Fred Pagac named Buffalo Bills linebackers coach

The Buffalo Bills have hired Fred Pagac to the position of linebackers coach, the team confirmed on Friday evening. Pete Roussel of CoachingSearch.com first reported Pagac's addition in Buffalo earlier this evening.

Pagac, 61, has coached in the NFL since 2001, mostly as a linebackers coach, a title he held with the Minnesota Vikings for the last eight years. (He also held the title of defensive coordinator in 2011, after Leslie Frasier was made the team's interim head coach following the firing of Brad Childress.) Prior to his stint with the Vikings, Pagac spent two seasons coaching linebackers in Kansas City, three more prior to that in Oakland, and 23 seasons as a prominent assistant with Ohio State.

This hiring, along with the announcement of Pepper Johnson as the new defensive line coach, represent the Bills' first defensive position coaching hires following the hiring of Jim Schwartz as the new defensive coordinator a week ago today. The team still has more work to do - they may wind up with another quality control assistant, and another linebackers coach isn't out of the question (they carried two last year) - but these hirings represent the last major step in Doug Marrone's quest to replace Mike Pettine and the assistants that followed him to Cleveland.

Here is Buffalo's coaching staff as it stands this evening, with coaches new to Buffalo since the offseason began in bold.