianapolis. His status for the Titans’ playoff game with San Diego could be in question.
“I can’t really say right now if Vince is going to play this week,” coach Jeff Fisher said Monday.
Levy done as Bills GM.
Ten years to the day after he retired as the Bills’ coach, Marv Levy called it quits again, stepping down after two years as the team’s general manager.
Despite consecutive 7-9 finishes and an eight-season playoff drought, the 82-year-old Levy leaves confident in the franchise’s future.
“Dick Jauron, his coaching staff and an admirable core of high-character players are heading in the right direction,” Levy said in a statement released by the Bills.
Bills owner Ralph Wilson credited Levy for bringing stability to a franchise that had alienated its fans and been undone by questionable coaching and personnel decisions under former team president Tom Donahoe, who was fired after the 2005 season.
Chiefs’ Peterson coming back.
Carl Peterson says he will return for a 20th year running the Kansas City Chiefs despite a disappointing 4-12 season.
“We have a plan and it’s being implemented,” the Chiefs president and general manager told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his office at Arrowhead Stadium. “I have no intention to leave before the job is finished.”
After after the Chiefs-Jets game Sunday, Peterson told The Kansas City Star that coach Herm Edwards also would be back.
Vick’s dogfighting site for sale.
The white brick home in Surry, Va., that housed former NFL star Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation has been listed for sale for $1.1 million.
The house failed to sell during an auction in mid-December, disappointing a real estate developer who has about $500,000 tied up in the place. At the time, Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. rejected the only serious bid — $747,000, the property’s assessed value for real estate tax purposes.
Jaguars lineman charged with felony battery.
Jacksonville offensive tackle Stockar McDougle was charged in Miami with battery on a person 65 and older, a felony, and touch-strike battery, a misdemeanor, after allegedly pushing the owner of a landscaping company and a female clerk because of a dispute about a bill.
