Jauron given a second chance, will coach Bills

Dick Jauron didn’t need to attend Yale to learn what it’ll take to make his second stint as an NFL head coach more successful than his first.

“In our business, it comes out in wins and losses. And if you win, it was a great decision. And if you don’t win, it was not a great decision,” Jauron said Monday after being hired by the Buffalo Bills. “And we know that our back is against the wall to win.”

Jauron coached the Chicago Bears for five seasons, going 35-46 with one playoff appearance before being fired in 2003. It’s a resume that even he acknowledges could cause some skepticism among Bills fans.

But it didn’t stop Hall of Fame coach and new Buffalo general manager Marv Levy from picking Jauron to replace Mike Mularkey, who abruptly resigned two weeks ago.

Jauron becomes Buffalo’s fourth head man since Levy retired after the 1997 season, and he takes over a team that is coming off a 5-11 season and has missed the playoffs for sixth consecutive years.

Hiring Jauron is Levy’s first decision since replacing president/GM Tom Donahoe, who was fired three weeks ago. And Levy, who attended Harvard, said he had no bias in selecting a fellow Ivy Leaguer in Jauron, who graduated from Yale with a history degree.

“We were selecting the best head coach, the man who was going to direct it and put it all together,” Levy said.

Jauron had one winning season with Chicago, going 13-3 in 2001 when he was named the coach of the year.

Dungy will return next season

Tony Dungy needed one week to decide he still wants to be an NFL coach. Now it’s back to pursuing that elusive Super Bowl run.

The Indianapolis Colts said Dungy would return as their coach next season, ending speculation he might retire following the death of his 18-year-old son, James, last month.

“I was always coming back unless I said I wasn’t,” he said through the team.

Dungy and team president Bill Polian were en route to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and were unavailable for comment. The Associated Press left a phone message for team owner Jim Irsay.

Dungy’s eventual decision was not a certainty.

One day after the Colts’ shocking 21-18 loss to eventual AFC champion Pittsburgh in the playoffs, Dungy seemed genuinely conflicted about his coaching future. At one point during his final news conference, Dungy said he was 100 percent sure he would return — if the Colts asked him back.

Later, he left open the possibility of retirement, noting he wasn’t sure how he would react after spending time with his family and reflecting on his son’s apparent suicide.

Saints bring in Dallas’ Gibbs

New Saints coach Sean Payton hired Cowboys assistant Gary Gibbs as defensive coordinator.

Gibbs was Dallas’ linebackers coach the last four seasons. He worked alongside Payton, who was the Cowboys’ assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach the last three years.

“When I was introduced last week I said that I wanted to bring teachers in who were looking to work hard, enjoy their work and be part of a team with everyone moving in the same direction,” Payton said. “Gary defines that description. Getting him in New Orleans sets the tone for the rest of the additions to my coaching staff.”

Gibbs, 53, is the first assistant to be hired by Payton. Before joining the Cowboys, Gibbs was LSU’s defensive coordinator under then-head coach Nick Saban in 2001, when LSU won the SEC title and the Sugar Bowl.