Big names are in play for Bills' coaching search
Fewell will also be considered after seven-game audition
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The Buffalo Bills intend to do a comprehensive search for a new head coach and will consider all options — even mega-coaches such as Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher — according to team and league sources.
They also already have told interim head coach Perry Fewell that the remainder of the season amounts to a seven-week interview for him, and he will be assured of getting a formal interview with the Bills after the season ends. It's expected any other assistant coach on the current staff who wants an interview will get one, as well.
Speculation season on the future leadership of the Bills began in earnest Wednesday, a day after the team fired Dick Jauron after 3½ seasons as coach.
The Bills are expected to cast a wide net in searching for new leadership to pull them out of their decade-long playoff slump.
According to a report on ESPN, the Bills made contact with Shanahan and intend to set up a meeting with the former Denver coach, who won two Super Bowls for the Broncos in the 1990s. A team source told The News no official contact had yet been made as of Wednesday.
Other heavy-hitting candidates who are out of the league include Cowher, the former Pittsburgh coach, former Seattle coach Mike Holmgren and former Baltimore coach Brian Billick. Former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden just signed a lucrative deal to remain an analyst with ESPN and may be out of the coaching market for now.
All of those coaches would command huge salaries, perhaps $7 million a year or more. The Bills are not ruling anything out at this early stage. It's possible they will make contact with one or more of them, in addition to Shanahan.
However, it's premature to count on the Bills landing one of those big-money coaches. Each of them are likely to want to wait for whatever they consider to be the ideal opportunity before jumping back into the NFL.
Meanwhile, over the next couple of weeks, at least, the Bills are expected to conduct a full review of their football operations.
Are they definitely going to bring in a new football man to oversee personnel matters in addition to a new head coach? It certainly looks like it's leaning that way, but no decision has been made on that at this early stage, either.
A coach such as Shanahan or Cowher would very likely want full control of personnel matters, so hiring one of them would come before any other front-office hiring.
Perhaps a more likely scenario would be for the Bills to hire a personnel man first, then hire a head coach.
The Bills can't talk to any coach or front-office man currently employed by another NFL team until the regular season is over.
The Bills never have made their head coach one of the top-paid men in the game, so the fact they would even consider talking to a Shanahan or a Cowher is a sign owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. could be changing his approach to big-name head coaches. Jauron was making about $3 million a year.
Nevertheless, the hiring of an A-list coach in Buffalo still is a long way from happening.
Shanahan, for one, was known for spending a lot of money on personnel in Denver. He did not hesitate to bring in a lot of veteran players at high salaries as stop-gap measures when the Broncos had to fill a hole in the lineup or had injuries. He was given a relative blank check on such matters by Denver owner Pat Bowlen. That has not been the Bills' mode of operation. The widespread assumption around the NFL since Shanahan was fired last January was that his next landing spot would be with a big-market organization that has very deep pockets.
Barring the surprising signing of a huge name, the Bills' coaching search will extend into January, since the team wants to give very serious consideration to Fewell.
Fewell, 47, has done a good job of maximizing production out of the Bills' defense the past three-plus years. Even this season, with the defense rife with injuries and ranking 32nd against the run, the Buffalo defenders have kept the team in contention in the fourth quarter in eight of nine games.
However, Fewell never has been a head coach at any level. So he probably will have to impress in a big way over the final seven weeks.
Another in-house candidate who could interview is Bobby April, the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.
A coach outside the "A-list" who could fit the Bills' profile is Jim Haslett, the former Bills linebacker and former Saints head coach. He's a head coach in the new United Football League. Haslett is known as a tough, commanding leader, a trait that would be considered attractive in the wake of Jauron's tenure. Haslett would command a medium-range salary.
The list of other potential head coaching candidates among the NFL assistant ranks is a long one and includes Dallas' Jason Garrett, Denver's Mike Nolan, Miami's Todd Bowles, Minnesota's Leslie Frazier, the Jets' Brian Schottenheimer, Baltimore's Hue Jackson and Philadelphia's Pat Shurmur.
The Bills went to the Canadian Football League to hire Marv Levy more than 20 years ago. Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman is an offensive guru who is leading a powerhouse CFL attack.
Among the many personnel men who get mentioned as front-office candidates include former Raiders and Tampa Bay executive Bruce Allen, Chicago college scouting chief Greg Gabriel, former New Orleans executive Rick Mueller, former Redskins and Texans GM Charley Casserly and former Titans GM Floyd Reese.
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