Buffalo Bills Hire Chan Gailey as Coach

Chan Gailey was hired by the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, receiving a second chance to prove himself as an NFL coach and inheriting a team that has missed the playoffs for 10 straight years.

Gailey was introduced by general manager Buddy Nix at a new conference which ended a two-month search to replace Dick Jauron, who was fired in November. Gailey takes over a team that finished 6-10 and becomes the Bills' fifth coach since Marv Levy retired after the 1997 season.

Gailey has spent 15 of his 38 years of coaching in the NFL. In his two years coaching the Dallas Cowboys, he went 18-14 and led the team to consecutive playoff appearances — both losses. He was dismissed after the 1999 season, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his mistake in firing Gailey.

CBS Sports.com's Pete Prisco: Why Chan Gailey?

The 58-year-old Gailey acknowledged he didn't know if he'd get another opportunity to be a head coach again.

"If you sit there and say you lose confidence in yourself, no you don't. But then you see opportunities go by. And you hope that your body of work will speak for itself," Gailey said.

He has been out of American football since he was removed as the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator in August, two weeks before the season opener. He was entering his second season with Kansas City after a six-year period as Georgia Tech's coach, during which he went 44-33 before being fired in 2007.

With Buffalo, Gailey's top priority will be sparking an offense that has finished 25th or worst in yards gained in each of the past seven seasons.

Finding a franchise quarterback would help, too. A combination of injuries and futility led to the Bills to go through three starters this past year. The team has not had a starting quarterback stay for more than three years since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.