Buffalo Bills: New Decade Starts with Lots of Excitement

When the Buffalo Bills hired Buddy Nix as their General Manager, the press conference that followed Nix's introduction included sessions with Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas. That Nix had sought out Kelly and Thomas for their opinion is a sign that this new regime seeks to take advantage of all the assets the Bills have at their disposal.

On Monday, Nix will begin interviewing candidates in earnest, starting with Perry Fewell. There was some type of meeting held with Bill Cowher this past week that included Ralph Wilson and Russ Brandon.

Brian Billick is on the slate for an interview this coming week. The Bills have approached San Diego for permission to interview Ron Rivera, meaning that he has to interview this week due to the Chargers playoff schedule having a bye for the upcoming week.

So for starters, we are looking at names like Bill Cowher, Perry Fewell, Brian Billick, and Ron Rivera coming out of the gate. Is the answer to the Bills' woes found within that quartet?

Nix cited at his press conference that they will put together a priority list of their favorite candidates. They will sit down with each candidate starting at the head of the list (Cowher?) and move down the list from there. Once they have confirmed that there is mutual interest, and they have two or three finalists, they will go to Ralph Wilson for the ultimate stamp of approval.

Nix is not wasting any time. He wants to make things happen. The Bills have players to evaluate, a coaching staff to put together, coordinators to fire and hire, and a team that needs to be examined from top to bottom to figure out who stays, who goes, and who is brought back to compete for a roster spot.

Now that the I.R. list has crossed the 20-man mark, there will be lots of bodies coming in to training camp in 2010 that have some degree of figuring in to the Bills' new coaching staff's plans. Nix is strong in scouting, so expect a strong haul from the draft this year, as his reputation for netting top talent is unquestioned.

I am looking forward to the start of this next decade and hope that this can be looked back to as the starting point of something big that is starting to build in Orchard Park.