By Leo Roth Democrat and Chronicle
ORCHARD PARK (Wednesday, January 30, 2002) -- Hold off on writing off Rob Johnson as a future member of the Buffalo Bills.
Among the candidates coach Gregg Williams has confirmed he has spoken with to become his new offensive coordinator is Kevin Gilbride, who was Johnson's offensive mentor in Jacksonville.
Mike Riley, recently fired as head coach of the San Diego Chargers, groomed Johnson at USC and remains his close friend, is also rumored to be on Williams' candidate list.
The team, however, has not spoken with Riley, spokesman Scott Berchtold said.
The hiring of either Gilbride or Riley would add an interesting twist to the Johnson saga, those close to the beleaguered quarterback say.
"It could be a good thing for Rob," teammate Alex Van Pelt said.
Meanwhile, Bills officials did confirm that Tom Clements, quarterbacks coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, interviewed with Williams on Tuesday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Clements, who starred in the CFL for 12 seasons, could emerge as the leading candidate to replace Mike Sheppard, who was fired last week.
Clements, 48, the quarterback of Notre Dame's 1973 national championship team, is also drawing interest from Jacksonville and Dallas.
The Bills are also expected to speak with Brad Childress, quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and John Ramsdell, quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams. It's believed that both clubs have granted permission.
The Bills would not be able to speak with Ramsdell, however, until after Sunday's Super Bowl.
In Clements, Childress and Ramsdell, Williams is eyeing a position coach from behind three of the four quarterbacks in last weekend's conference championship games (Kordell Stewart, Donovan McNabb, Kurt Warner). However, none of the three has been a coordinator at the NFL level. The same was true for Sheppard before this past season.
Due in large part to his $11.225 million salary cap figure, Johnson is on the Bills' list of players available for the Houston Texans to select in the expansion draft on Feb. 18.
If he's not selected, he might be persuaded to accept the Bills' offer of a pay cut and option years for the chance to rebuild his career under a familiar coach such as Gilbride or Riley.
"I think Rob's disappointed he's on that (expansion) list, but this is a whole new (twist) for him," Van Pelt said. "If they do bring Kevin Gilbride in, it could be a good move for him."
