Buffalo Bills news, 1/17: coaching movement in focus

See how all 32 NFL teams ranked for local market TV interest in 2013 - Buffalo - Business First

"The Bills, who finished with a 6-10 record, had the 11th-best television ratings this past season among the National Football League's 32 teams. Eight of the 10 teams that finished with higher TV ratings than the Bills all had one thing in common: each qualified for the playoffs."

Resetting the Buffalo Bills' coaching staff - ESPN

"This week has brought several changes and developments to the Buffalo Bills' coaching staff, so let's take a step back and see where things stand as head coach Doug Marrone enters his second season:"

Mike Pettine

Mike Pettine's departure would set back Buffalo Bills - ESPN
T"he Bills' defensive coaching staff could essentially be cleaned out by this move. Secondary coach Donnie Henderson would be a wild card, as he has experience with both Marrone and Pettine, and there would be an outside chance he would replace Pettine as defensive coordinator."

Mike Pettine's candidacy with Browns more intriguing for Buffalo than Cleveland - Bills Blitz
Selling a relative unknown in Cleveland is difficult, notes Tim Graham.

Bills hire Jeff Hafley as Defensive Assistant - BuffaloBills.com
"Prior to entering the NFL, Hafley spent 11 years on the collegiate sideline with coaching stints at Worcester Polytechnic University (2001), University of Albany (2002-05), University of Pittsburgh (2006-10) and Rutgers University (2011)."

Frank Reich

Reich finds new calling in San Diego - The Buffalo News
"When you're talking about putting the offense down on paper and explaining it, Frank knew everything," former special teams ace and wide receiver Steve Tasker said. "Jim was the player, and Frank was the thinker. That's the way their relationship worked. Frank knew how to play, too, don't get me wrong. He was an invaluable asset for Jim, and Jim would tell you the same thing."

Reich long trained for new job with Bolts | UTSanDiego.com
"Reich, hired this week as Chargers offensive coordinator, spent 14 years as an NFL quarterback. The experience included 10 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, who ran the no-huddle scheme. Quarterbacks called their own plays at the line. He’ll call them now from the sideline."

More clicks

Bills sign five to reserve/futures contracts - BuffaloBills.com
"Barden, originally a third-round (85th overall) draft choice by the New York Giants in 2009, has played in 29 games with one start catching 29 passes for 394 yards with the Giants from 2009-12. The 6-6, 224-pound Cal Poly product played in 46 games and caught 206 passes for 4,203 yards with 50 touchdowns during his collegiate career."

Inside The Bills | Barden part of Bills trend at WR
"Counting Kevin Elliott, who is working his way back from a torn ACL, Buffalo now has five receivers on the roster that are 6’4″ or taller. Bills GM Doug Whaley has made a concerted effort to increase the size at receiver."

Ex-Ozen star Jefferson signs with Bills - Beaumont Enterprise
"Jefferson was an undrafted rookie free agent for the Houston Texans this season. After impressing coaches during training camp last summer, Jefferson earned a spot on the team's roster but his stay with the Texans was short lived. Jefferson was released with two other players on Oct. 21 due to violating team rules."

Inside The Bills | Aaron Williams undergoes offseason surgery
"Williams did not disclose what the surgery was, but thanked fans for their well wishes."

College all-star games helped pair of Bills last year - BuffaloBills.com
"Duke Williams and Jeff Tuel were not high-profile draft prospects last year, but made good use of college all-star game invites to increase their exposure to NFL talent evaluators."

One more click

The HOF cases for Harrison, Brown, Reed: Untangling the WR logjam - CBSSports.com
"It's unfortunate for Reed that so many of the best receivers of all time (statistically, at least) retired after Reed did. If Reed, who has been a finalist every year since 2007, could have sneaked into the HOF before the recent big-name receivers were eligible, that probably would have been a fair deal. As it stands now, his chances of enshrinement aren't great."

It's pretty obvious this author hasn't been paying attention to past voter history.