Fight Between Bills’ Assistants Starts as They Watch Team Films

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. —  One day after one Buffalo Bills’ assistant punched another as they watched team videotapes, the coaches involved tried to play down the altercation Tuesday.

But wide receivers coach Nick Nicolau, a former Raider assistant, confirmed Monday’s altercation that led to offensive line coach Tom Bresnahan receiving several stitches.

The fight apparently began when Nicolau decked Bresnahan with a solid uppercut and then grabbed Bresnahan in a headlock and drove his head into a wall in the team’s administration building.

Tuesday, Bresnahan walked through the Rich Stadium locker room carrying a bag of ice, his face swollen and a bandage the size of a baseball card on his chin. He wore sunglasses that didn’t quite cover the shiner under his right eye.

Asked if he had any comment on the confrontation, Bresnahan said, “Not at all.” He did say he felt better when asked about his condition.

Added Nicolau: “Everything is fine. That’s all I can say.”

Asked if the two were on speaking terms, Nicolau said, “We’ve always been on speaking terms.”

In fact, according to Coach Marv Levy, the two had lived together for a while after joining the team before the season.

“I know Tom and Nick are close friends,” Levy told the Buffalo News Monday night. “Their wives are close friends. They (the coaches) lived together for four or five months in the off-season.”

While there was no official word on what triggered the fight, one club employee said Bresnahan had argued with the other assistants during practice this season.

“He tries to coach every position,” the employee said. “It was building up for a long time.”

Levy said he was in his office while the assistants watched the films. The Bills beat the New York Jets, 34-3, Sunday.

“I asked (Tom) what happened and he said, ‘I had an accident,’ ” Levy said. “He didn’t want to say any more than that, and I didn’t ask him any more about it.”