--Steelers coach Bill Cowher said Wednesday he holds no grudges against Tom Donahoe, Pittsburgh's former director of football operations who took over the Bills in 2001 after losing a celebrated power struggle with Cowher.

Together, the two men enjoyed a great run of success, including a Super Bowl trip in 1995. Cowher offered to resign after a 6-10 season in 1999, but the Rooney family instead asked and received Donahoe's resignation.

"I think they made a mistake," Donahoe told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in early September. "A lot of people in the organization feel they made a mistake. But, you know, you have to run your franchise the way you want to run it, so I don't have any hard feelings."

Donahoe, who worked for the Steelers for 14 years, is keeping a low profile this week, insisting Sunday's game between the Bills and Steelers isn't about him vs. Cowher.

"People may (read that into it), but my philosophy is simple this week: keep quiet and stay out of the way," Donahoe said.

When asked about Donahoe's comment that the Steelers made a mistake by firing him, Cowher was upfront in a conference call with Western New York beat writers on Wednesday. "Like I said, I can't speak for him. I'm not bringing things out of the closet and I don't hold grudges," Cowher said. "In this business, and if you stay in this business long enough, sometimes those things are going to happen. I feel like I'm working for the best owner in football and we're trying to win a championship here. I don't hold grudges and I have nothing negative to say about him. If Tom still feels that way, that's Tom's feelings. I can't change that, I can only tell you what I feel."

--Teams that have sewn up playoff positions and rest their key players this time of year, to the detriment of teams whose status is affected by those outcomes, always draws controversy. The Bills have an open mind. While it's true they may benefit by the Steelers resting players, they could be hurt by Indianapolis resting its stars against Denver. Said WR Eric Moulds: "The teams with the best record get the best deal."

--Bills coach Mike Mularkey, who worked nine years for the Steelers and was a Steelers player, said he never circled Jan. 2 on his calendar, the day he'd meet his old team. That doesn't mean it hasn't always been in the back of his mind. "It's funny because when you look at the schedule even when it came out around the draft time, you saw this game on the schedule and you wondered what would be the implications of this game," Mularkey said. "I don't know if you could write a script for the way it's unfolding. It's interesting the way both teams have gotten to this point. It's a good story."

--The Bills enter the final weekend of play with a shot at the No. 1 overall defensive ranking in the NFL.

Interestingly, the top three units are led by coaches who teamed up in Buffalo a year ago to produce the No. 2 overall mark: coordinator Jerry Gray, head coach Gregg Williams and assistant head coach Dick LeBeau. Williams and LeBeau moved on to coordinators jobs this season. LeBeau's Steelers are No. 1, Williams' Redskins No. 2 and Gray's Bills No. 3. But it's a close race. Only 99 yards separates the clubs.

"It's rewarding, but I've been fortunate to be around two of the better defensive coordinators and they helped me a lot," said Gray, who got his coaching start under Williams in Tennessee. "All of us have something good going on, we all preach the same thing and fortunately, we all have good guys doing it. It helps a whole lot when you have the players, you have the brain power, but myself, I'm grateful to have been around Gregg Williams and Dick LeBeau."

--Bills CB Troy Vincent missed playing with Hall of Fame defensive end Reggie White by three seasons when he joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1996. White was playing with Green Bay by then.

But Vincent did become close friends with White over the years. White's sudden death at age 43 last Sunday stunned Vincent.

"If you asked what's a professional athlete, he's the picture you'd put next to that, both on and off the field," Vincent said. "How he carried himself, how he prepared for the game, how he respected his teammates, his coaches, the other clubs, and the league. He played with high integrity. It's an extremely great shock to me."

BY THE NUMBERS
12. Number of sacks the Bills have allowed in the past nine games.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Let's pout it plain and simple. We've got one shot, one shot. People would pay X amount of dollars to be in this position that we're in. I've never been in a position like this, this late in the season. I've been to Pro Bowls and everything, but I'd trade all that for this (game). This is why you play, what it all boils down to. Games that mean something." - LB Takeo Spikes on Sunday's game against Pittsburgh with a playoff berth at stake.

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