Buffalo Bills Hire Dave Wannstedt to Be Assistant Head Coach

In a story on Fox Sports, senior NFL writer Alex Marvez wrote that the Buffalo Bills today have hired Dave Wannstedt to become the linebackers coach and assistant head coach under Bills head coach Chan Gailey.

Wannstedt most recently was the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, where he coached for the past six seasons, going 42-31. Wannstedt has been making the rounds recently, as he was being considered by San Diego, Cleveland and Carolina for various roles. Cleveland just announced that they have hired ex-Bills head coach Dick Jauron for their defensive coordinator job.

The hire of Wannstedt adds another layer of strong defensive knowledge to help repair the Bills' anemic run defense, which ranked last in the NFL. The defense was torched for more than 200 rushing yards in eight games during the 2010 season. The Bills defense gave up 361 yards per game and was ranked 24th overall. The Bills defense allowed 26.6 points a game, so there is a need for Wannstedt's expertise.

This hire reunites Wannstedt with Chan Gailey. Gailey worked under Wannstedt for the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and 2001. Wannstedt was the Dolphins head coach, and Gailey was his offensive coordinator, so now the dotted lines in the organizational chart have been reversed.

Wannstedt has a strong defensive coordinator history in the NFL, but under the current alignment, he will be working under George Edwards, who remains the Bills defensive coordinator. However, if the Bills start out the 2011 campaign like they finished it in 2010, it is not difficult to imagine that the Bills could promote Wannstedt to become the defensive coordinator.

The Bills had an opening on the coaching staff when they fired linebacker coach DeMontie Cross on January 7th. Two weeks later, they have his replacement in Wannstedt.

Wannstedt will have his work cut out for him. The Bills have seen injuries devastate their linebacking corps for the past two seasons. The Bills lost Kawika Mitchell, Andra Davis, Danny Batten, Shawne Merriman and Keith Ellison to the IR in 2010.

The Bills have Shawne Merriman signed for the next two years, so it will be up to Wannstedt to turn around Merriman's production. He also has another project on his hands in Aaron Maybin, as Maybin is in danger of losing his roster spot. The Bills have Andra Davis returning, but Paul Posluszny's contract has expired, so no way of telling if he will be back in Buffalo next year.

The Bills do have some promising youngsters for Wannstedt to start working with in Arthur Moats, Danny Batten and Antonio Coleman. There has not been any word yet if Wannstedt will be part of the Bills' coaching contingency that is heading up the South team next weekend in the Senior Bowl.