Former Bills quarterback and current Chargers offensive coordinator Frank Reich is considered to be among the top candidates for the team’s head coaching vacancy. (Photo: Kevin Hoffman — USA Today Sports)
BBD Editor: Dan Hope
Although the Buffalo Bills won nine games in 2014 for the first time since 2004, big changes are coming to the team in 2015. Monday’s retirement by Kyle Orton means the Bills will have consider all options, including 15 quarterbacks identified by Buffalo Bills Draft this week, to find their quarterback for the 2015 season. They will also have a new head coach, as Doug Marrone opted out of his contract with the team, after just two years in Buffalo, on New Year’s Eve.
It’s not completely clear yet who will be leading the upcoming coaching search. Bill Polian is reportedly set to be the Bills’ new team president, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, but that reportedly might not be announced until late January due to Polian’s current commitments with ESPN. With Polian coming in, it’s unknown whether general manager Doug Whaley and current team president Russ Brandon will be retained.
Regardless, one would think new owner Terry Pegula and the Bills have a plan in place—after all, they had to know Marrone’s opt-out was a possibility—to immediately initiate their search for a new coach.
Who could that new coach be? Let’s take a look at some of the names that could possibilities.
Internal Candidate
Jim Schwartz, Defensive Coordinator
If the Bills want to keep continuity off their first winning season in a decade, they could promote Schwartz. Previously the head coach of the Detroit Lions from 2008-12, Schwartz had an excellent first year as Bills defensive coordinator, as he led a unit that finished the year ranked fourth in the NFL in both yards allowed per game and points allowed per game.
Schwartz might not be perceived as the most attractive head coaching candidate, as his record was just 29-51 as Lions coach, but his experience and familiarity with the team might make him the most logical choice. At the very least, Schwartz should have an opportunity to interview for the job and be considered alongside other finalists.
If Schwartz was to get promoted, Pepper Johnson stands out as the most likely candidate to fill Schwartz’s shoes as defensive coordinator. As for offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, he should not be considered a serious candidate for the coaching vacancy and it’s likely he will follow Marrone, who brought him with him to Buffalo from Syracuse, wherever Marrone goes next.
Coordinators
Frank Reich, Offensive Coordinator, San Diego Chargers
As rumors started to leak this week that Marrone was seriously considering an opt-out, Reich’s name has generated the most buzz as his potential replacement. A former Buffalo Bills quarterback from 1985-94, Reich just completed his first year as the San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator and has been coaching in the NFL since 2008.
La Canfora, Newsday‘s Bob Glauber and Mark Maske of The Washington Post are among the many NFL writers who have reported that Reich is expected to be a leading candidate for the job.
Reich’s qualifications do not stand out among potential candidates, but his attractiveness as a candidate makes sense. In addition to his close ties with the Bills, his knowledge of the quarterback position could be a great asset for a team that needs to continue developing young signal-caller EJ Manuel and will likely have another young passer to develop in the next couple years.
Josh McDaniels, Offensive Coordinator, New England Patriots
The opportunity to seize an asset from the Patriots, the team that has dominated the AFC East since the turn of the century, would presumably be an enticing one for the Bills. McDaniels, noted for his work with Tom Brady in New England and other quarterbacks elsewhere, has previous head coaching experience with the Denver Broncos—though he lasted less than two years there—and is reportedly among the candidates for the Atlanta Falcons’ and San Francisco 49ers’ coaching vacancies, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Adam Gase, Offensive Coordinator, Denver Broncos
One of the hottest names in the league to be a potential first-time head coach, Gase’s offenses have ranked in the top four in both total yards and total points in each of his first two seasons as Broncos offensive coordinator, though it’s unclear how much of that has to do with any of his expertise, as his job has been made much easier by the luxury of having Peyton Manning at quarterback. Gase has already scheduled interviews with the Falcons, 49ers and Chicago Bears, according to Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group.
Darrell Bevell, Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
In his fourth year as the Seahawks offensive coordinator after serving in the same role for five years with the Minnesota Vikings, Bevell is a former Wisconsin quarterback who helped transform Russell Wilson into a star quarterback and Super Bowl winner from a third-round pick. Bevell has interviewed with the Oakland Raiders, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio, according to ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson.
Hue Jackson, Offensive Coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals
When Hue Jackson was fired by the Oakland Raiders after going 8-8 in his first season as head coach in 2011, just about everyone not named Al Davis thought he deserved at least another year at the helm. A collegiate quarterback with more than 25 years of total coaching experience, Jackson has taken on three different positions with the Cincinnati Bengals in the past three years and has helped lead them to the playoffs each season. Jackson said earlier this week that his current focus is solely upon the Bengals’ playoff run, according to ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey.
Gary Kubiak, Offensive Coordinator, Baltimore Ravens
Kubiak, who went 61-64 in eight seasons with the Houston Texans, is another former NFL quarterback who could play an integral role in developing Manuel and/or new young quarterbacks that the Bills bring in. Kubiak said Wednesday that he will not interview for any head coaching job until after the end of the Ravens’ playoff run.
Todd Bowles, Defensive Coordinator, Arizona Cardinals
Bowles’ name has been frequently floated around in connection with coaching vacancies in recent years, and that will continue to be the case this season after his second successful season with the Cardinals, in which his defense ranked fifth in the NFL in points allowed per game. Formerly the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012 and the Miami Dolphins interim head coach at the end of the 2011 season, Bowles has not yet set up any coaching interviews as he focuses on the Cardinals’ playoff run, according to ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss.
Dan Quinn, Defensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle’s defense has ranked first in the NFL in both points allowed and yards allowed in each of Quinn’s first two years at the helm, and it led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl title last year while it’s put them right back in position to contend for another championship this year. Quinn has already scheduled interviews with the 49ers, New York Jets, Bears and Falcons, according to NFL Media’s Albert Breer.
Teryl Austin, Defensive Coordinator, Detroit Lions
Detroit’s defense ranked second in yards allowed and third in points allowed in Austin’s first season at the helm as their defensive coordinator. Hiring Austin would be going in a very different direction from continuity, as he was hired by Detroit in the wake of Jim Schwartz’s firing last offseason, but he is a hot name who is among the candidates with which the Atlanta Falcons have requested interviews, according to ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein.
Recently fired by the New York Jets, former division rival Rex Ryan could be a candidate to coach in Buffalo. (Photo: Brad Penner — USA Today Sports)
Others
Rex Ryan, Former Head Coach, New York Jets
The Buffalo Bills got a first-hand look at how badly south things went for the New York Jets this year, as the Bills beat the Jets by a combined score of 81-26 between their two matchups, but many agree that Ryan’s overall record of 46-50 in New York had more to do with personnel problems than any of the coach’s failures.
Already set to interview with the 49ers and Falcons, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Ryan legitimately could emerge as a top candidate for his former division rival, which could essentially be a trade of coaches as Marrone is expected to be a favorite for the Jets’ coaching job, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Mike Smith, Former Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons
Fired by the Falcons after back-to-back losing seasons, Smith previously led Atlanta to five winning seasons, including four playoff berths, before things started to go south in 2013. He has not yet been linked to any openings, but his coaching record of 66-45 makes him a candidate well worth considering.
Mike Shanahan, Former Head Coach, Washington Redskins/Denver Broncos
As he won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999, and has 20 combined seasons of head coaching experience, Shanahan could certainly be a candidate if he’s interested in getting back into the NFL after a year away. That likelihood could be increased by the Bills bringing in Polian, who is also returning from time out of the league and might be more likely than other team presidents to consider a coach whose best years came more than a decade ago.
Jim Mora Jr., Head Coach, UCLA
Mora is another name who could come into play as a result of the reportedly impending Polian hire, as his father coached the Indianapolis Colts from 1998-2001 when Polian was their general manager and team president. That said, it’s unknown if Mora, who was head coach of the Falcons from 2004-06 and the Seahawks in 2009, is actually interested in making a return to the NFL, having been at UCLA since 2012.
Gus Malzahn, Head Coach, Auburn
This last entry really could be “Insert successful collegiate coach here”—Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin and Stanford’s David Shaw are other names that often get thrown around this time of year as collegiate candidates the NFL could be interested in—but Malzahn is probably the most attractive candidate to potentially make the jump this year.
Considering the Bills’ last coaching hire in Marrone was a fairly surprising one from the collegiate ranks, and many of the NFL’s most successful recent coaching hires have come from college teams, this is an option that can’t be ruled out. That said, the Polian regime might be less likely to look this route than the previous decision-makers in the team’s front office.
