2001 Buffalo Bills season

The 2001 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s 42nd season. Previous head coach Wade Phillips was relieved of his duties as coach and replaced by Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. They finished the season at 3-13 and last in the AFC East division for the first time since 1985.

John Butler, who had been the Bills general manager from 1993–2000, left to take the same position with the San Diego Chargers. Butler was replaced by Tom Donahoe, who would remain with the Bills through the 2005 season.

In the wake of Buffalo's quarterback controversy, Doug Flutie was released by the Bills, prior to the season and followed Butler to San Diego. Buffalo named Rob Johnson their starting quarterback for the 2001 season, which would ultimately be his last in Buffalo. Bills defensive end Marcellus Wiley and linebacker John Holecek also left Buffalo for San Diego in 2001, leaving a gap in Buffalo's defense. The special teams also saw a major overhaul. Placekicker Steve Christie was also among the defectors to San Diego, forcing the Bills to sign rookie Jake Arians (son of longtime offensive coordinator Bruce Arians) as a replacement, then after several weeks of Arians's poor play, Shayne Graham. Chris Mohr left for the Atlanta Falcons and was replaced by Brian Moorman, who would stay with the team for the next eleven seasons.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 2001 NFL draft

Buffalo's 2001 draft was general manager Tom Donahoe first with the team. The Bills' first three draft picks — Nate Clements, Aaron Schobel and Travis Henry — went on to make the Pro Bowl with the Bills.

= Pro Bowler

• Players in yellow indicates future Pro Bowl selections

Round	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	21	Nate Clements	Cornerback	Ohio State
2	46	Aaron Schobel	Defensive End	TCU
2	58	Travis Henry	Running Back	Tennessee
3	76	Ron Edwards	Defensive Tackle	Texas A&M
3	95	Jonas Jennings	Tackle	Georgia
4	110	Brandon Spoon	Linebacker	North Carolina
5	144	Marques Sullivan	Tackle	Illinois
6	178	Tony Driver	Free Safety	Notre Dame
6	195	Dan O'Leary	Tight End	Notre Dame
6	196	Jimmy R. Williams	Cornerback	Vanderbilt
7	214	Reggie Germany	Wide Receiver	Ohio State
7	238	Tyrone Robertson	Defensive Tackle	Hinds C.C.

Personnel

Staff

2001 Buffalo Bills staff
	Front office Owner – Ralph Wilson President and General Manager – Tom Donahoe Vice President of Player Personnel – Dwight Adams Director of Football Operations – Tom Modrak Director of Pro Personnel – John Guy Head coaches Head Coach – Gregg Williams Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach – Chuck Lester Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Mike Sheppard Quarterbacks – Steve Kragthorpe Running Backs – Steve Fairchild Wide Receivers – Fred Graves Tight Ends – Dan Neal Offensive Line – Ronnie Vinklarek Offensive Assistant – Tommy Kaiser			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jerry Gray Defensive Line – John Levra Linebackers – Miles Aldridge Defensive Backs – Pat Thomas Assistant Defensive Backs/Third Down Specialist – Steve Jackson Defensive Assistant – Chuck Lester Special teams coaches Special Teams – Danny Smith Special Teams Assistant – Tommy Kaiser Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

Roster

Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks  10 Alex Van Pelt  11 Rob Johnson  5 Travis Brown Running Backs 20 Travis Henry 37 Larry Centers FB 33 Sammy Morris 38 Shawn Bryson 41 Phil Crosby Wide Receivers 80 Eric Moulds 81 Peerless Price 84 Reggie Germany 86 Jeremy McDaniel 89 Avion Black Tight Ends 85 Jay Riemersma TE 88 Sheldon Jackson TE 87 Dan O'Leary TE		Offensive Linemen 70 John Fina LT 79 Ruben Brown LG 63 Bill Conaty C 71 Corey Hulsey RG 75 Jonas Jennings RT 60 Jerry Ostroski G 67 Craig Heimburger G 72 Kris Farris T 65 Jon Carman T 74 Marques Sullivan G		Defensive Linemen 90 Phil Hansen DE 96 Erik Flowers DE 94 Aaron Schobel DE 93 Pat Williams DT 91 Shawn Price DT 97 Leif Larsen DT 98 Ron Edwards DT 95 Bryce Fisher DE 77 Kendrick Office DE 92 Tyrone Robertson DE		Linebackers 55 Jay Foreman 56 Sam Cowart 53 Keith Newman 51 DaShon Polk 58 Brandon Spoon 98 Kenyatta Wright 99 Fred Jones Defensive Backs 27 Ken Irvin CB 22 Nate Clements CB 26 Antoine Winfield CB 29 Keion Carpenter S 23 Pierson Prioleau S 28 Travares Tillman CB 38 Raion Hill CB 25 Tony Driver CB 21 Chris Watson CB Special Teams 9 Jake Arians K 17 Shayne Graham K 8 Brian Moorman P

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	TV Time (EST)	Attendance
1	September 9, 2001	New Orleans Saints	L 6–24	0–1	Ralph Wilson Stadium	FOX 1:00PM EST	71,447
2	September 23, 2001	at Indianapolis Colts	L 26–42	0–2	RCA Dome	CBS 1:00PM EST	56,135
3	September 30, 2001	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–20	0–3	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	72,874
4	October 7, 2001	New York Jets	L 36–42	0–4	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 4:00PM EST	72,654
5	Bye
6	October 18, 2001	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 13–10	1–4	Alltel Stadium	ESPN 8:30PM EST	58,893
7	October 28, 2001	at San Diego Chargers	L 24–27	1–5	Qualcomm Stadium	CBS 4:00PM EST	63,698
8	November 4, 2001	Indianapolis Colts	L 14–30	1–6	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	63,786
9	November 11, 2001	at New England Patriots	L 11–21	1–7	Foxboro Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	60,292
10	November 18, 2001	Seattle Seahawks	L 20–23	1–8	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	60,836
11	November 25, 2001	Miami Dolphins	L 27–34	1–9	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	73,063
12	December 2, 2001	at San Francisco 49ers	L 0–35	1–10	3Com Park	ESPN 8:30PM EST	67,252
13	December 9, 2001	Carolina Panthers	W 25–24	2–10	Ralph Wilson Stadium	FOX 1:00PM EST	44,549
14	December 16, 2001	New England Patriots	L 9–12	2–11	Ralph Wilson Stadium	CBS 1:00PM EST	45,527
15	December 23, 2001	at Atlanta Falcons	L 30–33	2–12	Georgia Dome	CBS 1:00PM EST	43,320
16	December 30, 2001	at New York Jets	W 14–9	3–12	The Meadowlands	CBS 1:00PM EST	78,200
17	January 6, 2002	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–34	3–13	Pro Player Stadium	CBS 4:00PM EST	73,428

Game summaries

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 3 7 3 13 Jaguars 0 0 7 3 10 Date: October 18 Location: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida Game start: 8:30 p.m. Game weather: 62°F, wind 15 Referee: Gerald Austin

Scoring summary 1 BUF Jake Arians 30 yard field goal Bills 3–0 3 JAC Kyle Brady 20 yard pass from Mark Brunell (Mike Hollis kick) Jaguars 7–3 3 BUF Eric Moulds 27 yard pass from Rob Johnson (Jake Arians kick) Bills 10–7 4 JAC Mike Hollis 41 yard field goal Tie 10–10 4 BUF Jake Arians 46 yard field goal Bills 13–10

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(2) New England Patriots	11	5	0	.688	371	272	W6
(4) Miami Dolphins	11	5	0	.688	344	290	W2
(6) New York Jets	10	6	0	.625	308	295	W1
Indianapolis Colts	6	10	0	.375	413	486	W1
Buffalo Bills	3	13	0	.188	265	420	L1

External links

• 2001 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com