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Buffalo Bills News & Rumors

Jaguars Expected To Interview Anthony Lynn

January 4th, 2017 at 12:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Put another one on the board for Anthony Lynn. The Bills’ interim head coach is expected to interview with the Jaguars, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). As shown on PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker, Lynn is also in the mix for the Bills, Rams, and 49ers. He doesn’t have an interview scheduled with the Broncos just yet, but that is expected to go down at some point. Anthony Lynn (vertical)

Lynn was reportedly a “virtual lock” to take over as the next coach of the Bills, but there’s now buzz that Lynn might not even want the gig. Lynn, 48, appears to have several options if he doesn’t want to remain in Buffalo. After Doug Whaley‘s bizarre press conference this week, it’s hard to blame Lynn for exploring other possibilities. The Bills have talent to win right away, but Lynn could find more stability in one of the other openings out there.

The Jaguars fell apart this year, but in the offseason they were picked by some to win the AFC South. On offense, Blake Bortles is something of an unknown after a down year and, once again, the Jags will have to figure out what to do at running back. Chris Ivory was brought in to hold down the position, but health issues limited him severely this year.

Coaching Rumors: Lynn, 49ers, McDaniels

January 4th, 2017 at 10:40am CST by Zachary Links

The latest news on the league’s coaching vacancies:

  • For a complete rundown of every interview scheduled for the teams in search of a new coach, check out PFR’s 2017 NFL Head Coaching Tracker.
  • Anthony Lynn‘s interview with the 49ers will take place today (Wednesday), according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
  • Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will interview with the Rams, Jaguars, and 49ers all on the same day, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe writes. McDaniels will huddle up with all three teams on Saturday in separate rooms at a hotel near Gilette Stadium. Those three teams will be permitted to interview McDaniels again in the week after the AFC title game, if the Pats make it to the Super Bowl.
  • The Chargers won’t force assistants on a new head coach, but they value their offensive staff, Rapoport tweets. There’s a good chance offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and his fellow offensive coaches stay put.
  • The Broncos are expected to talk to Lynn at some point and will interview Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph as soon as the rules allow, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin is scheduled to meet with the Rams on Thursday and the Bills on Saturday, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub will interview with the Broncos on Friday and then he has the Chargers on Sunday, Rapoport tweets.

Bills To Interview Sean McDermott

January 3rd, 2017 at 5:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Many assume that interim head coach Anthony Lynn is a shoo-in for the Bills job, though that might not be the case anymore. Even if Lynn does want the role, the Bills are insistent that they are going to explore multiple options before reaching a decision. One of those options, Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, will interview with the Bills on Wednesday, reports Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News.Sean McDermott

McDermott’s name came up with a few different coaching searches last season. The Browns and Buccaneers both interviewed McDermott last season before going with Hue Jackson and Dirk Koetter, respectively. The Eagles had an “informal” chat with McDermott, though they did not formally interview him before selecting Doug Pederson as their guy. The Giants internally discussed McDermott, but they neglected to ask during the Panthers first-round bye week.

Although he did not land a head coaching job last year, it was widely reported that he interviewed well. After the Panthers led the NFL in sacks this year, McDermott figures to get a few different looks again this season. Whether the Bills job is truly available, however, remains to be seen.

Latest On HC Candidate Anthony Lynn

January 3rd, 2017 at 4:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn was reportedly a “virtual lock” as of this past Sunday to earn the job on a full-time basis, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. There’s now buzz that Lynn might not even want to take over for his former boss, the fired Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News.

Anthony Lynn (vertical)

The 48-year-old Lynn has options outside of Buffalo, as it’s now official that he’ll interview with the Rams and 49ers, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s also conceivable that any of the other teams with head coaching vacancies – the Broncos, Jaguars and Chargers – could court Lynn. Notably, the former running back played in Denver with then-quarterback and now-general manager John Elway. He also began his coaching career there as a special teams assistant in 2000.

Lynn drew some interest in head coaching searches last winter, but he was merely a running backs coach at the time. Then, after the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman in mid-September, Lynn took over and guided the unit to impressive results. Thanks largely to the NFL’s best rushing attack, the Bills’ offense finished the 2016 campaign 10th in both scoring and DVOA.

On the heels of Ryan’s late-December dismissal, Lynn earned the interim title for Week 17, though the Bills lost in embarrassing fashion, 30-10, to the Jets. In defense of Lynn, the Bills benched starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor for business reasons, leaving the coach with EJ Manuel and Cardale Jones as his only options under center. It now seems possible that could go down as Lynn’s only game as the embattled organization’s head coach.

Bills Rumors: Woods, Whaley, Ryan, Watkins

January 3rd, 2017 at 11:09am CST by Zachary Links

While speaking to reporters, Bills wide receiver Robert Woods heavily indicated that he will be testing the open market this spring, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. Woods has been a solid WR2 for Buffalo and he has had some monster games in instances where Sammy Watkins was unable to go or was playing at half strength. Coming off of a career-high 67.1% catch percentage, Woods should draw plenty of attention in March. It also helps that the USC product does not turn 25 until April.

Here’s more out of Buffalo:

  • During Monday’s disastrous press conference, Bills GM Doug Whaley says he is “open to anything” regarding the team’s coaching search, including giving up control of the 53-man roster, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News tweets. That contradicts reports from the last week which have indicated that Whaley is not interested in hiring any coach who would want to have authority over roster construction. Whaley also said that he was “not privy to the conversation” in which Rex Ryan‘s fate was decided. If Whaley is to be believed, that means he was not involved in dismissing the last coach, yet he is in charge of hiring the next coach. All in all, the presser from yesterday left many questioning the power structure and chain of command in Buffalo.
  • Watkins will have another foot surgery this week, Tim Graham of The Buffalo News tweets. We don’t have much in the way of details, but there is no indication that the surgery will cost Watkins time in 2017.
  • Linebacker Lorenzo Alexander says his agent has had preliminary discussions with the Bills about a new deal, Sal Capaccio of MSG tweets. Alexander joined Buffalo last year on a one-year deal worth $885K with just $75K guaranteed. Initially viewed as a special teams signing, Alexander had a career year in 2016, totaling 64 tackles and 12.5 sacks.

Bills Checking In On Vance Joseph, Frank Reich, Kris Richard For HC Job

January 2nd, 2017 at 8:54pm CST by Zachary Links
  • The Rams, Bills, and Chargers are requesting permission to speak with Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). We learned earlier today that the 49ers have also expressed interest in Joseph.
  • The Bills are expected to interview Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich for their head coaching opening, sources tell Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (via Twitter). Prior to his time in Philly, Reich was the offensive coordinator for the Chargers.
  • The Bills have done some homework on Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard, Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports tweets. Richard just completed his second season in that role.

    [SOURCE LINK]

2017 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

January 2nd, 2017 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Several NFL teams are currently hunting for a new head coach, and amidst reports about interview requests and potential candidates, it’s easy to lose track of the latest updates in the shuffle. So we’ll use this space – which will be updated until every team has hired a new head coach – to keep track of the most recent news and rumors. It can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features.”

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-17 (10:22am CT)

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Coaching Rumors: Shanahan, Rams, Broncos

January 2nd, 2017 at 12:49pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s a New Year and a new start for many teams on the sidelines. With a zillion interviews being requested today, we’ll run down the latest coaching rumors and requests here:

  • The Rams and Broncos have requested permission to talk to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets. GM John Elway says the team will consider “three or four” candidates for the job, which means that Shanahan is on the short list. It will be interesting to see if the rocky relationship between Elway and Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, plays a role in his candidacy.
  • Cardinals coach Bruce Arians confirmed that the Bills and Rams have asked permission to interview offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin (Twitter link via Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic). As previously reported, the Jaguars will interview Goodwin today.
  • The Bills will make a push for former Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. La Canfora, like many, expects Anthony Lynn to shed the “interim” title this offseason and take over as head coach.
  • The Rams have requested interviews with Lynn and Matt Patricia (Patriots defensive coordinator), according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link).
  • The Jaguars will interview Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith for their head coaching vacancy, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said teams have contacted Miami about talking to Vance Joseph for head coaching jobs, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets.

49ers Targeting Tom Cable, Others For HC Job

January 2nd, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

Josh McDaniels isn’t the only candidate on the 49ers’ list. The team is also looking to bring in Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, Jaguars interim coach Doug Marrone, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco.

The Jets interviewed Cable for their head coaching vacancy before the 2015 season, but he did not receive any interviews last offseason. Cable, of course, offers head coaching experience after nearly three years at the helm in Oakland. From 2008-2010, the Raiders went 17-27 under Cable and never finished higher than third in the AFC West.Tom Cable (vertical)

Meanwhile, the top GM candidates right now are Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, and Seahawks co-player personnel directors Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.

CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe are leading the search to fill both vacancies. After witnessing years of discord between former coach Jim Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke (and perhaps some disagreement between Baalke and recent ex-coach Chip Kelly), the 49ers may opt for a ready-made GM/coach combo like McDaniels and Caserio. McDaniels appears to be one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market this offseason and Caserio has been viewed as a rising front office star for the last couple of years.

2017 NFL Draft Order

January 2nd, 2017 at 8:04am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns almost blew it yesterday. In the regular season finale, the Browns took the Steelers to overtime before ultimately losing 27-24. Had they won, the Browns would have been picking at No. 2 instead of the top position. Meanwhile, the Jaguars nearly slipped to No. 5, but they held their ground in the draft order when they lost 24-20 to the Colts. Phew.

The playoffs will help determine the bottom 12 picks, but the draft order has now been set for most of the NFL. Here is the list, with ties being broken by strength of schedule:

1. Browns (1-15)

2. 49ers (2-14)

3. Bears (3-13)

4. Jaguars (3-13)

5. Titans (via the 4-12 Rams)

6. Jets (5-11)

7. Chargers (5-11)

8. Panthers (6-10)

9. Bengals (6-9-1)

10. Bills (7-9)

11. Saints (7-9)

12. Browns (via the 7-9 Eagles)

13. Cardinals (7-8-1)

T-14. Eagles (via the 8-8 Minnesota Vikings)

T-14. Colts (8-8) (Note: The Vikings and Colts have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broke by coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 14 and the other team getting the No. 15 pick.)

16. Ravens (8-8)

17. Redskins (8-7-1)

18. Titans (9-7)

19. Buccaneers (9-7)

20. Broncos (9-7)

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