Rex Ryan hard at work building Buffalo Bills coaching staff

Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is hard at work building his coaching staff in his new gig, and he's starting by interviewing a couple of offensive line coach candidates and poaching several of his assistants from the New York Jets.

Ryan, who arrived in Orchard Park on Tuesday (and will hold his introductory press conference on Wednesday at Noon ET), attended Tuesday evening's Buffalo Sabres home game. There, he was spotted by Buffalo News photographer Harry Scull, Jr. with four of his assistants in New York: Dennis Thurman, Tim McDonald, Bobby April III, and Tony Sparano Jr.

Bills coach Rex Ryan watches the 3rd period of the Sabres & Wings game from a suite. @TheBuffaloNews @BNHarrington pic.twitter.com/cwjVfcGG7m

— Harry Scull Jr (@hsjrphoto) January 14, 2015

Thurman is expected to become Ryan's defensive coordinator in Buffalo; he'll replace Jim Schwartz, whose contract was terminated on Tuesday. McDonald coached the Jets' defensive backs, April III the linebackers, and Sparano Jr. held the title of Offensive Assistant. While it seems far more than likely that those coaches will wind up in Buffalo, given the circumstances, it's not clear if their titles and roles will remain the same.

Meanwhile, with the hiring of offensive coordinator Greg Roman now official, the Bills are moving to find an offensive line coach. They have requested permission to interview two veteran line coaches - Chris Foerster of the Washington Redskins, and Mike Solari of the San Francisco 49ers - for that job in Buffalo.

Interesting: Washington granted permission to Buffalo to interview Redskins offensive line coach Chris Foerster, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2015

Bills have requested permission to interview 49ers OL coach Mike Solari for the same position under OC Greg Roman, source said.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) January 13, 2015

Foerster has coached in the NFL since 1996, most of it spent with offensive linemen. He held the line coach position in Baltimore from 2005-07, when Roman and Ryan both served on the same staff. Solari, meanwhile, has been the 49ers' line coach since 2010, predating Roman and Jim Harbaugh there by a year. He and Roman have worked closely in building San Francisco into a top-flight rushing unit over the past four years.

While work is clearly being done on filling out Ryan's coaching staff, it's worth noting that only two hirings are official at this point: Ryan as head coach, and Roman as the offensive coordinator.