Bills moving forward after Mularkey quits as coach

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Coach Mike Mularkey's abrupt resignation came as a shock to the Buffalo Bills. An even bigger surprise might be who refused to rule himself out as a candidate for the job -- Marv Levy.

A week after taking over as the Bills general manager, and despite owner Ralph Wilson insisting Levy wouldn't be considered to replace Mularkey, the 80-year-old Hall of Fame coach declined to say he wasn't interested.

"I really, sort of, don't even want to comment," Levy said Friday at a news conference. "I can't answer it because I want to talk the whole situation over. But we're going to address it swiftly."

Levy added that he didn't plan on being the coach when he accepted the GM job, but said the situation has changed with Mularkey's unexpected departure.

His comments, however, contradicted what Wilson stated minutes earlier after announcing Mularkey's resignation. Asked whether Levy, who was standing off to the side, would be a candidate, Wilson said: "Absolutely not."

Wilson had a chance to restate his position after listening to Levy, but declined to do so.

Marv Levy, who led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, is the team's new general manager. (AP)

Upon luring Levy out of retirement, Wilson and Levy couldn't agree on a title before eventually settling on general manager/football operations.

Now comes Mularkey's resignation, which came eight days after Wilson said Mularkey would return.

Something changed, Wilson said, when Mularkey first approached him Wednesday to inform the owner of his intention to resign.

The two met again Thursday when Wilson accepted Mularkey's resignation.

"Of course I was completely surprised by his statement. He seemed very firm about it," Wilson said. "It's an abrupt setback. But we're going to move forward."

Wilson said Mularkey expressed concern about Bills fans who criticized him last year.