With the 2016 season officially behind them, the Buffalo Bills have transitioned into full-blown offseason mode. The team is looking at interviewing multiple candidates. Kris Richard, the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, is among the names who have been mentioned by different sources.
Richard has been on Seattle’s coaching staff since 2010. He served as assistant defensive backs coach that year, and was promoted to the defensive backs coach in 2011. He held that position until the 2015, when he was promoted to defensive coordinator after previous DC Dan Quinn left to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
As the team’s defensive coordinator, Richard has continued the Seahwaks’ reputation for defensive excellence. The team ranked 2nd and 5th in total defense in 2015 and 2016, respectively. They were 1st in points allowed in 2015, and 3rd this season.
The last two Seattle defensive coordinators (Quinn and Gus Bradley) have earned head coaching jobs of their own. While Quinn is about to coach in his first playoff game with Atlanta, Bradley was fired after going 14-48 in his tenure as Jacksonville’s head coach.
Richard was himself an NFL defensive back, drafted in the 3rd round by the Seahawks in 2002. He played four largely unproductive seasons in the NFL, registering 46 tackles, 0 interceptions, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble forced in 39 games (1 start). He also coached at his alma mater, USC, in 2008 and 2009 as a graduate assistant.