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NEWS ARCHIVES - JAN 12TH, 2015 - JAN 18TH, 2015 PREVIOUS WEEK

Rex Ryan Begins Filling Out Coaching Staff

Bills Reportedly Add 2 Offensive Coaches: Reports late last night say the Bills have hired David Lee as their QB coach and are closing in on former Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer as their new offensive line coach. Lee was with the Bills for a year tutoring Ryan Fitzpatrick before joining Rex Ryan's staff with the Jets the past two years. He also held the same position in Miami for three years before coming to Buffalo the first time. Doug Whaley basically confirmed the hiring on WGR yesterday. Kromer loves the power running game the Bills are looking to install. He was the OL coach in New Orleans from 2009 to 2012 before being the OC in Chicago the past two seasons. New Coaching Hires.


Friday January 16, 2015

Bills Add Two: The Bills signed two more players to futures contracts yesterday. DB Jonte Green was a 6th round draft pick of the Lions in 2012 and played in 24 games over two years in Detroit including seven starts. He had 38 tackles, one sack, seven passes defensed and one interception. Johnson was an undrafted free agent out of New Mexico this past year before signing with the Chargers. Depth Chart.


Thursday January 15, 2015

Thurman, 7 Assistants Hired: The Bills made it official today as they have announced that Dennis Thurman is the new defensive coordinator. They also announced the hiring of seven new assistants and that they are retaining Donnie Henderson in a new role as co-DBs coach. Henderson worked with Ryan in Baltimore. Thurman was also with Ryan in Baltimore as their DBs coach before joining him in New York first as a DB coach than as the defensive coordinator. The other new assistants are: LB coach Bobby April III, DL coach Karl Dunbar, DB coach Tim McDonald, Asst. Strength and Conditioning coach Jason Oszvart, Asst. Special Teams coach Eric Smith, TE coach Tony Sparano, Jr. and Asst. DL coach Jeff Weeks. April III held the same position with the Jets the past two years. Dunbar was the LB coach with the Jets the past three years and has 11 years experience in the NFL. McDonald has been the DB coach in New York the past two years. Oszvart held the same position with the Jets last year. Sparano Jr. was an assistant with the Jets last year and is coaching tight ends for the first time. Weeks spent six years coaching various units for the Jets. Front Office Page.


Wednesday January 14, 2015

Crossman Stays: The Bills announced this afternoon that they are keeping Danny Crossman as the Special Teams coach. His unit had a great season and he is staying despite being a close friend of Doug Marrone. Rex Ryan mentioned during his press conference that he is bringing Dennis Thurman with him and that he will retain Donnie Henderson who coached with him in the past. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports that the strength and conditioning coaches will remain as well.

Pegula's Opening Remarks: Terry Pegula got the press conference started and talked about the extensive search by himself, Kim, Russ Brandon, and Doug Whaley they have hired Rex Ryan. He spoke of their bio but emphasized that they allowed the 2nd least amount of yards in the league during his tenure with the Jets. He said they went into the process wide open and it wasn't a sign of disfunction. As the process continued they decided where the team is now they decided to go the veteran route. Most candidates praised the defense but knew they need work to do on offense. Rex Ryan's teams play great defensively and always work hard. The organization's goal is to build a team that is a nightmare to play against.

Ryan Speaks: Rex Ryan started by asking if the mic was on because it is about to be on and that is the truth. He said he's proud to be the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He feels blessed and honored and talked about getting the Bills games during the 8 years his family lived in Toronto. He spoke about the AFL days and the Electric Company. The thing he remembers the most was how passionate the fans were when his dad would come to play in Buffalo. He will not let our fans down. He knows it's been 15 years since they made the playoffs and he said get ready they are going. He will guarantee the pursuit of it through hard work and preparation. They represent the community and they will be tough and loyal to the fans like they are to us. This team will be ready and they will play a physical style of football. They will be ground and pound but they will throw it because they have Sammy Watkins there. He said finishing fourth in the league in defense was disappointing, he knows they will lead the league in defense. This is the one shot he wants. He is not worried about giving teams bulletin board material because they aren't afraid. His mesage to the team is to start preparing now because they will be playing games in January. They are going to build the bully and give everything they have, every snap of the game. They will earn the respect that the most loyal fan base in the NFL gives them.

Press Conference Questions: During the question and answer period of the press conference Ryan set he knows he needs to get better dealing with quarterbacks and they will do what their players do best. They are in an evaluating process now and he can't tell you who the quarterback will be now. If they surround that guy with good players it will be about every man not just one man. They want to develop a franchise quarterback but bringing in Greg Roman is a great start. Terry Pegula said that Ryan, Russ Brandon, and Doug Whaley will all report to Kim and himself that is the way they will move forward. His style of business is that nobody should be afraid to say anything so they welcome input from everyone. Brandon confirmed that Whaley will control the 53 man roster, Ryan controls the gameday roster, and he will run the business ops. Ryan said while he interviewed for two other jobs the reports were false that this was his third choice. When he interviewed the first time he was blown away. His only concern was if they felt the same way about him as he did about them. This was the place he wanted to be. When asked about the Patriots he said he isn't afraid of them and he will look forward to those games. They will expect to win every game regardless of who they play. Ryan called Dennis Thurman his right hand man and called Donnie Henderson one of the finest coaches he ever worked with so the defensive staff starts there. Pegula said he talked to Bill Polian but his potential role was blown way out of proportion. He was shocked Marrone left and Brandon said he was more than shocked. The search for a coach was helped by the fact that Whaley and Brandon have been through it before. On EJ Manuel, Ryan said he would like to see him use his legs more, he is smart and dedicated but they aren't necessarily set at the position. They will look at free agency and explore all options at quarterback and that includes Mark Sanchez. He appreciated Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, and Steve Tasker coming out for the press conference. When asked about his sense of the town he said the beer was cold. He almost feels a part of it already, like he's been there before. He spoke with Jim during beer #1 and spoke about the glory days and Kelly said if we are all in it together than we will win. When asked about it he says he's not a mediocre coach and anyone who thinks so he would challenge them on that. They will have in their arsenal to play 3-4 or 4-3 and they will play defense based on their personnel not the scheme they won't put a square peg into a round hole. He said he is still looking forward to beating the Patriots more than the Jets. The offense will be aggressive no doubt and it will not be built around the punter. Rex Ryan asked his realtor where it snows most in Buffalo, that is where he wants to live.

Jackson Feels Bills Got Better: It is a media frenzy in the fieldhouse as every media outlet seems to be in Buffalo for today's press conference announcing Rex Ryan as the head coach of the Bills. Speaking to the media will be Ryan, Terry Pegula, Doug Whaley, and Russ Brandon. Fred Jackson is also there for the announcement and told the media, "we feel like we got better at head coach. We are excited about it. Know he will come in and push us." Thurman Thomas, Steve Tasker, Ruben Brown, and Jim Kelly joined several current players in attendance.

Ryan Welcome Tour Continues: Rex Ryan will be introduced at a press conference at Noon today. We will have updates throughout the day including snippets from the press conference. He arrived in Buffalo yesterday and was greeted with a pizza that had Welcome Rex written on it. He had a beer with Jim Kelly at the Big Tree Inn and took in the Sabres game with several of his former assistants with the Jets that will be joining him with the Bills. The team has asked permission to speak to two offensive line coaches, San Francisco's Mike Solari and Washington's Chris Foerster. In ex-coaching news, Doug Marrone interviewed for the Bears head coaching job yesterday and Chan Gailey is expected to join Todd Bowles with the Jets as their offensive coordinator. Wondering if he will look to lure C.J. Spiller to the division rival.

Tuesday January 13, 2015

Kelly on Ryan: Jim Kelly released a statement through his wife Jill's instagram account on the hiring of Rex Ryan as the new head coach of the Bills. He said, "I am very excited about the hiring of Rex Ryan not only because of his coaching ability but also because of how he works with players and how players work for and respect him. He now has very talented players to go with the enthusiasm he brings to the locker room. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does on the offensive side of the ball. I'm also excited about Rex Ryan's determination to bring winning football back to the RALPH, to the amazing Bills fans and to the great city and people of Buffalo! GO BILLS!"

Roman Official: The Bills officially announced the hiring of Greg Roman as their new offensive coordinator this afternoon. Roman interviewed for the Bills head coaching job and had been the 49ers offensive coordinator the past four years that eight playoff games and one Super Bowl appearance. He coached with Rex Ryan in Baltimore and brings a tough running game style of offense to the Bills.

Schwartz Dismissed: Rex Ryan released a statement this afternoon officially announcing the dismissal of Jim Schwartz from his contract with the Bills. The statement read, “I have the utmost respect for Jim and what he has been able to accomplish throughout his career and I know he feels the same about me. Jim’s defenses are always tough and ranked near the top of the league standings. I wanted to give Jim the opportunity to pursue other opportunities and so we have terminated his contract. He did a terrific job with the Bills defense this past year and our plan is for our defense to continue to play well and be a dominating force.” Ryan is expected to bring his defensive coordinator from the Jets with him but the team has not announced the hiring of Dennis Thurman yet.

Ryan Arrives In Town: Rex Ryan arrived in Buffalo on Tuesday and will be introduced in a press conference on Wednesday at Noon. The team is waiting a day so it doesn't overshadow Dominik Hasek having his number retired tonight with the Sabres. We are awaiting official word on the hiring of Greg Roman as Offensive Coordinator and Dennis Thurman as Defensive Coordinator. Also awaiting word on if the team is letting Jim Schwartz and Nate Hackett out of their contracts.


Monday January 12, 2015

Report Says Schwartz Out: Several reports tonight say Jim Schwartz will be leaving the Bills. He was scheduled to meet with Rex Ryan before deciding if he wanted to leave. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that Ryan will be bringing his defensive coordinator from New York with him in Dennis Thurman. The report says Ryan will call the defensive plays however.

Roman To Be OC: Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reoprts that the Bills have finalized a deal with Greg Roman to be the offensive coordinator of the Bills. He worked with Rex Ryan in Baltimore and has been attached to the job since the Ryan news broke yesterday. Roman will sign his deal tomorrow in Buffalo. He interviewed for the Bills head coaching job last week and is considered a good offensive mind and had success in San Francisco before everything fell apart this week.

It's Official! The Bills made it official as they have announced the hiring of Rex Ryan as the new head coach of the Bills. In a statement Terry Pegula said, "following an extensive search, we are pleased today to announce that Rex Ryan is our new head coach. Rex brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the position that we feel will be a tremendous benefit to our players and the entire Bills organization. He was very impressive during the interview process, as were many of the candidates to which we spoke, and we feel Rex is the best fit for our team. We look forward to his leadership and expertise in directing our team to the playoffs and bringing a championship to Buffalo for our fans." He is expected to be introduced at a press conference on Wednesday at Noon.

Will Schwartz Stay? The Bills have yet to officially announce the signing of Rex Ryan as the new head coach of the team but it is expected at anytime now. ESPN's Adam Caplan reports that Jim Schwartz is undecided if he wants to remain with the team but will meet with Ryan as soon as the deal closed to help him decide. He is under contract for two more years so the team would have to let him explore other options. WGR is reporting that Doug Whaley is safe as GM and will have control over the 53 man roster like he did last year. Ryan will be in charge of the coaching staff and the gameday roster.


Sunday January 11, 2015

Ryan Reportedly Accepts Deal: The Associated Press reports that Rex Ryan has agreed to join the Bills as their head coach. Vic Carucci reports that a deal is done in principle but not signed yet. It is widely reported that the 49ers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, who interviewed for the Bills top job, will be Ryan's offensive coordinator. The two worked together in Baltimore. There are still conflicting reports on whether or not Jim Schwartz will remain onbaord as the defensive coordinator. Some reports say Ryan wants to bring Dennis Thurman with him for that role, he served the same role with the Jets. QB coach David Lee also may be returning to Buffalo where he coached before joining Ryan with the Jets.

It's Rex Ryan! Several reports say Rex Ryan will be the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills. The finishing touches are being put on a reported five year deal worth $27.5 Million. He was back in Florida Saturday night for a second interview and the team put on a full court press, according to Adam Schefter, and he chose the team he thought wanted him the most. Ian Rappoport says that Marc Trestman or Greg Roman will be his new offensive coordinator. Roman interviewed for the Bills head coaching job and Vic Carucci says he's their man for offensive coordinator. Ryan does run a 3-4 defense which likely means another change at defensive coordinator. One report says he is expected to bring Dennis Thurman with him, he was his defensive coordinator with the Jets. Carucci reports that the Bills have every intention of keeping Jim Schwartz who is under contract for two more years but is a 4-3 guy. Ryan has a career 46-50 regular season record as the Jets head coach and went to back to back AFC Championship games in his first two years as a head coach and has a 4-2 record in the playoffs. He becomes the first coach to switch teams in the same division since Bill Belichick in 1997.

Ryan Begins 2nd Stage: The Bills have begun the 2nd stage of interviews as Rex Ryan was in Florida tonight according to Adam Schefter to have his 2nd interview with the team. The Associated Press reports that the team expects to interview other candidates for a second time before deciding on their next head coach. It is unknown how many candidates will get a second interview but 12 received initial interviews. Reports say Ryan has aligned himself with former Bears head coach Marc Trestman who would reportedly be his offensive coordinator if he lands a head coaching job.



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