Enough with the Bill Cowher rumors. He isn't coming to Buffalo. I don't believe Cowher had

any real interest in coaching the Bills, any more than Mike Shanahan did. Cowher is probably

heading back to the broadcast booth for a year ... or until there's a job opening that truly

interests him.

So Buddy Nix, the Bills' new general manager, will be sifting through the second tier of

candidates for his head coach. And while I wasn't thrilled with Nix as the choice for GM, he's

right about this much: He should hire someone with head coaching experience.

The latest reports say Marty Schottenheimer might be in the mix. Nix and Schottenhemier

worked together when Marty was the coach in San Diego, and the two remained close after

Schottenheimer had a falling-out with Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith.

The thought of Schottenheimer leaves me cold. I'm leaning toward a younger guy who hasn't

been an NFL head coach but has done great things on the college level and is destined to be a

success in the pro some day: Stanford's Jim Harbaugh.

Under Harbaugh, Stanford made one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent college

history. In three years, he transformed the Cardinal from a joke to a 19th-ranked bowl team.

In 2006, they went 1-11. The next year, they upset Southern California. This past season, they

beat USC, 55-14.

Harbaugh, 46, spent 14 years as an NFL quarterback. He's made the big decisions under

pressure and can be trusted to do the same on an NFL sideline. He's a bright, passionate

leader who learned under some of the best minds in the sport, including Bo Schembechler, Ted

Marchibroda, Mike Ditka and Bill Walsh. His father, Jack, has coached football for more than

40 years.

There's a stigma in the NFL against hiring college coaches. There's a long list of

prominent failures, including Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier and Bobby Petrino. But that doesn't

mean every college coach is destined to fail. It's still football. If a man is talented,

flexible and reasonably humble, he can win in the NFL.

The popular method for picking coaches is to find a hot coordinator and make him a head

man. There have been notable successes in recent years, such as Atlanta's Mike Smith, Miami's

Tony Sparano and Harbaugh's older brother, John, a special teams coach who became the Ravens'

head man two years ago.

But there's no guarantee with a coordinator, either. It can be a big step from assistant to

head man. The Bills found that out with Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey, coordinators who

were over their heads in the top job. The Bills can't afford to hire another coordinator who

lacks command on game day.

It'll take time for Harbaugh to adjust to the NFL. He'd have to assemble a coaching staff.

But he turned around a top college program. He's bright and energetic. He revamped the

strength program at Stanford. He built a dynamic offense that allowed running back Toby

Gerhart to become Heisman runner-up.

The Bills need a head coach with a creative offensive mind. They were 30th in the NFL in

offense this season. That's seven straight years in the bottom quarter of the league.

Evidently, conventional thinking hasn't been the answer. Maybe it's time they did something

bold.

Some coaches are meant for the college game. Harbaugh, who was an assistant with the

Raiders in 2002-03, has NFL aspirations. That's why he didn't pursue the Kansas and Notre Dame

jobs. He signed a three-year extension at Stanford last month, but wouldn't guarantee that

he'd even be at Stanford in 2010. Clearly, he's open to NFL offers.

Harbaugh is a rising star in the profession, a coach who can grow into the job. Better that

than a retread like Schottenheimer or Jim Fassel. He's high on the Bills' list. They should

trust their instincts and go after him.