Bills are happy to leave it to Levy

By: JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 29, 2006 11:36 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO -- What's the big deal about an 81-year-old man picking his team and tracking it through the season? Not all Fantasy League geeks are young and tied to a laptop?

This 81-year-old's squad faces the Chargers come Sunday at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bills are an AFC member being run by someone who qualified for AARP -- long ago.

"It's been interesting,'' Levy said via telephone from upstate New York.

The Bills' general manager has a resume that is as impressive as his birth certificate. He coached the Bills to four straight Super Bowls and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

But Levy's storied career was tucked away like a buffalo wing in ranch dressing. Then Wilson rang up Levy, asking for advice.

"He called me in January, telling me he was replacing (general manager) Tom Donaho and I mentioned two or three people,'' Levy said. "Then he said, 'How about you?' ''

Levy cleared his throat after hearing the offer that cleared the way for his NFL return.

"Yes, it took me by surprise,'' Levy said. "I said let me think about it over night and let me talk to my wife about it. The next morning I called and said, 'Do you still need me? I said, 'I'm coming.' ''

Levy brought along the knowledge, the wit, the classy manner that made him among the NFL's favorite personalities. But he wasn't hired to be a showpiece. He had to remold a bunch that had missed the playoffs six straight years and finished 5-11.

His most shocking move might have been his first: Levy, a proud Harvard graduate, selected Dick Jauron, a Yale product, to resurrect the Bills.

"It's been unbelievable for me, first of all just to be associated with the man,'' Jauron said. "We all know of him in the business and watched him certainly.Ý I was coaching in the league when he was coaching in the league.Ý His reputation is certainly warranted as a coach.

"You knew of his reputation as a person. And it's warranted, too. He is all the things he appears to be. He's a really smart man. He's a good man.Ý He brings a calmness to situations, and there are a lot of situations in our business that aren't real calm ones.''

Levy is serine, but far from senile. He's aged but wise above his 81 years.

What he really is is a football guru the likes of which the NFL has seldom seen.

"Age is just a number, certainly for Marv,'' said Marty Schottenheimer, a spry 63 years old.Ý "Apparently, he is in good health and he certainly has a wealth of experience in doing that job; the overall personnel and the coaching, and now that he is in that role as a general manager. It doesn't surprise me they are getting better.''

That they are. The Bills have won three of four games, and the lone loss came at Indianapolis by one point.

"I see us making very good progress,'' Levy said. "Our quarterback (J.P.Losman) is developing very well. I like the way he works, he prepares and he acknowledges his shortcomings and goes to work on them. He's headed in the right way.''

Levy eyes the Chargers not with envy, but respect. He's proud of the work general manager A.J. Smith has done in transforming an NFL dreg to one of the NFL's elite teams.

When Levy was pointing the Bills to four straight Super Bowls, Smith was in the front office, first as a scout, then the director of pro personnel.

"He makes good, consistent judgments,'' Levy said. "He does what he thinks is right and then he fine-tunes everything. He gets good players with good character.''

Smith declined an interview request for this story.

There's no denying the personable Levy is having a ball, especially on winning Sundays. He does chuckle about the different items on his plate as a general manager --Ý it's not always what you think.

"I get an awful lot of letters,'' he said. "You get them from a fan who wasn't treated right by a security guy. I got one that they wanted more port-a-johns in the parking lot. A lot of it is nonfootball.''

But Levy is all football. Thanks to him, the Bills were the most winningest team of the 1990s. Their success helped him become the team's all-time winningest coach. He's the only Buffalo coach to eclipse 100 victories.

Now, he might blow past age 100 on the Bills' bridge. If so, he will be ready for the unexpected.

"No matter what you do in our game, it's been my experience that something different shows up,'' he said. "Not every game, but somewhere along the line, there's a situation that for whatever reason you haven't thought through before it occurs.Ý "I feel more comfortable in terms of facing those things and, hopefully, making the right decision, but you never seem to make all of the right ones.''

Sounds like any other Fantasy League owner.

CHARGERS NOTES: The Chargers had 10 players miss either all or part of practice Wednesday. Among them was DE Luis Castillo (ankle). He has missed the past three games. Castillo was out of his walking boot and doing some light running, but it appears he will be down again this week. ... Other starters not working were S Marlon McCree (calf), LG Kris Dielman (ankle), C Nick Hardwick (back), ILB Randall Godfrey (hamstring) and DT Jamal Williams (ankle). McCree and Dielman will be watch the closest this week. ... OLB Shawne Merriman practiced for the first time since his four-game suspension for steroids ended. "He appeared to be fine,'' coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "He's obviously taken good care of himself.'' .... The team signed TE Aaron Halterman to the practice squad.

-- Contact staff writer at Jay Paris at jparis8@aol.com.