ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Tim Krumrie spent 20 years with the Bengals, 12 as one of the franchise's most respected players.
A former defensive tackle best known for coming back from a broken leg suffered in Super Bowl XXIII to start the 1989 opener, Krumrie left the Bengals in January to coach Buffalo's defensive line.
Krumrie declined requests for interviews this past week, but Bills coach Gregg Williams uses words such as "sincerity" and "passion" to describe Krumrie's coaching style.
In fact, those words described Krumrie as a player, a role - even at age 43 - Krumrie was ready to reprise for the Bills.
"He still thinks right now he could go out there and play for about 12 or 20 snaps better than the other guys we've got out there," Williams said.
"There was a time in training camp early, when we only had the rookies and the young veterans in when we were down to the last two defensive tackles - we had a couple of them nicked that day in practice. And he came over, dead serious, jerked on my shirt sleeve and said, 'Next injury, I'm in, don't stop, don't cut any reps. I'll just put the helmet on and I'll be in.' "
Krumrie's services, as a player, however, weren't needed.
