<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Bills interview ex-Packers coach ShermanORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Jan. 18, 2006) -- Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman interviewed with the Buffalo Bills, bringing the team a step closer to hiring its new head coach.Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold confirmed Sherman met with the team at its headquarters, but wouldn't provide details.Sherman was the third candidate, and second with NFL head-coaching experience, to interview for the job to replace Mike Mularkey. Detroit Lions interim coach Dick Jauron, who previously spent five years as head coach of the Chicago Bears, has also interviewed with the Bills.Jauron and Sherman are considered the front-runners, providing team owner Ralph Wilson and new general manager Marv Levy a clear choice of whether to go with an offensive- or defensive-minded coach. Jauron, a former Pro Bowl defensive back, is a defensive specialist while Sherman has solely coached offense.Sherman wasn't available for comment.The team also interviewed Bills special teams coordinator Bobby April.No other interviews are known to be scheduled, but the Bills haven't interviewed a minority candidate, a requirement under NFL rules.Vikings defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who is black, told The Associated Press he hasn't been contacted by the Bills. Cottrell was initially considered a candidate because of his ties to the team. He twice coached under Levy as an assistant in Buffalo, and served as defensive coordinator from 1998-2000.Sherman had a 57-39 record in six seasons with the Packers before he was fired following a 4-12 finish this season -- the only year he had a losing record. Sherman also had a 2-4 playoff record, leading the Packers to the postseason in four consecutive years, 2001-04.Sherman also served as Packers general manager before being stripped of that title a year ago.</div>ARTICLE<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Bills interview Jauron for head coachORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Jan. 17, 2006) -- Interim Detroit Lions coach Dick Jauron interviewed for the Buffalo job, the second candidate to talk to the Bills since coach Mike Mularkey's resignation.Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold did not provide any details of Jauron's interview.Jauron is considered a strong candidate for the Buffalo job because he has previous NFL head coaching experience and is close to Marv Levy, the Hall of Fame coach hired by the Bills as general manager. Levy maintains a home in Chicago and broadcast Bears games while Jauron was the team's coach through 2003.Jauron, a former Pro Bowl safety, also had a brief connection with Buffalo, beginning his professional coaching career as a Bills defensive backs assistant in 1985.Jauron was not immediately available for comment and did not return a message left with him by The Associated Press.Buffalo's special teams coordinator Bobby April interviewed for the job on Jan. 13.Former Green Bay coach Mike Sherman is also expected to interview for the job this week. Sherman, fired by the Packers earlier this month, is also a candidate for the New Orleans Saints' coaching vacancy.Other potential candidates for the Bills' opening include former Saints coach Jim Haslett; Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera; Dallas assistant head coach Sean Payton; and Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Fassel.Jauron went 35-46 in five seasons with the Bears and was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2001 following a 13-3 finish.Fired after the 2003 season, Jauron spent the past two years as the Lions' defensive coordinator and took over as interim coach after Steve Mariucci was fired in late November.Jauron also was an assistant coach with Jacksonville and Green Bay.</div>ARTICLE
