Bills Promote Defense Coordinator Perry Fewell To Interim Head Coach

Ralph Wilson was pretty busy on Tuesday. The Bills owner fired Dick Jauron earlier in the day and then decided to promote defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to the interim head coach role for the remainder of the season.

The last time the Bills fired a coach in the middle of the season, 1986, they hired some guy by the name of Marv Levy to take over as the interim head coach. I wonder if the Bills can find lightning in a bottle for the second time?

In a team statement, Ralph Wilson said of Fewell: “Perry Fewell will be our interim head coach...Perry has done a great job with our defense and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills as defensive coordinator. Our players and staff have a lot of confidence in him and that is important as we look forward to these next seven games.”

Wilson was trying to build up the new head coach, but I would question his use of the term "great job with our defense" when trying to describe what Fewell has done this year.

The positives would be that the Bills lead the NFL in interceptions and lead the AFC in creating turnovers. The minuses would be that the Bills are last in rush defense, and are on the field for more plays than any other team.

Fewell's defense has fallen apart in two consecutive games in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line. Instead of generating three-and-out drives to give the ball back to the offense, Buffalo let Tennessee convert on at least six different instances of third-and-longer-than-six.

Granted, there have been a host of injuries to Fewell's unit. The extensive list of Bills starters (and reserves) that have missed time this year due to injuries include:

Defensive Line: Aaron Schobel and Kyle Williams

Linebacker: Paul Posluszny, Keith Ellison, Kawika Mitchell, and Marcus Buggs

Secondary: Leodis McKelvin, Donte Whitner, Terrance McGee, and Bryan Scott.

Why Did The Bills Promote Fewell Instead of Bobby April?

Earlier today I had speculated that Bobby April would get the nod for interim head coach. In retrospect, Bobby April's world has been focused on special teams and special teams players.

I am not privy to the information necessary to understanding how many of the other coaches' meetings he had been regularly attending, to truly have a strong feel for what was going on with the offense and defense. He did carry the "assistant head coach" title, but at the end of the day, that did not seem to matter very much when it was time for Wilson to name a successor to Jauron. 

As for being qualified, Fewell has spent 12 years coaching in the NFL, primarily as a secondary coach. He was promoted to the defensive coordinator role by Dick Jauron, so he probably owes a debt of gratitude to Jauron for elevating him to the status of coordinator. Serving as coordinator for that long, he clearly is qualified for the interim job now.

Did the Bills Really Need Another Defensive Mind to Serve as Head Coach?

With all of the problems that the Bills have faced with their offense this season, one has to wonder if Fewell will be able to give enough insight and guidance to oversee an offense that has been struggling for six years running.

Dick Jauron was always a defensive coach, just as Perry Fewell has always been. Fewell never coached any area of the offense previously in his coaching career. Is this a recipe for more offensive disasters ahead as the Bills close out the 2009 season?

Who Should Take Over as Defensive Coordinator Now that Fewell Was Promoted?

My wish for the new defensive coordinator would be Bob Sanders. Sanders had previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2008. Those three years of on the job experience, and the pressure that he was able to generate from the defensive line, are examples of why I feel he makes the most sense to be promoted as well.

What Happens Now for the Bills Over the Final Seven Games?

The Bills have a chance to play spoiler as they are all but eliminated from playoff consideration. They will close out with three tough games against New England, Atlanta, and Indianapolis.

The players that show up for those three games will be giving themselves a leg up on their competition in 2010. We have no way of knowing if Fewell will continue to be the head coach after this season ends, but I am assuming that the Bills will go out and bring in a head coach with a strong track record.

That new coach will have the game films from the last month to look at and evaluate which players truly want to be Buffalo Bills, and which were going through the motions. 

If I was able to spend any time with Perry Fewell, I would encourage him to give the younger Bills players a chance to prove what they can do. Specifically, I want to see more of Steve Johnson, Aaron Maybin, James Hardy, Nic Harris, and Shawn Nelson.

I would also like to see Roscoe Parrish return to kickoff and/or punt return duties and give him another chance to contribute to the team. He is still under contract, so give teams a chance to see if he is still valuable enough to keep or trade for something of value.

Plus, activating Roscoe frees up Freddy Jackson to focus on offense, where his skills are needed on every down, not just third down.

I would like to see the offense take off the Mickey Mouse gloves and do things out of the norm. You know, things like take a random drive in the middle of the first or third quarter and run a hurry up shotgun attack that the other team would not expect.

I would like to see more of the Freddy Jackson and Marshawn Lynch combination in the backfield at the same time. I am also open to seeing more use of the Wild Turkey offense (my favorite name for the Bills' version of the wildcat offense) with Freddy Jackson taking snaps directly.

As for Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick, use the weapons at your disposal. You have talented players like Lee Evans, Terrell Owens, and Josh Reed to throw to. You have younger potential talents in Steve Johnson, Shawn Nelson, and James Hardy that you can help to develop and bring along. Use them, that is why you have so many receivers on the roster.

I am open to pulling a quarterback if he is not doing the job. Start Trent or start Ryan, it doesn't matter. If you are at the helm for a couple of three-and-out drives, you can expect to have your butt sitting squarely on the bench.

If you produce, you play. If you stink up the joint, you will have time to reflect on why you are playing so poorly.

Well, that is my two cents. Wishing Perry Fewell nothing but the best and hope that his interim gig turns out to be one of highlights and rewards, kind of like his predecessor Marv Levy's was.

What do you want to see the Bills do over the final seven games?