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Smith and Whisenhunt are the best two recently fired head coaches back on the market, and the Bills have set their sites pretty high. Bills fans will on close watch for future interviews, and Smith would be a big hire for the Bills. He also has high interest in the Bills opening, which means the Bills can’t afford to screw this up if they view him as the best man available.

Most people, including me, believe that Smith is the best prospective head coach out on the market, so we’ll see if the interview this coming weekend brings good fortune for the Bills organization.

Former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton is also a huge name on the market, and the Bills have interviewed him as well as Syracuse Orange coach Doug Marrone. However, Marrone’s college resume isn’t quite developed (career 25-25 record). That record is misleading since he took over a horrible team and transformed the Orange into two-time bowl winners, but Marrone still needs to build his resume and is clearly not the Bills best option here.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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By my count, this is at least the third instance in which McCoy has been requested for an interview. He had it easy this season with Peyton Manning as his quarterback and leading the offense on the field, but McCoy had to create an innovative offense on short notice when Tim Tebow was named the starting quarterback. His creative thinking and the implementation of the option was one of the key factors in the Denver Broncos making the playoffs and winning a postseason game.

McCoy is another high-profile target in the Bills search for a new head coach. CEO Russ Brandon would like to add former Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, and the Bills will also be interviewing Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton and Syracuse Orange head coach Daoug Marrone from the college ranks. Lovie Smith has also shown interest, and the Bills had better call him up for an interview. Smith probably won’t last long on the free agent list.

Russ Brandon said all the right things in a great presser today, but the Bills and their fans need some true action. That action will be seen in how Brandon goes about hiring the new head coach. If it’s Marrone, then the Bills are in trouble. They have set their sights relatively high with regards to the other coaches they are looking at, and Smith and Whisenhunt look like the most attractive options. McCoy has the makings of a quality head coach, so it is wise for Buffalo to ask for an interview.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

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The Bills are also taking a close look at another Cardinals coach in current defensive coordinator Ray Horton, who also has ties to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Horton is one of the best defensive minds in the game and has helped the Cardinals defense flourish as one of the best in the NFL. Syracuse Orange head coach Doug Marrone will also be brought into Orchard Park for an interview, but the Bills interest in the in-area college coach is quizzical.

Tim Graham of the Buffalo News also wrote that Lovie Smith- fired by the Chicago Bears yesterday- is interested in the Bills gig.

It’s clear to me that the order of talent of those three head coaches goes Smith, Whisenhunt, and then Marrone. The drop-off between Whisenhunt and Marrone is much greater than the one between Smith and Whisehunt, because both Smith and Whisenhunt are and have been viable head coaches in the National Football League.

We’ll see when the Bills schedule an interview with Whisenhunt, and it is Brandon who is currently calling the shots for the Bills. Although Buddy Nix was retained as the GM, the Bills front office is in a period of transition. It’s better for the Bills to have Brandon heading up the coaching search anyway, because it seems like he is much better at it than Nix.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.