SUNDAY, 09:27am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports goes one step farther than Carucci, reporting that Lynn is a “virtual lock” to be named the Bills’ head coach on a permanent basis. The Bills are, however, expected to interview Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin for the job, according to ESPN’s Mike Rodak (citing ESPN colleague Adam Schefter). Schefter tweets that former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is expected to serve as Lynn’s defensive coordinator wherever Lynn becomes a head coach. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Bills’ top job is Lynn’s to lose, and he adds Frank Reich and Teryl Austin as possible alternative candidates.
WEDNESDAY, 10:09am: Anthony Lynn will hold down the fort as interim head coach in the Bills’ final regular season game. From the sound of it, he could already be in the lead for the real title this offseason. “There’s every indication” the Bills are settled on sticking with Lynn beyond the interim status he has for Sunday, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes.
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Carucci doesn’t expect the Bills to conduct a real, thorough search because they already have Lynn in mind as their guy. Furthermore, GM Doug Whaley is leading the search process and he will not want to hire any coach who would want control over the 53-man roster. In Lynn, he has a built-in ally who will allow him to assemble the team as he sees fit.
If Whaley is not willing to cede roster control, then that would likely rule out big-name candidates like Tom Coughlin, Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and Jim Schwartz. Even former Bills quarterback and current Eagles OC Frank Reich would probably object. There may be some head coaching candidates who are willing to let Whaley do his thing, but it won’t be any of the splashy names.
So does the Rooney rule still apply if you’ve already decided to hire a minority or do they have to interview at least one white guy now?
Good question
No you don’t need to. If you hire a minority coach before interviewing anyone else the Rooney Rule does not apply
You guys sound personally offended. Were you passed over for the chance to coach the Bills?
Hey give Lynn a chance but without better talent it don’t matter who the coach is