Twenty-five days from today the roster of the Buffalo Bills will begin to take shape at the annual Indianapolis meat market, at least in the form of a wish list of the top players emerging from college.

Buddy Nix, the Bills' new general manager, says he's not here to sell tickets. Well, of

course he is, whether he knows it or not. The team's fan base has supported a decade of

turkeys and now it wants some concrete reason to have faith and it's Nix's job to produce that

concrete reason.

The hiring of Chan Gailey as the new coach did not quicken pulses in Western New York, nor

did the hiring of most of his assistants except for defensive holdovers George Catavolos and

Bob Sanders. Most of the new guys were college coaches with little or no pro experience. Some

college coaches turn out very well in the NFL, some don't.

Over the weekend the Bills made a vitally important move, hiring Bruce DeHaven, one of the

foremost special teams coaches in the NFL. Special teams play has been a hallmark of the Bills

since Marv Levy hired DeHaven in 1987 as the Super Bowl teams took shape. Their reputation

continued through Bobby April's coaching period, which ended when April signed with the

Philadelphia Eagles.

In between DeHaven's first term and April's hiring, there was Ronnie Jones, who was such a

disaster that when he was dismissed his boss, Wade Phillips, was fired along with him. DeHaven

became available when the Seahawks fired head coach Jim Mora Jr. and most of his staff.

DeHaven is virtually the perfect hire, a coach with an outstanding reputation who loved living

in Western New York. Before they even get to Indianapolis the Bills' deep thinkers have a lot

of planning to do. For instance, Aaron Schobel, a stalwart defensive end for nine years,

warned the front office that he was thinking about retiring. I hope Nix is up to snuff with

Schobel's current thinking. If he's still aiming at retiring maybe the idea of being traded to

a contender might change his mind and bring Buffalo a valuable draft choice in return.

Then there is the case of Marshawn Lynch, the first-round pick who lost his starting

running back job to Fred Jackson and subsequently showed a great lack of interest on the field

and a carload of bad judgment off it. He's still very young and could bring something of

value, maybe a more useful running back.

I thought the most interesting thing Nix has said since he was promoted to GM was that the

Bills should have more area scouts. The words of Al LoCasale, who had an important hand in

building the Chargers, Raiders and Bengals, still stay with me. "I know who can play at

Michigan State," he used to say. "I need someone to tell me who can play at Michigan Tech."

I thought of that as I watched Pierre Garcon of Mt. Union, the Division III power,

collaborate with Peyton Manning against the Jets' defense; Miles Austin of Monmouth College

replace Terrell Owens in the Dallas air attack and Julian Edelman, a year away from

quarterbacking Kent State, fill the shoes of Wes Welker as Tom Brady's trusty receiver for the

Patriots.

Larry Felser, former News columnist, appears in Sunday's editions.