Anthony Lynn “Virtual Lock” To Be Bills HC
SUNDAY, 09:27am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports goes one step farther than Carucci, reporting that Lynn is a “virtual lock” to be named the Bills’ head coach on a permanent basis. The Bills are, however, expected to interview Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin for the job, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak (citing ESPN colleague Adam Schefter). Schefter tweets that former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is expected to serve as Lynn’s defensive coordinator wherever Lynn becomes a head coach. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Bills’ top job is Lynn’s to lose, and he adds Frank Reich and Teryl Austin as possible alternative candidates.
WEDNESDAY, 10:09am: Anthony Lynn will hold down the fort as interim head coach in the Bills’ final regular season game. From the sound of it, he could already be in the lead for the real title this offseason. “There’s every indication” the Bills are settled on sticking with Lynn beyond the interim status he has for Sunday, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes. 
[RELATED: Fallout From Rex Ryan’s Firing]
Carucci doesn’t expect the Bills to conduct a real, thorough search because they already have Lynn in mind as their guy. Furthermore, GM Doug Whaley is leading the search process and he will not want to hire any coach who would want control over the 53-man roster. In Lynn, he has a built-in ally who will allow him to assemble the team as he sees fit.
If Whaley is not willing to cede roster control, then that would likely rule out big-name candidates like Tom Coughlin, Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and Jim Schwartz. Even former Bills quarterback and current Eagles OC Frank Reich would probably object. There may be some head coaching candidates who are willing to let Whaley do his thing, but it won’t be any of the splashy names.
Bills Notes: Lynn, Whaley, Tyrod, Rex
The decision to shelve Tyrod Taylor for the Bills’ Week 17 game against the Jets did not involve interim coach Anthony Lynn, creating an interesting situation for Sunday.
Lynn said today, via Joe WKBW’s Joe Buscaglia (on Twitter), he was not in the room when the decision was made to start EJ Manuel over Taylor, the team’s starter throughout the Rex Ryan era and obviously Lynn’s tenure as a major decision-maker on the team. Promoted to OC in September, Lynn has emerged as a head-coaching candidate but won’t have a choice as to who he starts at quarterback in what could be his only instance as the Bills’ HC. However, the Bills may be leaning toward keeping the former longtime running backs coach as their next sideline boss.
Taylor has played in each of the games during Lynn’s OC run, with Manuel’s last significant stretch of work coming under Greg Roman‘s offensive guidance midway through last season. The decision came down from ownership since the Bills do not want to risk injury to Taylor as a decision on whether or not to pick up his option — one tying the run-centric quarterback to the team long-term — looms after the season.
Here’s more from western New York.
- Doug Whaley having the chance to pick a third Bills head coach strikes ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak as strange since it sends a message the new coach will not have control of the team’s 53-man roster and thus would have to agree to work with Whaley. But Rodak points out this could be an attempt by owners Terry and Kim Pegula to give Whaley one more chance to prove his worth since this next hire not working out — which basically means a playoff berth for north American professional sports’ most postseason-starved franchise — would lead the organization to move on from the GM.
- Ryan previously said the Bills would be his last coaching job, but the former Jets leader did not count on a two-year run in Buffalo. A close friend of the Ryans does not believe Rex Ryan will settle for a TV job for good, insisting the 54-year-old coach will want another chance — even in college — to lead a team again, Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN.com writes.
- The Bills made Ryan the scapegoat for the 17-year playoff drought, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes, believing the decision is a premature one indicative of a directionless franchise. Mehta also notes Whaley wanted to hire Hue Jackson before the Pegulas set their sights on Ryan.
- If Taylor wants to remain in Buffalo, he will likely have to renegotiate the contract he signed in August, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap writes. Believing most teams would see Taylor as a high-end backup ($7-$9MM per year), Fitzgerald points out part of Ryan’s downfall in Buffalo could be his infatuation with Taylor’s athletic skill set by referencing to the coach’s desire to sign Michael Vick, trade for Tim Tebow and his coveting of Colin Kaepernick while with the Jets.
Fallout From Rex Ryan’s Firing
The Bills are on the hunt for a new head coach after firing Rex Ryan on Tuesday, but the presence of general manager Doug Whaley is likely to limit their options, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. With Whaley entrenched atop the Bills’ front office, head coaching candidates who want significant say in roster construction might be less inclined to take the job.
[RELATED: Bills to bench Tyrod Taylor]
That could include longtime NFL head coach Tom Coughlin, with whom the Bills spoke last offseason about a front office role before he took a position with the league. Coughlin is now a possibility to end up back in Jacksonville – where he coached from 1995-2002 – but Bills owner Terry Pegula is interested in tabbing the two-time Super Bowl winner to succeed Ryan, per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is also high on the Bills’ list, reports Cole, who adds that the team would want to retain interim head coach Anthony Lynn as its offensive coordinator under either Coughlin or Austin.
Lynn entered the season as the Bills’ running backs coach, but they elevated him to O-coordinator after firing Greg Roman on the heels of an 0-2 start. Buffalo’s Lynn-led attack ranks first in the league in rushing, seventh in scoring, eighth in DVOA and 12th in total offense. Now, given his impressive work this season, it’s possible Lynn is actually the favorite to take over for Ryan on a permanent basis. Whaley “pushed” ownership to place the interim tag on Lynn, tweets the Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci, who wrote last week that Lynn could be primed to grab the reins going forward. Lynn garnered attention from head coach-needy franchises last winter and will again be on teams’ radars this offseason (the Rams are reportedly eyeing him), so the Bills could lose the 47-year-old if they don’t select him as Ryan’s replacement.
As for Ryan, his downfall in Buffalo was his inability to live up to his reputation as a defensive guru. The Bills had a top-tier defense in place when they hired him in advance of the 2015 campaign, but it was a below-average unit in each of his two years with the club. Ryan’s move last January to hire his twin brother, the now-fired Rob Ryan, to team with him and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman didn’t produce positive results. In fact, Bills players told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington that the Ryans lost the defensive portion of the locker room because there were “too many cooks in the kitchen” (Twitter link). Defensive end Leger Douzable took to Twitter to bash Buffalo’s decision to ax Rex Ryan, whom he also played under as a Jet, but star D-tackle Marcell Dareus doesn’t seem too broken up about the coaching change.
While Dareus told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he likes Ryan, the franchise’s highest-paid player explained that the defensive scheme “was just too much detail for a lot of guys, and I feel like for a lot of guys it was too much going on for them to check here and check there, if this happens and that happens. Then nine times out of 10, a team will throw something out there that we weren’t prepared for, and then the adjustment to it, we had to get use to and try to make it happen and make plays.”
The 26-year-old Dareus will be among a few marquee talents the Bills’ next coach inherits (running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Sammy Watkins are the others), though the environment “from top to bottom” is “toxic,” relays Carucci (Twitter link). Considering the Bills have gone a league-worst 17 years since their latest playoff trip, that’s not overly surprising.
Bills Fire Rex Ryan
The Bills are not waiting for the season to end to make a head coaching change. Rex Ryan has been let go and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn will take over as the interim head coach. Rob Ryan (assistant head coach/defense) has also been relieved of his duties. 
“I spoke with Rex earlier today and we mutually agreed that the time to part ways is now. These decisions are never easy. I want to take this opportunity to thank Rex for all his efforts and wish him all the best moving forward,” owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “Kim and I and our entire Bills organization share in the same disappointment and frustration as our fans, but we remain committed to our goal of bringing a championship to Western New York.”
Rex Ryan was not given a third year to turn things around in Buffalo despite finishing with a .500 record in his first year and guiding the team to a 7-8 mark so far this season. The Bills will not qualify for the playoffs for the 17th straight season and the organization is not willing to take the patient approach any longer.
Lynn has gone from running backs coach to offensive coordinator to head coach in just three months. His first promotion came when Greg Roman was forced out earlier this year and he’ll now get to audition for the team’s permanent role. Reportedly, the Bills wanted to push Ryan out in part because of their desire to retain Lynn. Lynn has long been identified as a strong head coaching candidate for this offseason.
There are conflicting reports regarding GM Doug Whaley’s job security. A little over a week ago, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that Whaley is not in jeopardy of getting fired. However, over the weekend, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe said that his status “remains up in the air.”
As of this writing, there are now three teams that will be looking for head coaches in the New Year: the Rams, Jaguars, and Bills.
Coaching Rumors: Payton, Rams, Gruden
Despite rumors to the contrary, one source tells ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett there is no indication the Saints are more willing to part ways with Sean Payton now than they were in the past. That same source also refuted the notion that morale is low in New Orleans because of speculation over Payton’s future. Regardless, you can expect the Payton buzz to continue for a while. There’s now talk that Payton has “sincere interest” in the Rams’ opening.
Here’s a roundup of the latest coaching rumors:
- Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn and Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter are two to watch in the Rams‘ coaching search, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
- There are reasons why Jon Gruden does and doesn’t make sense for the Rams, Mike Florio of PFT writes. Gruden has star power, offensive know-how, and relationships with both COO Kevin Demoff and Washington exec Bruce Allen, who could be a GM candidate for the team. He could also help the team attract Raiders fans in the area. Conversely, one could argue that Gruden was overrated as a coach since he won a Super Bowl with a defense built by Tony Dungy and run the highly-respected Monte Kiffin. Gruden also doesn’t have a rep as a player-friendly coach.
- Panthers coach Ron Rivera has been mentioned as a possibility for the Rams‘ job, but his agent tells Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer there hasn’t been any contact between Rivera and Los Angeles. “There hasn’t been any contact,” agent Frank Bauer said. “Ron’s super happy where he’s at.” Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot. The Rams could still wait until after the season to reach out to Rivera and, even if they have already, his agent would never publicly confirm an act of tampering. If there is mutual interest between the Rams and Rivera this spring, L.A. would still have to negotiate a trade with the Panthers.
- Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh won’t be returning to the NFL in 2017, but he could eventually be back, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (link via PFT). If and when he goes back to the NFL, Rapoport says he could be a match for the Bears. Meanwhile, some league insiders have speculated to PFT that Harbaugh could eventually coach the Colts, reuniting him with Andrew Luck.
Coaching Notes: Bills, Payton, Jaguars, Bucs
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has compiled a 101-57 record during his 10 years in Pittsburgh, and he’s also led his squad to a pair of Super Bowl appearances, winning one. Despite the apparent success, Terry Bradshaw isn’t impressed.
The Hall of Fame Steelers quarterback said on FOX Sports 1 that Tomlin isn’t among the best active coaches in the NFL.
“I don’t think he’s a great coach at all,” Bradshaw said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). “He’s a nice coach. To me, and I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does. But I don’t think that he’s a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”
Bradshaw attributes much of Tomlin’s success to the current head coach’s predecessor, Bill Cowher. While Tomlin certainly inherited an elite roster, you can’t deny his success over the past decade.
Let’s take a look at some other coaching notes from around the NFL…
- The Bills haven’t decided on head coach Rex Ryan‘s future with the organization. However, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that if the team does move on from Ryan, it could be partially motivated by the team’s desire to keep offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn in the organization. Lynn will likely get some interviews for head coaching gigs this offseason, and he’d presumably be a candidate for the Bills’ gig if the position opens up.
- Sean Payton could have been the Colts coach this season, reports Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Ultimately, the current Saints head coach didn’t want to take a pay cut from $10MM per year to $8MM per year.
- The Jaguars have hired Jed Hughes of Korn Ferry International to help assist the front office in hiring a new head coach, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The firm specializes in conducting “executive searches.”
- The Buccaneers defense has been on a roll recently, and defensive coordinator Mike Smith has predictably been mentioned as a potential head coach candidate. However, with the team looking to make the playoffs, Smith is trying to block out all of that speculation. “Rumors are rampant this time of the year,” Smith told ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine. “I’m enjoying my time here. I want to make this team the best team it can be. You don’t address rumors. That’s what happens this time of year.”
Sean Payton Has “Sincere Interest” In Rams’ Head Coaching Vacancy
Another day, another big name being mentioned as a potential candidate for the Rams’ head coach opening. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that Saints head coach Sean Payton is monitoring the Rams’ vacancy with “sincere interest.” The reporter clarifies that a potential Rams/Saints trade is neither “imminent” nor “likely,” but a deal is “possible.” For the Rams to pull off such a move, Payton would have to be the organization’s “overwhelming No. 1” favorite for the position.
As Rapoport writes, Payton has openly expressed interest in coaching on the West Coast, especially since his daughter lives in California. The head coach had previously shown some interst in the former 49ers and Chargers openings. Payton ultimately signed a five-year extension with the Saints that will pay him around $10MM a year. After he announced the new contract, Payton said that he couldn’t envision himself coaching elsewhere.
Of course, the extension doesn’t mean that Payton is guaranteed to stick around New Orleans. The 52-year-old hasn’t led the Saints to the playoffs since 2013, and Rapoport reports that some within the organization are starting to tire of Payton’s unwillingness to commit to his current gig longterm. In fact, we heard last week that the Saints could look to trade their long-time coach. If the coach decides that he wants out of New Orleans, the front office won’t hold him “hostage,” according to Rapoport.
Payton does have an impressive head coaching record of 92-64 during his 11 seasons in New Orleans (he was suspended for the 2012 campaign), and he led the team to a Super Bowl championship in 2009.
Despite the Payton news, Rapoport tweets that the Rams aren’t necessarily looking to “make a splash” with the hiring. The last time they hired a big-
name coach, they signed Jeff Fisher… and we all know how that turned out.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter echoes that the Rams aren’t necessarily looking at high-profile names for their head coaching vacancy. According to the report, the Rams are eyeing Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn,
Patriots offensive coordinators Josh McDaniels, and Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. We learned earlier this week that the Rams (along with the Jaguars) would have interest in Shanahan.
Rapoport throws another name into the ring (via Twitter): Panthers coach Ron Rivera. The writer notes that Rivera would be a natural fit considering the Rams’ young roster and Los Angeles’ Hispanic population. Of course, Rapoport admits that a Rams/Panthers trade would be rather complicated to pull off.
Other names that have been mentioned for the opening are Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden. Both of those potential candidates denied having any interest in the gig.
10 Coaching Candidates For The Rams
In an iconic scene from season nine of The Simpsons, Krusty the Klown announced his retirement to a scrum of not-so-stunned reporters. 
“But Krusty,” one reporter asks. “Why now? Why not twenty years ago?”
It wouldn’t have been out of place for any Rams beat reporter to channel that sentiment and ask a similar question of COO Kevin Demoff when he addressed the media on Monday. Jeff Fisher‘s dismissal was long overdue and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone outside of the coach’s family who disagrees.
For now, the Rams will turn things over to special teams coordinator John Fassel on an interim basis. While this is ostensibly a chance for Fassel to impress team brass and land the head coaching job for 2017, most are expecting the Rams to hire a name brand coach that will energize the fan base and give the team some additional panache in free agency.
With a few weeks to go between now and the official end of the Rams’ season, here are ten names that could be considered for the job:
Jim Harbaugh, head coach at the University of Michigan: Some say that living well is the best revenge. Others say that the best revenge against your former employer is setting up shop across the street and destroying them. Santa Clara-to-Los Angeles is a lengthy drive, but you get what we’re getting at.
Harbaugh, in theory, could leave his alma mater and crush the 49ers by joining up with a divisional rival. The Rams have reportedly been loafing in practice and Harbaugh is the kind of throwback disciplinarian that the team badly needs. It’s fair to assume that the Rams will get in contact with Harbaugh, but it will be tough to get him to leave his lucrative job in Ann Arbor.
With National Signing Day around the corner, Harbaugh could publicly remove himself himself from consideration if he is not at all interested in an NFL return. Alternatively, if Harbaugh wants to get sweet revenge against the Niners, Stan Kroenke better have his checkbook ready. Signing Harbaugh could cost upwards of $10MM/year and that’s before factoring in his buyout clause with the Wolverines. If Harbaugh bolts, he’ll owe U-M the prorated portion of his $2MM signing bonus. With two of the seven years served, 5/7ths of that amount comes out to roughly $1.43MM.
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Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan’s Job In Jeopardy
Rex Ryan is exceedingly unlikely to return as the Bills’ head coach in 2017, and if the club suffers an embarrassing loss to the Steelers later today, Ryan could be fired as soon as Monday, a source tells Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. If Ryan is let go, Buffalo would likely promote offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn to interim head coach, according to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.
[RELATED: Bills GM Refuses To Commit To Tyrod Taylor]
The Bills could still finish the 2016 campaign strong, and with four winnable games remaining on the schedule (Buffalo is set to face Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Miami, and New York), the club could win out, finish with a record of 10-6, and compete for an AFC wild card slot. Such a scenario remains unlikely, however — Football Outsiders gives the Bills just a 9.9% chance of making the playoffs — and Ryan’s crumbling status in Buffalo appears to have deeper roots than simply the team’s win-loss record.
Per La Canfora, the relationship between Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley is heavily strained, and Whaley may hold the upper hand given that he’s developed a “strong bond” with team ownership. Whaley and the Buffalo front office have repeatedly indicated that the Bills’ roster is better than its record, laying blame for this season’s results at the feet of Ryan, and have shared that belief with owner Terry Pegula. The Bills have seemingly decided against the idea of hiring a “football czar” to oversee operations — a role that Bill Polian and Tom Coughlin have been considered for in the past — meaning Whaley’s job should be safe.
Other personnel and coaching staff problems abound, such as the poor reaction to Ryan’s decision to hire his brother — longtime NFL defensive coordinator Rob Ryan — as a defensive assistant. Additionally, the Buffalo front office would like to see fourth-round quarterback Cardale Jones take the field at some point this season, as the club is highly unlikely to exercise its option on incumbent signal-caller Tyrod Taylor.
Pollard Alliance Releases HC Candidates List
The Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation typically releases its list of recommended minority head coaching candidates in January. This year, we have an early preview of the list, courtesy of Tom Pelissero of USA Today. This year’s suggested candidates will include Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, Cardinals OC Harold Goodwin, and Vikings DC George Edwards. 
Austin was a popular candidate for coaching vacancies last year but ultimately did not find a head coaching gig. After interviewing with the Browns, Dolphins, Giants, and Eagles, Austin indicated that he felt only two of the interviews were “legitimate” while the other two were only done to satisfy the Rooney Rule, which stipulates that a minority candidate must be interviewed for every job. Since the Browns hired a black coach in Hue Jackson, Austin presumably isn’t accusing Cleveland of interviewing him to fulfill the requirement.
The Bills installed Lynn as their OC in September after ousting Greg Roman. The Bills have been up-and-down this year, but they now stand at 6-6 despite injuries to key players. Lynn has had to run the Bills’ offense without star wide receiver Sammy Watkins for much of the year and teams will certainly take notice of his capable job despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.
Goodwin has made no secret of his desire to land a head coaching job. However, there are some factors working against him. First, the Cardinals offense has struggled this season. Secondly, despite rave reviews from those around him, Goodwin does not call the plays in Arizona, and that could deter interested teams.
Edwards was placed on the Pollard list for the first time last year and he returns this season. Like Goodwin, he does not call plays for his team despite the coordinator title. However, he comes with a strong recommendation from head coach Mike Zimmer and he did call the plays against the Cowboys when Zimmer was recovering from surgery. With Edwards at the wheel, the Vikings allowed just 17 points against one of the league’s most electric offenses.
The foundation also released a list of general manager candidates including Giants VP of player evaluation Marc Ross, Raiders director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, former Lions GM and current Giants exec Martin Mayhew, and Eagles director of college scouting Trey Brown.