Bills coordinator takes new job

(Denver) Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild accepted a new job on Wednesday, as head football coach at Colorado State.  Fairchild, a former Colorado State quarterback and assistant coach, was hired as the school's 19th head coach Wednesday.

"We are pleased that Steve Fairchild, with his significant coaching expertise and history at Colorado State, is going to return to his roots as a champion for our football program," Colorado State president Larry Edward Penley said in a statement released by the Fort Collins school. "His positive reputation precedes him."

Lubick, who was let go last month after 15 mostly successful seasons with Colorado State, was in Montana for family reasons and couldn't be immediately reached for comment. His son, Marc, a former CSU assistant coach, said his father is pleased with the decision.

"He likes Steve and is impressed with him," Marc Lubick told the Associated Press. "The hire makes sense. I think Steve was the best guy they could've gotten. He worked well with my dad and he's been successful at the next level."

Marc Lubick was let go after the season but is likely to be rehired. Other assistants of Sonny Lubick also were terminated.

The 49-year-old Fairchild was a member of Lubick's first staff at Colorado State. He was the quarterbacks coach from 1993-96 before taking over as the Rams' offensive coordinator for four seasons. Colorado State won five conference titles in his eight years as an assistant coach.

He left for Buffalo in 2001 to serve as the Bills' running backs coach for two seasons. Fairchild is in his second season as the Bills' offensive coordinator after tutoring under Mike Martz with the St. Louis Rams.

"I really think a lot of Steve Fairchild," Bills coach Dick Jauron said after practice Wednesday. "You never want to lose a tremendous coach. But you do want him to advance."

Fairchild won't leave the Bills until after the conclusion of the season. The Bills (7-6) are in the middle of the AFC playoff race with three games remaining in the regular season.

Colorado State officials understand his commitment to Buffalo.

"We knew from the outset and were comfortable with the dedication he has to his team," said CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk, who will have an introductory teleconference with Fairchild on Thursday. "It is that type of value system -- commitment, integrity, honesty, accountability and responsibility -- that had him at the top of our list since the beginning."

The Rams are borrowing a page from Mountain West Conference rivalry Air Force by hiring an NFL assistant coach to take over the program.