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Mike Mularkey went just 5-11 in his second season with the Bills.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Mike Mularkey submitted his resignation to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, a person familiar with discussions between the coach and the team told The Associated Press.
The Bills will formally announce the coach's resignation during a press conference scheduled for Friday morning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made.
ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, first reported that Mularkey had reached a settlement with the team to cover the final three years of his contract. ESPN.com also reported that Mularkey's decision to leave the team was because of undisclosed family reasons.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, who completed his second season with Buffalo, is married and has two boys.
Reached by The Associated Press, Mularkey declined to comment on the report, except to say: "Right now is not the best time to talk."
He added that he was aware of the press conference being scheduled and preferred that the news come then.
Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold declined comment.
Mularkey's departure is a major surprise after team owner Ralph Wilson announced last week that Mularkey would be retained. Wilson went out of his way to back Mularkey, holding a second press conference on Jan. 4, hours after he announced the firing of team president and general manager Tom Donahoe.
A day later, Wilson replaced Donahoe by luring Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy out of retirement to take over as GM. Thursday was Levy's first full day on the job.
Mularkey, however, was forced to dismiss five assistants, including offensive coordinator Tom Clements. He also faced the possibility of losing defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, who is a candidate for several open head coaching jobs.
Mularkey was 14-18 in two seasons with Buffalo.
He was partly faulted for Buffalo's 5-11 finish this season, as the team missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year to match its longest drought since the NFL merger.
The Bills failed to build off their 2004 season when they rallied from a 1-5 start to finish 9-7. They missed the playoffs with a season-ending collapse, losing 29-24 to Pittsburgh, a team that fielded mostly reserves after having already secured a postseason berth.
The Bills are now forced to find a new coach, their third in five years and fourth since Levy retired after the 1997 season.
The possible candidates include Gray, who completed his fifth season with Buffalo, recently fired New Orleans coach Jim Haslett, Detroit's interim coach Dick Jauron and Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.
Gray, who's interviewed with Houston, would be considered a strong candidate should the Bills determine they want to maintain some continuity by hiring someone familiar with the team. Although the Bills defense struggled this season, finishing 29th in the NFL, the unit was slowed by injuries.
Gray told The AP he is unaware of Mularkey's resignation but would want to have a fair chance at being considered for the job.
"I've been here five years and I know the guys so I don't have to re-evaluate anything, we would just have to take off and run from there," Gray said. "You don't want to take steps backward, you want to take steps forward, and that's what Mr. Wilson has been doing."
Gray added he's been contacted by Lions president Matt Millen, but an interview has not yet been scheduled.
Haslett is a former linebacker who played for the Bills from 1979-85.
Jauron and Rivera, meanwhile, are familiar to Levy, who maintains a home in Chicago and has worked broadcasting Bears games. Jauron joined the Lions in 2004 after he was dismissed as the Bears head coach.
The Bills will have to catch up quickly because six other teams are also looking for coaches.
AP
