And away we go! (Thurman Thomas quotes)

Dick Jauron was the first head coach fired in the 2009 NFL season, which quite expectedly, set of a firestorm of speculation.  Here's this afternoon's round up:

Father-son coaching duo in BUF?

With Dick Jauron out as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, we'll continue to get tips left and right as to who will be his eventual replacement. For now, it's Perry Fewell with the headset, as the former defensive coordinator was named interim coach on Tuesday.

But might the Bills take a look to their rich AFL history to select the next head man? Several pundits -- including AFC East blogger Tim Graham -- have suggested that the team may go with Marty Schottenheimer, who was dumped by the Chargers after leading them to a 14-2 record in the 2007 season, and who played for the Bills in the 1960's.

An interesting angle to the Schottenheimer hire would be that it would open the door for him to hire his son, Brian Schottenheimer, as offensive coordinator. Brian was considered a leading candidate to take over as head coach of the New York Jets following the ouster of Eric Mangini, but the team eventually hired Rex Ryan, which did not sit well with Schottenheimer at the time. Going further with this hypothetical, we could foresee the Schottenheimers setting up a progression plan in Buffalo, where Marty would coach for a set period, then the team could have an easy transition to Brian.

Personally, I'm a huge Schottenheimer fan and would love to see Marty Ball in Buffalo, but i'm not so sure I like the idea of bringing in Brain Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator as well.  Would it definitely have to be a packaged deal?

Haslett the Bills' top choice?

With Dick Jauron's firing on Tuesday, the speculation began as to whom the Buffalo Bills would hire to replace him. As ESPN.com's Tim Graham noted in his rundown of potential replacements, the Bills don't exactly have a strong track record of luring high-priced, strong-willed outsiders to the organization. "[Team owner Ralph] Wilson's modus operandi has been to pursue coaches who don't command a high salary and don't expect organizational control." We'd have thought the Terrell Owens signing was perhaps a harbinger of a change in philosophy, but aside from the increased media attention on the team, Owens has been somewhat of a bust.

According to Graham, that leaves less-prominent former head coaches that have flown somewhat under the radar as the leaders, as well as up-and-coming assistants. But the leader so far might be Jim Haslett:

Haslett a sharp contrast from Jauron

"Many observers see the former New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams head coach as the perfect choice. Teams often like to go with a coach that has a different personality from the one they just fired. Haslett would be that. He's fiery. He also has a history with Buffalo. He played linebacker for the Bills from 1979 through 1985 and got his start in coaching as an assistant for the University of Buffalo."

And then there are these interesting tweets from a certain hall of fame running back that seem to confirm Brian's speculation:

I just got word today on what is happening at one bills drive. Will tell u guys at noon!!!!!! WOW is the word!!!!!!

Nobody is safe at One Bills Drive, they r cleaning house and bringing in a Football guy to run the ship. Jimbo say Ralph wil spend money!!!!

When I say clean house, I mean clean the effing house out!!!!!!

Everybody players included!!!!!!!!!

That's all I have for now, but I will continue to keep u guys informed

Stay tuned Bills fan, it's going to be a wild off-season!