The Buffalo Bills opened their offseason with a purge by firing interim coach Perry Fewell and the rest of his staff on Monday.
Though Fewell was dismissed, he will still interview for the team’s vacant head coaching job, a person familiar with the decisions told reporters. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the dismissals.
The shakeup came a day after the Bills (6-10) closed their season with a 30-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
FoxSports.com first reported the firings.
Days after firing head coach Dick Jauron in November, Bills owner Ralph Wilson had said no job was safe as he was preparing to revamp his entire front office once the season ended.
The overhaul already began last week, when national scout Buddy Nix was promoted to general manager, filling a spot that had been filled by the team’s chief operating officer Russ Brandon, who had no football background.
The Bills closed their 50th season by missing the playoffs for a 10th straight year, and capping a decade in which they enjoyed only one winning season — a 9-7 finish in 2004.
Fewell, the team’s defensive coordinator, finished with a 3-4 record as the interim coach.
■REDSKINS FIRE ZORN
AP, ASHBURN, VIRGINIA
Jim Zorn was fired as coach of the Washington Redskins on Monday after the team completed its worst season in 15 years.
Zorn was informed of his dismissal shortly after the team returned following Sunday’s season-ending 23-20 loss at San Diego.
“No one in the organization is satisfied with our record over the last two years,” team owner Dan Snyder said in a statement, “and I am sure that Jim would concur with that statement. It has been painful for him, too. I certainly accept responsibility for mistakes that I have made. I am hopeful that our fans will accept my commitment and pledge to deliver a franchise that can compete in the NFC East every season.”
Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons, but he lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled early despite a weak schedule this season and finished 4-12, their worst record since 1994.
“The status quo is not acceptable,” general manager Bruce Allen said in a separate statement. “I felt it was necessary to not waste a moment of time to begin building this team into a winner.”
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