Donahoe won't crave a spotlight

The Bills' president is pleased his plan for rebuilding the team has worked.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Flip through the Buffalo Bills' media guide and you'll have difficulty finding much information on team president Tom Donahoe.
Though he's noted by name and title in the list of executives, the 342-page guide provides no biography or even a picture of the always well-dressed, but prematurely white-haired boss, who is 57 but has had white hair since college.
In fact, there's more space devoted to Jeff Mazurek, the Bills assistant equipment manager, than there is for Donahoe, the person in charge of the daily operation, and second in command behind team owner Ralph Wilson.
That's the way Donahoe has always wanted it -- even when he was the Pittsburgh Steelers' director of football operations. And upon arriving in Buffalo in January 2001, he made clear his philosophy when he said he was not big on press conferences.
But the publicity-shy Donahoe's influence is everywhere on a franchise that's suddenly enjoying a resurgence, and preparing for its most important game in five years when the Bills close out their season Sunday against Pittsburgh.
Must-win game for Bills
The game has playoff implications for Buffalo (9-6), which needs to win and have either the New York Jets or Denver to lose for the Bills to clinch their first playoff berth since 1999.
Sunday's game is a notable one for Donahoe, who's facing Pittsburgh for only the second time since he was forced to resign by the Steelers in January 2000 after losing a power struggle with coach Bill Cowher.
Donahoe was the target of criticism when the Bills went a combined 17-31 in his first three years, and then opened this season 0-4.
Since then, Buffalo has won six straight and nine of 11 to guarantee its first winning season since 1999.
That's a significant turnaround for a team playing under a rookie coach in Mike Mularkey, who took over a squad that Donahoe believed lacked mental toughness under former coach Gregg Williams last year.
Since taking over for John Butler, Donahoe has revamped the Bills entire roster, first by cutting high-priced veterans to get the team's bulging salary cap problems in order. He then gradually began restocking the lineup through the draft, free agency and trades.
Big-name acquisitions
The most notable draft picks of the Donahoe era include running backs Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, while linebackers Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher mark some of the high-impact free-agent signings. And then, of course, there was Donahoe's trade to acquire quarterback Drew Bledsoe from New England in 2002.
In fact, only two players, receiver Eric Moulds and defensive tackle Pat Williams, are left from the team Donahoe inherited.
"It's easy to keep the faith when you believe in the plan and the people who are implementing it," Donahoe said.
"Time has proven that our plan is a good one."