By his one-word answer to a question yesterday, Bill Cowher told everyone his feelings about playing against a team that has Tom Donahoe as its president and general manager.
"Does this game mean anything extra going against Donahoe?"
"No."
There was no elaboration, no jokes, no comments as to how the Bills look to be run under Donahoe. Instead, Cowher set his jaw, stared at his questioner and curtly and strongly answered, "No."
End of discussion.
Donahoe, who refused to talk at all before Buffalo's exhibition game against the Steelers Aug. 30, ended his blackout this time. He declined to talk about his falling out with Cowher but acknowledged Sunday's game will mean a little more to him after working 15 years for the Steelers as a scout and front-office executive and, before that, as a ballboy in training camp.
"There's a long history there," Donahoe said. "I'd be foolish to expect someone to believe there won't be a butterfly. But there are butterflies every Sunday."
Donahoe, a former director of football operations for the Steelers, brought Cowher to the organization's attention when the club was searching for a new coach in 1992. Cowher was hired, but the relationship between the coach and Donahoe deteriorated. The men developed a deep animosity toward each other, prompting Dan and Art Rooney II to choose between them. They chose Cowher, firing Donahoe in January 2000.
Since then, Cowher has received a three-year extension that gives him a five-year contract worth around $15 million, and the Bills hired Donahoe this year as their president and general manager for an estimated $1 million annually for the next five years.
Both men seem to have prospered since the breakup, maybe because of it, although their teams have not. The Steelers, who have not made the playoffs the past three seasons, are 0-1. The Bills are 0-2.
The game in Buffalo means more to Cowher and Donahoe than either of them are letting on. They dislike each other intensely, and those around them know it. But each has steadfastly refused to talk about it or to express any bitterness publicly.
Both have big jobs ahead of them this year. Cowher is trying to get his team into the playoffs after a three-year absence. Donahoe was forced to release popular Bills veterans because the team was $19 million over the salary cap.
"It's an important game," Donahoe said from Buffalo yesterday, "even putting the Steelers aside. We're struggling and we need to play better. That probably takes even more precedence than the fact we're playing Pittsburgh."
Donahoe is overseeing a rebuilding job in Buffalo but believes a foundation already is in place. He hired Gregg Williams, Tennessee's defensive coordinator, as his head coach, and the two of them chose Rob Johnson over Doug Flutie as their quarterback. They followed by paring the roster and saving $20 million in salaries. Williams then installed a West Coast offense and switched the Bills from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3.
"It is a young team," Donahoe said. "We have all new coaches, a brand-new offensive style and a brand-new defensive style. It's not just the salary cap. We changed a lot of things here, and it's not going to happen just overnight."
Reporters who cover the Bills say that despite the changes and the release of veterans, Donahoe is popular. He has attended rallies, made frequent radio and television appearances and has been out front as the personable head of the Bills. Owner Ralph Wilson, who lives in Detroit, has given Donahoe a free hand in making decisions and overseeing the team. Donahoe represents Wilson at various NFL meetings.
"I loved my time in Pittsburgh and the people in the organization I was associated with," Donahoe said. "This is a much bigger challenge because of the circumstances here. It's a quality organization, a lot of outstanding people in it. The owner is very committed to winning and really wants to know what's going on and let's his people do the job."
Buffalo is not unlike Pittsburgh, he said.
"They are similar cities. Buffalo is a blue-collar type town, family oriented. The people live and die with the Buffalo Bills, just like the people in Pittsburgh live and die with the Steelers.
"It's a great environment for me to be in. It's one of the reasons I came here. You love that tradition, the passion of the fans. They talk football here 365 days a year. That's what you want. Obviously, we have to put a better team on the field to give them something to cheer about."
The Bills have a core of good young players, although their quarterback, Johnson, remains an enigma. They have lost 31 veteran players the past two off-seasons and are tied for the second-youngest team in the NFL at an average age of 25.4 years. They started three rookies in the opener for the first time since 1979.
They also lost their best defensive player, middle linebacker Sam Cowart, with an Achilles' tendon injury, something Donahoe compared to the losses of Rod Woodson (1995) and Greg Lloyd (1996) to injuries while he was in Pittsburgh.
"The majority of fans know what we're going through," Donahoe said, "the fans who understand football and the salary cap know."
How long might it take the Bills to get back to being a contender?
"You see so many teams turn it around quickly today that you don't want to put a timetable on it," Donahoe said. "You might say 3, 4 years, but teams are doing it overnight, coming out of nowhere. We're not a team bankrupt of talent."
Donahoe spent last year out of football while collecting the final year of his $500,000 salary from the Steelers. He worked briefly for the Miami Dolphins as a consultant for the 2000 draft, then worked for ESPN.com part time before the Bills hired him.
"It's probably the best thing that ever happened to me, from a personal standpoint," said Donahoe, who lived at home in Mt. Lebanon and traveled on the weekends to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn. "It gave me a chance to step back and evaluate things personally and professional. It was a great opportunity to spend time with my family."
Now, he's back in the line of fire. And Sunday, it will be hotter than normal when his old football family comes for a visit.
Donahoe, Cowher refuse to discuss falling out in public 
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