Toronto Bills Blog

New Orleans won its first Super Bowl by beating Indianapolis. The Saints join the elite club of national champions. Buffalo is among the 14 NFL teams that have never won the Super Bowl. The Bills have the distinction of being the only franchise to play in 4 consecutive Super Bowls. Each time Buffalo came up empty. There are 4 teams - Jacksonville, Detroit, Houston, and Cleveland - that have never made a championship appearance. The Bills drought is likely to continue, with the prospect of making the playoffs next season remote.

Former Bills wide receiver Andre Reed was not voted into the Hall of Fame for the fourth straight year. Reed played for Buffalo from 1985 - 1993. He then played for one year in Washington. He was a member of the Bills 4 Super Bowl teams from 1990 - 1993. He had 13,710 career yards and 951 receptions, third highest in league history. He made 7 Pro Bowl appearances. The Hall of Fame inductees for this year include Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, and Russ Grimm.

Dou Whaley will become the Bills Assistant General Manager. He spent a decade with the Steelers as pro scouting coordinator. He replaces vice president of pro personnel John Guy who was fired. Whaley was formerly a scout for Seattle before joining Pittsburgh. He worked with 2 Super Bowl teams. He is the second Steelers alum to join Buffalo, the other being Chan Gailey who was recommended by former coach Bill Cowher.

George Edwards has been named Buffalo defensive coordinator. He said the Bills will change over to a 3 - 4 defense, played by all 3 division rivals in the AFC East. Edwards was a linebacker at Duke, followed by 7 years coaching college ball. He was linebackers coach under Chan Gailey in Dallas. He has also coached for the Redskins, Browns, and Dolphins. He most recently spent less than a month as defensive coordinator for the University of Florida before resigning to join the Bills.

Alex Van Pelt has signed with Tampa Bay as quarterback coach. He formerly served as quarterback coach and interim offensive coordinator for the Bills. He was a Buffalo quarterback from 1994 - 2003. Van Pelt will work with Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman. He was released by the Bills in the aftermath of Dick Jauron’s firing. He faces a major challenge in turning around Tampa Bay’s offense, which struggled this past season.

Former Bills head coach Dick Jauron will reportedly join Philadelphia as defensive backs coach. He is among the many Buffalo coaches to find new positions in the league. Alex Van Pelt is the quarterback coach for Tampa Bay, and Bobby April will coach special teams for the Eagles. Perry Fewell has become defensive coordinator for the Giants, and Sean Kugler is offensive line coach for Pittsburgh. Chan Gailey has kept 3 holdovers from the Jauron era: Adrian White (defensive quality control); George Catavolos (defensive backs); and Bob Sanders (defense). 6 former Buffalo assistant coaches, including J. T. Allaire (strength and conditioning), Matt Sheldon (linebackers), and Charlie Coiner (tight ends) are still looking for work.

The Bills have hired several assistant coaches. The club yesterday announced the signing of Bruce DeHaven as special teams coach and George Cortez as quarterback coach. They also hired Stan Hixon as wide receivers coach and retained Adrian White as defensive quality control coach. Hixon was most recently receivers coach for the Redskins. White has been with Buffalo for 2 years. The team must still name a defensive coordinator and strength and conditioning coach. In other news, former Bills offensive coordinator Brad Van Pelt has been hired as Tampa Bay’s quarterback coach.

The Bills may be interested in Michael Vick. The controversial Eagles quarterback spent 23 months in jail. Since returning he put up unimpressive numbers with Philadelphia: 3 touchdowns, 95 yards rushing, and 86 yards passing. He was formerly with the Falcons. There are rumors that Buffalo is taking a close look at him to help out at quarterback. ESPN says that Chan Gailey likes mobile quarterbacks and would only have to give up a late round draft pick to get Vick.

George Cortez will reportedly become the Bills quarterback coach. He is the offensive coordinator for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders. He has worked with CFL greats such as Jeff Garcia, Doug Flutie, and Henry Burris. He earlier served as quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at the University of California, where he coached Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller, both first-round draft picks. He had been under consideration for the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts. He faces the serious challenge of Buffalo’s quarterback problem, with both Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick doubtful to start next year.

Bruce DeHaven will return to coach Bills special teams. He was with Buffalo from 1987-1999 and coached in the 4 Super Bowl appearances. He was fired after the Bills Music City Miracle playoff loss to the Titans. DeHaven later served as special teams coordinator for Seattle, Dallas, and San Francisco. He has 23 years coaching experience in the league. Former Bills special teams coach Bobby April, released after Dick Jauron’s firing, has joined Philadelphia.