Buffalo Bills owner Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. is going against his own tradition, it seems. A guy who has always not paid a lot of dough for coaching appears to be going high-end this time around. Wilson is supposedly ready to fork over $10 million a season for the right coach, according to the Buffalo News.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher was apparently contacted by the Bills to see if he had any interest in taking over the team.

He reportedly told the team that he's didn't want to interview for the gig "at this time."

Cowher is supposedly happy to wait till season's end to see what other jobs come available. It's not likely that the Bills will wait till the end of the season to hire a new coach. The team supposedly wants someone to be signed on before then. The team is supposedly meeting with former Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Shanahan sometime in the next seven days.

Source: Buffalo News

Now that the Buffalo Bills need a new head coach, the team is apparently ready to throw open the doors to all the former NFL coaches out there: Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan will apparently be the first in line, according to NFL.com.

Shanahan will supposedly meet with team owner Ralph Wilson and COO/GM Russ Brandon next week. (This will have to be a tough choice for Brandon since Shanahan would likely fire him if the team ends up hiring him.)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher is also supposedly on the team's list, according to Buffalo News. And other possibilities include former Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren as well as former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick.

Meanwhile, interim coach Perry Fewell has seven games to show himself off to the team and will likely get a formal interview at season's end unless he leads his team to a total implosion.

Source: NFL.comBuffalo News

Any way you slice it, the Cleveland Browns need some fixing up right about now and team owner Randy Lerner is apparently leaving no stone unturned to bring in a new head of football operations to help turn his team around.

He has supposedly been coveting former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren for the gig and the new rumor has it that Lerner actually spoke with Holmgren yesterday about the job, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Jim Brown, who is an executive advisor to the club, kind of spilled the beans at a luncheon yesterday when he told the crowd that Lerner was interviewing somebody right then for the job: "At this moment, right now Randy Lerner is meeting with one of the great football minds in this country," he said. "And if things work out, that person will come in to run the football side of the Browns." When someone asked if it was Holmgren, Brown supposedly said, "You said it ... and I heard it."

Note to self: Don't tell Jim Brown secrets.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Seattle Seahawks starting running back Julius Jones(notes) only got the ball twice yesterday for a total of 10 yards before he got hammered with a hit that left him with a broken rib and apparently some bleeding in his lung, according to ESPN.

Jones apparently stayed in a local hospital last night in Arizona while the rest of the Seahawks traveled back to Seattle. Head coach Jim Mora says the team will "play it safe" with Jones for upcoming games, which means he is likely to miss a few games.

And that means Justin Forsett(notes) will be getting more opportunities. He took advantage of them yesterday with a career-best 123 yards in 17 carries, catching five passes and scoring a touchdown.

Source: ESPN

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford(notes) had a knee sprain in the early part of the season and the rumor is that it's still bothering him, according to MLive.com. That would at least help explain Stafford's performance this past weekend.

He was completely wild in the loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and some of his completions only happened because of miraculous moves by his receivers.

Trainers for the team apparently still spend extra time on Stafford's knee and Lions coach Jim Schwartz has said Stafford is not 100 percent. So Lions fans can just hope that Stafford will heal at some point and be a little more consistent.

Source: MLive.com

Now that George Kokinis has been ousted as general manager of the Cleveland Browns, team owner Randy Lerner has been trying to find a replacement. Mike Holmgren is apparently at the top of his list along with Ernie Accorsi ad Ron Wolf, according to the News-Herald.

The 68-year-old former Browns and New York Giants GM Accorsi says he doesn't want to come out of retirement to be a general manager but might do it if he got to run the entire football operation.

The 61-year-old former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren (who also was GM of Seattle) is supposedly the guy at the very top of Lerner's list. But Holmgren supposedly wants to coach again and not just move into the front office. So Brown coach Eric Mangini may have something else to worry about.

As for Kokinis, the rumor is that the Browns mandated that he go into counseling in order to help him not be so "withdrawn."

Source: The News-Herald

It's looking like Detroit Lions running back Kevin Smith(notes) and wide receiver Calvin Johnson(notes) will be both back in the lineup on Sunday when the woeful 1-6 Lions take on the Seattle Seahawks, according to the Detroit News.

Coach Jim Schwartz isn't showing his cards on that front, though. He is saying that both of these players are game-time decisions on Sunday. However, Smith had a full practice yesterday, taking plenty of reps with the first team, after skipping the pervious day's because of the shoulder injury he earned last Sunday against the St. Louis Rams.

And Johnson apparently looked good in practice after missing a few weeks due to a right knee injury. "We are just going to keep on taking it like we are," Johnson said. "We are going to be careful, do what I can do, and as long as I don't have any setbacks, things look brighter for Sunday."

Source: Detroit News