- The Bills announced that they’ve hired Mike Waufle to serve as the club’s new defensive line coach. Under Waufle’s direction, the 2016 Rams defensive line ranked first against the run, according to Football Outsiders‘ adjusted line yards metric. Additionally, the Bills have released former DC Dennis Thurman and OL coach Aaron Kromer — both of whom were hired by ex-head coach Rex Ryan — from their respective contracts, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
- Former Michigan running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley is joining the Jaguars staff, likely in the same capacity, tweets Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio. Jacksonville has already announced that several members of their offensive coaching staff — including play-caller Nathaniel Hackett — will remain in place under new head coach Doug Marrone, but the club has been silent of the fate of current RBs coach Kelly Skipper. Wheatley, who was under consideration for Western Michigan’s head coaching job, last coached in the NFL from 2013-14 with the Bills.
At the outset of the Bills’ head coaching search earlier this month, general manager Doug Whaley was open to relinquishing control over the team’s 53-man roster to Rex Ryan‘s successor. It turns out Whaley will continue to oversee the roster in 2017, Year 1 of the Sean McDermott era, the rookie head coach announced at his introductory press conference Friday. “Doug has control of the 53,” said McDermott, who added he’s “very comfortable with the situation” (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com).
- Along with officially hiring Leslie Frazier as their new defensive coordinator, the Bills announced the additions of Juan Castillo (offensive line coach/run game coordinator) and Bob Babich (linebackers) to their coaching staff Friday. They’ll also retain special teams coach Danny Crossman for a fifth season. Castillo, who spent the past four years with the Ravens, was previously a longtime staff member in Philadelphia – where he became familiar with new Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Babich coached the Chargers’ linebackers this past season, which came after a three-year run as the Jaguars’ defensive coordinator.
It hasn’t been the best two-to-three weeks for the Bills organization. The team fired Rex Ryan in late December, and general manager Doug Whaley held a subsequent news conference that left some questioning his competence. Then there’s the whole Tyrod Taylor fiasco, as the organization could potentially be stuck with the quarterback’s $27.5MM salary.
Following the hiring of Sean McDermott as their new head coach, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula made it clear that their organization is not dysfunctional.
“There’s no foundation, no truth to this dysfunctional talk. I consider it an insult to our organization and the Bills and the good people with the Sabres. They can’t be real happy to hear that.”
The Bills moved quickly to bring in their next defensive coordinator, going with a high-profile assistant in Leslie Frazier, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.
Frazier’s name surfaced as a candidate to head up Sean McDermott‘s defense earlier tonight, and the Ravens’ defensive backs coach will transition back into a role with which he’s quite familiar. The 57-year-old coach has served as DC for the Bengals, Vikings and Buccaneers, with those roles sandwiching his HC tenure in Minnesota.
Frazier and Panthers linebackers coach Al Holcomb represented the primary assistants the Bills considered for this position. McDermott and Frazier have history after each spent time on Andy Reid‘s staff. Frazier served as DBs coach from 1999-2002 in Philadelphia while McDermott was breaking into the NFL as a scout.
McDermott broke into the coaching ranks midway through Frazier’s Eagles tenure, and the duo will now be tasked with repairing a unit Rex and Rob Ryan couldn’t elevate into an upper-echelon group. The Bills finished with the 19th-ranked defense in each of the past two seasons, representing a drop from their Jim Schwartz-led defense’s No. 4 ranking in 2014. Frazier and McDermott could well move this group back to a 4-3 after it spent two seasons as a struggling 3-4 outfit. McDermott’s Panthers defenses ran a 4-3 look, with Frazier’s groups in Minnesota and Tampa Bay doing the same.
Fired after three seasons with the Vikings, Frazier elevated the Bucs to the No. 10 defense last season. However, Tampa Bay did not exercise the option for a third year with Frazier once it canned Lovie Smith in 2016.
The Bills named Sean McDermott as Rex Ryan‘s successor and are now in the process of determining who will be McDermott’s top defensive assistant. While the team has discussed bringing Panthers linebackers coach Al Holcomb to Buffalo as DC, Leslie Frazier‘s name is in the mix as well.
Frazier has emerged as the “name to watch” in this hiring process, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). The 57-year-old Frazier spent this season coaching the Ravens’ defensive backs.
The former Vikings HC has history with McDermott, with each coach being on Andy Reid‘s staff with the Eagles from 1999-2002. McDermott served as a scouting assistant during Frazier’s Philadelphia tenure, and Frazier coached the Eagles’ DBs during that span. Frazier then moved on to become the Bengals’ DC.
Stints as DC in Minnesota and Tampa Bay sandwiched Frazier’s three-year HC tenure in the Twin Cities. Frazier’s final Bucs’ defense ranked as the league’s No. 10 unit in 2015.
Holcomb worked with McDermott for four years as well, serving as Carolina’s linebackers coach since the 2013 season.
The Bills’ head coaching job is no longer an option for Anthony Lynn, but he still has an opportunity to land on his feet in this coaching cycle. Both the Chargers and Rams plan to bring Lynn in for a second interview, sources tell ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Chargers Officially Announce L.A. Move]
Lynn is the only coach who was tied to all six coaching vacancies this offseason, but only three jobs remain after the Bills, Broncos, and Jaguars made their hires. It’s not immediately clear if the Niners are bringing Lynn back for a second interview, but the Rams and Chargers have advanced interest in him.
On Wednesday, the Rams gave a second interview to Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay and he is rumored to be the team’s leading candidate at this time. However, the Rams are conducting a thorough coaching search and they will not wrap thing up without further exploring other options, including ones that could get the most out of their defense. In total, twelve candidates have interviewed for the position.
Meanwhile, Lynn is now the first coach to have a second interview scheduled with the Chargers. Patriots DC Matt Patricia, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub, Lions DC Teryl Austin, and Bucs DC Mike Smith are also said to be in the mix. McDermott and Vance Joseph are out of the running after accepting head coaching jobs elsewhere on Wednesday.
- If new Bills head coach Sean McDermott is unable to land No. 1 target Mike McCoy as his offensive coordinator, he could look to Norv Turner as an alternative, according to both Michael Silver of NFL.com and John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter links). The 64-year-old Turner would bring significant experience, having worked as an offensive coordinator with six teams since 1991; however, his latest stint – with the Vikings – ended when he abruptly resigned in November.
- Bills wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal interviewed for the same position with the Eagles on Wednesday, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com). Philadelphia is looking to replace the fired Greg Lewis, and Caplan noted Tuesday that its interest in Lal is “strong.” Before hooking on with Buffalo’s staff in 2015, Lal coached wideouts with the Raiders and Jets for a combined six years.
It’s a done deal. The Bills are hiring Sean McDermott as their next head coach, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter) hears that McDermott will receive a five-year deal.
[RELATED: 2017 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Initially, interim head coach Anthony Lynn appeared to be a shoo-in for the job, but amidst Lynn’s own reported trepidation about the partnership, the Bills conducted a thorough coaching search. Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin and Seahawks DC Kris Richard interviewed for the job while new Broncos head coach Vance Joseph and Eagles OC Frank Reich were named as candidates.
McDermott, meanwhile, was also a candidate for the Niners and the Chargers were looking to bring him in for a second interview. The Bills are crushing hard on the defensive guru they did not want to risk losing him to another team.
Meanwhile, McDermott has a solid relationship with former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy and Carucci hears hears that he would hire him as his offensive coordinator. McDermott’s likely DC in Buffalo will be Carolina linebackers coach Al Holcomb, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Bills are “zeroed in” on Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who is now the leading contender for Buffalo’s head coaching position, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link). A deal between the two sides could be finalized in the coming days, per Carucci. Meanwhile, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (Twitter link) that while there are “positive talks” between McDermott and the Bills, the parties still have “issues to sort out” before a contract is signed.
[RELATED: 2017 Head Coaching Search Tracker]
From the moment previous head coach Rex Ryan was fired, offensive coordinator/interim head coach Anthony Lynn was viewed as the top candidate to take the reins in Buffalo. However, buzz has been building around McDermott in recent days, and reports earlier today indicated that Bills ownership was especially taken with the Carolina play-caller. Buffalo’s coaching search has been especially concise, as the club has only conducted interviews with Lynn, Harold Goodwin, and Kris Richard in addition to McDermott.
McDermott, meanwhile, has had a full schedule during this offseason’s hiring cycle, as he’s already conducted two interviews with the Chargers and one with the 49ers. McDermott’s name also came up during head coaching searches in 2016, as he met with the Browns, Buccaneers, and Eagles, and was linked to the Giants.
The 42-year-old McDermott has coordinated Carolina’s defense since the 2011 campaign, and helped lead a unit that ranked second in DVOA in 2015 as the Panthers raced through the NFC playoffs en route to a Super Bowl appearance. This year, Carolina’s defense slipped to 10th in DVOA, but did lead the league in sacks. Prior to joining the Panthers, McDermott was the Eagles’ DC from 2009-10, and worked in a variety of roles with Philadelphia for a decade prior.
If the Bills do indeed come to terms with McDermott, four clubs — the Chargers, Rams, Broncos, and 49ers — will still be involved in the head coaching hunt.