Ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch claims dysfunction on Bills' coaching staff while he played for team

Buffalo Bills

Ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch claims dysfunction on Bills' coaching staff while he played for team

Lynch started his career with the Bills

Ryan Gaydos Fox News

Published

February 2, 2026 2:46pm EST

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Former NFL star Marshawn Lynch claimed there was some dysfunction on the Buffalo Bills’ head-coaching staff at the time he was playing for the AFC East team.

Buffalo selected the running back in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Cal. He spent just over three full seasons with the Bills before he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2010 season. During that short time, Lynch mostly played under head coach Dick Jauron.

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Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (23) runs the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Nov. 4, 2007. (John David Mercer/USA TODAY)

Jauron was fired after nine games in 2009 and was replaced by then-defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. The team finished 6-10 that year.

Lynch appeared on "Club Random with Bill Maher" and alleged there was backstabbing going on behind the scenes between Jauron and Fewell.

"When I was at Buffalo, and where we were at, it was like, I’m watching coaches backdoor other coaches," Lynch said during the episode. "The coach was more like a player’s coach and the defensive coordinator was like (grunting). There was some shady s--- to him when he got fired and they named the D-coordinator as the interim head coach. It was like, ‘I finally got his a-- up outta here. Yes!’ Like, ‘This is my s---.’

"And when you’re in an organization like that with individuals who really don’t got no love for everybody within the organization. You can’t be successful."

Perry Fewell of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the game against the Miami Dolphins at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Nov. 29, 2009 in Orchard Park, New York. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to Fewell for comment.

Lynch said players could "feel the difference" between coaches who want players to just show up to work and those who are happy they’re on the team.

"When I was in Oakland that was just more like, ‘I’m home.’ So, I don’t even know if I was processing or thinking but I got to build a relationship with Mark (Davis) and it was outside of anything of football," he added.

Fewell joined the New York Giants’ staff the next season and was the team’s defensive coordinator during its Super Bowl run in 2011. He also served as an interim head coach for four games in 2019 for the Carolina Panthers.

He’s currently the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating communications and administration.

Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (23) during the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on Oct. 5, 2008. (Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports)

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Jauron died last February. The Bills’ organization was the last time he served as a head coach in the NFL. He was on the staffs of the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns through the 2012 season.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch claims dysfunction on Bills' coaching staff while he played for team