Two Bills Drive

Carolina officials on Tuesday sought and were granted permission to discuss their head coach job with Cottrell. It marked the 2nd consecutive day in which the Jets granted permission to talk to Cottrell, who will meet with Colts officials by the end of this week.

An 18-year league veteran, Cottrell moved to the Jets staff in 2001 after spending 7 years on the Buffalo Bills staff, the last three of those seasons as DC. His defense led the NFL this season in takeaway/turnover differential and Cottrell was key in making a critical switch at midseason from a "cover two" scheme to a "cover three" alignment.

Ex-Bill great Bruce Smith has warmed up to new Redskins coach Steve Spurrier. "He’s a coach that believes you should burn it on the game field instead of the practice field," Smith said.

Smith injured his shoulder early in training camp and didn’t come close to repeating his 10-sack season of the previous season, finishing with just five. Smith called Spurrier "very refreshing" and noted the coach’s no-tackling rule in practice.

Smith is 12 sacks short of Reggie White’s NFL career record of 198, a mark Smith would dearly love to have. He also wants one more chance to win a Super Bowl, having lost four in a row during his 15 seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

‘Nevertheless, Irsay said that while he has "tremendous respect for guys like Marv Levy and Ted Marchibroda," he sounded somewhat reluctant to endorse Levy as his next coach. "If we could just meet, if we stirred up the coals, I think he would have a different view," said Levy. "But he has to be open for it to work."’

‘"I didn’t apply for the job," said Levy, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August after posting a 154-120 record (including playoffs) during 17 years as a head coach. If the Colts expressed an interest? "I’ll give you an honest answer rather than dance," Levy said. "I would probably listen."’

‘They could declare Cowart their franchise player and pay him the average salary of the top five middle/inside linebackers in the NFL. And though, Donahoe hates to use that designation, it might make the most sense if Cowart doesn’t agree to a contract. That way the Bills would only be bound by a one-year agreement, ample opportunity to assess his health.’

All the players who won Game Ball of the Week awards are now eligible to win the buffalobills.com Game Ball of the Year title.

Which Buffalo Jill deserves the honor of being named the Jill of the Year?

‘The signing bonus will be the most contentious part of the negotiations. Burrough has proposed a tiered bonus that would pay Cowart a certain amount when he signs, when he passes a physical and the rest when he is activated to the regular-season roster.’

Cottrell spent 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills, the last three as DC, when his defenses never finished worse than sixth in the NFL. His time with Buffalo also overlapped with that of Colts president Bill Polian.

It’s a classic example of too little (one column doesn’t pay nearly enough credit to an 11-year veteran), too late (accolades never came as quickly or often as Hansen deserved). But in a capsule, that was Hansen’s career: He was a great, great player, but there was usually one story, or one guy, that was slightly bigger.

Q: On a percentage basis, what is the chance of Buffalo taking the #4 pick in the draft or trading down in the hopes of gaining additional picks? A: If we are sold on a guy who is there when we pick we?ll stay there and make the pick. If we?re not, and we listen to some different offers and it makes sense we?ll go in a different direction. You don?t really go into a draft leaning one way or another because you have to see who is there.

The extra week of preparation might give Belichick’s Patriots an edge. So, undoubtedly, will the unique character of the Patriots’ defense. Theirs is the only unit in the league that switches back and forth from a 3-4 to a 4-3, defying characterization and confusing opponents. "That gives you fits," Bills coach Gregg Williams says. "It adds practice time and game-plan time. And to their credit, they are flexible enough personnel-wise to do it."

‘Say what you want about the 2001 Bills, but they managed to become more competitive as the season wound down.’

Former Bills DC who lost head coaching job to Gregg Williams is to interview with former Bills GM Bill Polin. Jets GM Terry Bradway informed his coach of the call but it remains unclear when Cottrell will interview for the job.