A Puppet Could Coach These Chargers

San Diego Chargers general manager AJ Smith appears to have become a clone of the man who replaced his predecessor in Buffalo.

Smith followed former Buffalo Bills GM John Butler to San Diego after Butler was fired by owner Ralph Wilson and replaced by Tom Donahoe after the 2000 season.

Donahoe was run out of Pittsburgh after losing a power struggle to then-Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher. One of Donahoe's first duties in Buffalo was to find the Bills a new head coach. Rather than hire John Fox or Marvin Lewis, the defensive gurus of the past season's Super Bowl teams, Donahoe decided to go with Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.

Williams lasted only three seasons in Buffalo and compiled a 17-31 record with zero playoff appearances. Meanwhile, Fox became the head coach of the Carolina Panthers and brought the team to the Super Bowl only two years after finishing 1-15 under George Siefert. Lewis worked a small miracle of his own, bringing the 2005 Cincinnati Bengals their first playoff berth in 15 seasons.

Donahoe faced a second chance in 2004 when he could have chosen from candidates such as St. Louis Rams coordinator Lovie Smith, New England Patriots offensive mind, Charlie Weis, former head coaches Jim Fassel, Dick Jauron, and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Mike Mularkey.

While he may have been right about Fassel, he was wrong about Mularkey, and it cost him defensive coach Dick LeBeau, who helped the Pittsburgh Steelers build a zone-blitz defense that won the Steel City its fifth Super Bowl, under the leadership of the man who pushed him out-Bill Cowher.

Lovie Smith brought a horrible Chicago Bears team to two straight playoff seasons and Super Bowl XLI, while Weis has rebuilt the University of Notre Dame into a national football powerhouse, something it hadn't been since before Lou Holtz's sudden retirement.

After Mularkey's 9-7 rookie season, he lost his team in 2005 as the Bills finished 5-11. Donahoe was fired and shortly thereafter, Mularkey resigned as head coach.