Archives for January 2014

‘The team initially interviewed Pettine on Jan. 16, and following the interview, Pettine’s teenage daughter, Megan, tweeted that her dad was going to meet again with the team while taking a not-so-subtle shot at the Browns. “It’s the browns,” she posted on a Twitter account since deleted. “But hey, still pretty cool!”‘

‘Losing Pettine would be a big loss for the Bills. But it’s not fatal. He’s a very good defensive coordinator. Yes, there was talent on the Bills when he arrived. But, that same talent (for the most part) was abysmal last year. And several of those same players have been here for the last 3-4 years. Also, abysmal. And they had three different coordinators running the unit over that span. So, he found a way to take much of the same talent and do a lot better with it than anyone else was unable to. He took a group that was 22nd in interceptions and 18th in sacks to 2nd in both categories – in one season. He can coach.’

‘”I think it’s one of those things where if you have that person, another set of eyes, somebody that can point things out just to help the staff overall in the pass game, run game and to help EJ (Manuel) even more. All that stuff is all positive and I think anyway that we can continue to grow and I can continue to grow and just make us better as an offense. I think that’s so important and that’s one step we can take to help us.”‘

‘”One of the things that I found was very similar to back in ’87, we were losing a lot of games by 3 points or less. That’s what happened to the Bills this year. The next year we started winning those games by 3 points. Then the next year we started blowing teams out. If they can keep growing and keep adding players to the puzzle, good things will happen.”‘

‘”It’s been a great transition,” he said. “Most people who step into a job like I have are coming to a new organization. So they’ve got to get to know the president. They’ve got to get to know the financial officer, the cap guy, your scouts, your team. You’ve got to get to know the city and the fans and the franchise. I was already here, so it was a smooth transition. And the thing that makes it the smoothest, we all have one singular goal to win.”‘

‘The Browns have liked Quinn, their first interview, from the start, and are permitted a second meeting with him by Sunday. Quinn presides over the NFL’s top-ranked defense and will face the Broncos in the Super Bowl Feb. 2. If the Browns like him, they’d have to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire him.’

‘The Browns are also set interview Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, according to FOX Sports’ Alex Marvez. But that meeting could be dependent on Tuesday night’s interview.’

‘WKYC’s Jim Donovan, the radio play-by-play voice of the Browns, reported the interview lasted about four hours without the team making an offer.’

‘The Browns met with Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine for about four hours Tuesday night in Mobile, site of the Senior Bowl workouts, and this time team president Alec Scheiner and General Manager Mike Lombardi were in on the meeting as well as team owner Jimmy Haslam, plus CEO Joe Banner, according to reports.’

‘Pettine, 47, is the first to receive a second interview after making a good impression on Haslam and CEO Joe Banner. He was a late and unexpected addition wo the mix with his first meeting Jan. 16. He’s been available since the end of the regular season because Buffalo missed the playoffs.’

‘The meeting is taking place in Mobile, Ala., site of the Senior Bowl, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not commenting during its search.’

‘”We just finished putting the map out on our plan for the offseason right before we came down here,” Whaley said. “(Senior Vice President of Football Administration) Jim Overdorf is getting some paperwork together and we’re going to send out some offers to our free agents and go from there.”‘

‘The QB coach would be a new addition to the staff. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett doubled as the QB coach during the 2013 season. But Marrone said that was a lot to put on Hackett’s plate, especially when injuries hit the QB position.’

‘Dareus’ third season with the Bills was his best yet. His 71 total tackles were tops in the NFL among all defensive tackles. His 7.5 sacks ranked fifth among defensive tackles.’

‘Dareus will join three defensive teammates already selected to play on Sunday. They are end Mario Williams, tackle Kyle Williams and safety Jairus Byrd.’