Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports, via Twitter, that the Buffalo Bills have formally requested permission to interview Cardinals assistant head coach and offensive line coach Russ Grimm about the team's head coaching vacancy. Glazer also adds in a subsequent tweet that permission has been sought to interview Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
Glazer also notes that because of the fact that Arizona played a playoff game yesterday and must play again in the early game on Saturday, it's unclear if Grimm will be able to make time to sit down with CEO Russ Brandon and/or GM Buddy Nix. The same goes for Schottenheimer, even though his team next plays on Sunday afternoon. League rules dictate that assistants for teams that win in the wild card round must interview before the divisional round game; after that, they must wait until the week before the Super Bowl, or after their team is eliminated.
Reports have circulated over the past several days - from WIVB's John Murphy as well as from ESPN's John Clayton - that Grimm would turn down any interview requests that came his way from Buffalo. Meanwhile, Schottenheimer has repeatedly said that he's happy in New York.
Grimm, 50, played in the NFL for 11 seasons and was one of the league's most revered offensive linemen during his playing days. He has coached at the NFL level since 1992, and has twice been a finalist for a head coaching vacancy (2004 in Chicago, post-Dick Jauron, and 2007 in Pittsburgh, post-Bill Cowher).
Buffalo has previously interviewed Perry Fewell and Leslie Frazier for their opening at head coach. Grimm becomes only the second candidate from outside of the organization that the team has formally requested permission to interview. Time will tell if Grimm is interested in the job, but signs are not good for the moment.