Buffalo Bills Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Bills Interview Ken Dorsey For OC

January 18th, 2017 at 8:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

New Bills head coach Sean McDermott is continuing his search for an offensive coordinator by interviewing Panthers quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey for the position on Wednesday, a source tells Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer.

Buffalo has already struck out on several offensive coordinator candidates, with the latest being former Jaguars play-caller Greg Olson, who spurned the Bills in order to become the Rams’ quarterback coach. McDermott & Co. was also thought to have interest in Chiefs co-offensive coordinator Brad Childress, but a recent report indicated that Childress is no longer in contention for the position. Former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy was also considered a candidate, but he’s already been hired by Denver.

Dorsey, 35, has worked with McDermott in Carolina for the past several years — the former Miami Hurricane quarterback was initially hired as a pro scout before the Panthers named him their QBs coach in 2013. Dorsey, who carved out a six-year NFL as a backup signal-caller, helped lead Cam Newton to his MVP season in 2015 and has long been thought of as a future offensive coordinator.

Rams To Hire Greg Olson As QBs Coach

January 18th, 2017 at 4:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Greg Olson seemed like a lock to become the Bills’ next offensive coordinator, but they’re going to have to look elsewhere. Olson is on his way to the Rams to serve as their quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).

In Los Angeles, Olson will reunite with newly minted head coach Sean McVay. The two previously worked together in Tampa Bay and will now exert heavy influence over the development of young signal-caller Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft. Olson has plenty of experience tutoring quarterbacks as both a position coach and coordinator. He has been part of several staffs, including the Rams’ (2006-07), since his NFL coaching career began in 2001.

Olson was most recently a coordinator in Jacksonville, where QB Blake Bortles hasn’t quite panned out since going third overall in 2014. Thanks in part to that, Olson lost his job with the Jaguars last October.

In rejecting the Bills for the Rams, Olson turned down “much more” money, per Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Staying in close proximity to his family was a motivating factor, Carucci adds (Twitter links).

When Brad Childress exited the race for the Bills’ O-coordinator role Tuesday, it appeared Olson would land the job. The Bills even hired one of Olson’s previous offensive assistants, running backs coach Kelly Skipper, on Wednesday. But it turns out he’ll serve under someone else in Buffalo. That could be Packers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, tweets CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. Van Pelt was a longtime backup QB with the Bills and had a stint as their OC in 2009.

Bills Hire Kelly Skipper As RBs Coach

January 18th, 2017 at 2:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills have named Kelly Skipper their running backs coach, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Skipper previously held those roles in Oakland and Jacksonville, two places where he worked under then-offensive coordinator Greg Olson. The connection is notable because Olson is the only known candidate for the Bills’ O-coordinator job.

NFLPA Announces Cap Carryover Amounts

January 18th, 2017 at 11:36am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The NFL Players Association has announced all 32 teams’ salary cap carryover amounts for the 2017 season (Twitter link). Next season’s cap figure isn’t yet known, but it’s likely to be in the $165MM range. When that becomes official, it can be added to each team’s carryover amount to determine that club’s official spending room for 2017.

Here are this year’s carryover totals:

Cleveland Browns: $50,123,269
Jacksonville Jaguars: $39,314,310
San Francisco 49ers: $38,708,916
Tennessee Titans: $24,046,522
Washington Redskins: $15,055,131
Carolina Panthers: $13,208,020
Miami Dolphins: $8,363,708
Chicago Bears: $8,103,197
Oakland Raiders: $8,000,000
Green Bay Packers: $7,984,687
Philadelphia Eagles: $7,933,869
Denver Broncos: $7,243,248
Indianapolis Colts: $6,614,106
Cincinnati Bengals: $6,578,866
New Orleans Saints: $5,754,000
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $5,330,779
New England Patriots: $5,292,335
Kansas City Chiefs: $5,002,168
Houston Texans: $4,935,924
Detroit Lions: $4,725,644
Arizona Cardinals: $4,405,068
Pittsburgh Steelers: $3,269,367
Buffalo Bills: $2,837,222
Baltimore Ravens: $2,553,126
Dallas Cowboys: $2,401,553
Seattle Seahawks: $2,065,865
New York Giants: $1,800,000
Atlanta Falcons: $926,541
Minnesota Vikings: $400,184
New York Jets: $371,487
Los Angeles Rams: $304,311
Los Angeles Chargers: $113,693

2017 Proven Performance Escalators

January 17th, 2017 at 6:00pm CST by Dallas Robinson

According to the NFL’s contractual bargaining agreement, players drafted in rounds three though seven are entitled to raises during the fourth year of their respective rookie contracts. The pay bumps are tied to playing time — a player must have played in 35% of his team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of his first three seasons, or averaged 35% playing time cumulatively during that period.

If one of these thresholds is met, the player’s salary is elevated to the level of that year’s lowest restricted free agent tender — that figure should be around $1.8MM in 2017. Players selected in the first or second round, undrafted free agents, and kickers/punters are ineligible for the proven performance escalator.

Here are the players who will see their salary rise in 2017 courtesy of the proven performance escalator:

49ers: Aaron Lynch, LB; Marcus Martin, OL

Bears: Charles Leno, T; Will Sutton, DT

Bengals: Russell Bodine, C

Bills: Preston Brown, LB; Seantrel Henderson, T

Broncos: Michael Schofield, OL

Browns: Christian Kirksey, LB

Buccaneers: Kevin Pamphile, G

Cardinals: John Brown, WR

Chiefs: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, G; Zach Fulton, G; Phillip Gaines, CB

Colts: Donte Moncrief, WR

Cowboys: Anthony Hitchens, LB

Falcons: Devonta Freeman, RB

Giants: Devon Kennard, LB

Jaguars: Aaron Colvin, CB; Brandon Linder, G; Telvin Smith, LB

Lions: Nevin Lawson, CB; Travis Swanson, C

Packers: Corey Linsley, C; Richard Rodgers, TE

Panthers: Tre Boston, S; Trai Turner, G

Raiders: T.J. Carrie, CB; Justin Ellis, DT; Gabe Jackson, G

Rams: Maurice Alexander, S; E.J. Gaines, CB

Redskins: Bashaud Breeland, CB; Spencer Long, G; Morgan Moses, T

Texans: C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE; Andre Hal, S

Titans: DaQuan Jones, DL; Avery Williamson, LB

Vikings: Shamar Stephen, DT

Bills Name Rob Boras Tight Ends Coach

January 17th, 2017 at 4:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills have hired ex-Rams offensive coordinator Rob Boras to serve as their tight ends coach, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com was among those to report.

Boras, 46, was atop the Rams’ offense the past two seasons. The unit was woeful in each of those years, ranking 29th in DVOA in 2015 and dead last in 2016. The Rams also finished this season 32nd in both yardage (262.7 per game – nearly 50 fewer than the 31st-place offense) and scoring (14.0 PPG). As a result, Boras’ career as a coordinator is over for at least the time being. He previously worked as a tight ends coach with the Bears, Jaguars and Rams, and will now return to that role.

It’s not yet known whose offensive staff Boras will be a member of in Buffalo. New head coach Sean McDermott hasn’t named a coordinator, but signs are pointing to Greg Olson landing the job. He’s also a previous Rams and Jags assistant, though his stints with those teams did not coincide with Boras’.

Bills Unlikely To Hire Brad Childress As OC

January 17th, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Bills’ search for an offensive coordinator is seemingly down to one known candidate. While Greg Olson and Chiefs co-offensive coordinator Brad Childress were the reported front-runners for the job as of Sunday, it now appears the latter is no longer in contention, according to the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci (Twitter link).

It’s unclear whether the Bills are honing in on Olson, thereby leading to a lack of interest in Childress, or if Childress declined any overtures from the club. Either way, Olson will interview with Buffalo on Thursday as it seeks a replacement for ex-offensive coordinator and now-Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn.

The Bills’ new sideline leader, Sean McDermott, has already tabbed Leslie Frazier as his defensive coordinator. Now, with Childress and newly minted Broncos assistant Mike McCoy out of the running, Olson looks to be in the lead to serve as McDermott’s offensive chief. Olson last worked as the O-coordinator in Jacksonville, which fired him in October.

Kansas City, meanwhile, now appears poised to keep the tandem of Childress and Matt Nagy intact. Nagy would have been in line to become the Chiefs’ sole offensive coordinator had Childress gone to the Bills. Along with head coach Andy Reid, Childress and Nagy guided KC’s offense to a 13th-place DVOA ranking in 2016.

Aaron Williams Intends To Keep Playing

January 16th, 2017 at 9:28pm CST by Ben Levine

Bills safety Aaron Williams has dealt with mulitple neck injuries, but his dad told John Wawrow of the Associated Press that the former second-rounder intends to keep playing. “He’s leaning toward coming back,” Anthony Williams said. “We’ll take it slow and go from there.” The 26-year-old has been productive when he’s been on the field, but he’s been limited to only 10 games over the past two seasons.

[SOURCE LINK]

Bills To Interview Greg Olson For OC Job

January 16th, 2017 at 9:25am CST by Sam Robinson

Greg Olson has a chance to land on his feet quickly despite being dismissed from his previous position midway through the season. The Bills are interviewing the former Jaguars OC, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).

Buffalo is interviewing Olson for its OC position. A report emerging Sunday pegged Olson and Chiefs co-offensive coordinator Brad Childress as the frontrunners for this job. The 53-year-old assistant is gunning for his sixth OC job after having worked with the Lions, Rams, Buccaneers, Raiders and Jaguars since 2004. After hiring Leslie Frazier to run his defense, Sean McDermott looks to be making a concerted effort to surround himself with experience at the coordinator spots.

The Jags fired Olson this season, which comprised the second year of his second stint with the team, after the offense sputtered compared to its 2015 performance. At the time of Olson’s dismissal, the team ranked 28th in passing DVOA. Jacksonville finished 3-13 in one of the more disappointing seasons in franchise history, but the coaches in charge have either been hired or retained as coordinators or are deep in the running for such a position.

Gus Bradley is the priority candidate to latch on with the Chargers as DC, and the Jaguars retained both DC Todd Wash and OC Nathaniel Hackett, whom they promoted to fill Olson’s position. Mike McCoy previously resided as the Bills’ frontrunner here, but the Broncos hired him back as OC, inducing a more expansive search.

Brad Childress, Greg Olson Are Bills’ Top OC Candidates

January 15th, 2017 at 9:21am CST by Rory Parks

As new Bills head coach Sean McDermott continues to flesh out his staff, several names have emerged as top candidates for Buffalo’s offensive coordinator position. As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, Chiefs co-offensive coordinator Brad Childress is on McDermott’s short list, as is former Jaguars offensive coordinator Greg Olson.

Childress, who began his coaching career back in 1978 at the University of Illinois, served as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2005 before becoming head coach of the Vikings. He returned to an offensive coordinator role for the Browns in 2012, and he has been a part of Kansas City’s staff since 2013. He was promoted to the co-offensive coordinator position earlier this year, along with Matt Nagy, although he was apparently prepared to retire prior to the promotion (he was also a candidate to reprise his role as Philadelphia’s OC after Doug Pederson was named the Eagles’ new head coach last year).

If Childress does depart, Rapoport tweets that Nagy would become the Chiefs’ full-time OC.

Olson served as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator from 2015 through the first part of 2016 before he was fired in late October. At the time of Olson’s dismissal, Jacksonville’s passing game ranked 28th in DVOA and third-year quarterback Blake Bortles was showing signs of regression. Olson, though, has acted as play-caller for a number of NFL teams, including the Lions, Rams, Buccaneers, and Raiders.

We had previously heard that McDermott was targeting Mike McCoy or Norv Turner as the Bills’ next OC, but McCoy was just hired by the Broncos. It appears the young, first-time head coach is determined to surround himself with assistants that have considerable coaching experience, as evidenced by his offensive coordinator candidates and by the fact that he has already hired Leslie Frazier as his defensive coordinator.

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