July 9, 2010
Updated Feb 1, 2010 at 1:06 PM EST
Orchard Park, NY—The Buffalo Bills today announced the hiring of three new assistant coaches and retaining one from 2009.
Bruce DeHaven has been hired as the Bills special teams coordinator, George Cortez as quarterbacks coach and Stan Hixon as wide receivers coach. The Bills also announced that the team has retained Adrian White as defensive quality control coach.
“Things are coming along well with the staff at this point,” head coach Chan Gailey said. “Time is not as important as getting it right and we feel really good about the coaches that we have right now.”
DeHaven rejoins the Bills in 2010, his 24th year in the NFL and 13th with the Bills after previously holding the same position with the team from 1987-99. Prior to re-joining the Bills, DeHaven served as special teams coach in the NFL with Seattle (2007-09), Dallas (2003-06) and San Francisco (2000-02). In Seattle, his squad averaged 25.3 yards per kickoff return in 2008, ranking second-best in the league. KR Josh Wilson set the single-season Seattle records in kickoff returns (69) and kickoff return yards (1,753) while ranking second in the NFL with eight, 40-plus yard kickoff returns. During his tenure in Buffalo, the team made four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, won six AFC East championships and appeared in 20 playoff games. In his 13 years with the Bills, DeHaven helped develop two of the greatest special teams players in NFL history: Mark Pike and Steve Tasker. Tasker was invited to the Pro Bowl seven times as the AFC’s Special Teams Player and was voted the 1993 Pro Bowl MVP. In 1998, K Steve Christie set the Bills’ single-season club records for points (140) and field goals (33) and became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. In 1996, The Dallas Morning News, in a ranking of the 19 most important statistical categories, named Bills special teams unit the best in the NFL.
“We are very excited about Bruce DeHaven joining our staff,” Gailey said. “He is an extremely respected special teams coach in the league and he has done a great job wherever he has been. I know he is very familiar with Buffalo and the things we have to do in our stadium to be successful. We are very pleased to have Bruce join our staff.”
“I am very excited to come back to Buffalo,” DeHaven said. “It was my family’s home for 13 years and we have been travelling around the country for the last 10 and feels like we are coming home. I was fortunate enough to be a part of some of the greatest years in Buffalo Bills history and I am looking forward to trying to reprise that era.”
Cortez brings 30 years of coaching experience to Buffalo, and will make his NFL debut as a position coach in 2010. Cortez has spent a total of 18 seasons as a coach in the Canadian Football League – including 11 with the Calgary Stampeders, seven as offensive coordinator. In the CFL, he has won four Grey Cup championships with Calgary (1992, 1998, 2001 and 2008). Cortez also spent four years as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of California-Berkley from 2002-2005, where he aided in the development of first round NFL Draft Picks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller.
Hixon has 30 years of coaching experience at the college and pro levels. He spent the previous six seasons as the wide receivers coach of the Washington Redskins. Hixon guided WR Santana Moss to a breakout season in 2005 that ended with his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Moss set a new Redskins franchise record with 1,483 receiving yards on the season, surpassing the previous mark held by Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell (1,436). Moss also led the team in receptions (84) and average yards per catch (17.7) and was second with nine touchdowns. Prior to joining the Redskins, Hixon spent 24 years coaching at the collegiate level. Most recently with LSU (2000-03), where he served as associate head coach in addition to wide receivers coach and was part of the Tigers’ 2003 NCAA National Championship team. He coached players to three 1,000-yard seasons and had a player named first-team All-SEC three times.
White came to the Bills in 2008 as the team’s defensive quality control coach and assisted with Buffalo’s defensive backs. He participated in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship program with the Bills for two seasons (2006-07) – coaching defensive backs during training camp. He also participated in internships with the NY Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. White also coached in NFL Europa for seven seasons.
Bruce DeHaven has been hired as the Bills special teams coordinator, George Cortez as quarterbacks coach and Stan Hixon as wide receivers coach. The Bills also announced that the team has retained Adrian White as defensive quality control coach.
“Things are coming along well with the staff at this point,” head coach Chan Gailey said. “Time is not as important as getting it right and we feel really good about the coaches that we have right now.”
DeHaven rejoins the Bills in 2010, his 24th year in the NFL and 13th with the Bills after previously holding the same position with the team from 1987-99. Prior to re-joining the Bills, DeHaven served as special teams coach in the NFL with Seattle (2007-09), Dallas (2003-06) and San Francisco (2000-02). In Seattle, his squad averaged 25.3 yards per kickoff return in 2008, ranking second-best in the league. KR Josh Wilson set the single-season Seattle records in kickoff returns (69) and kickoff return yards (1,753) while ranking second in the NFL with eight, 40-plus yard kickoff returns. During his tenure in Buffalo, the team made four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, won six AFC East championships and appeared in 20 playoff games. In his 13 years with the Bills, DeHaven helped develop two of the greatest special teams players in NFL history: Mark Pike and Steve Tasker. Tasker was invited to the Pro Bowl seven times as the AFC’s Special Teams Player and was voted the 1993 Pro Bowl MVP. In 1998, K Steve Christie set the Bills’ single-season club records for points (140) and field goals (33) and became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. In 1996, The Dallas Morning News, in a ranking of the 19 most important statistical categories, named Bills special teams unit the best in the NFL.
“We are very excited about Bruce DeHaven joining our staff,” Gailey said. “He is an extremely respected special teams coach in the league and he has done a great job wherever he has been. I know he is very familiar with Buffalo and the things we have to do in our stadium to be successful. We are very pleased to have Bruce join our staff.”
“I am very excited to come back to Buffalo,” DeHaven said. “It was my family’s home for 13 years and we have been travelling around the country for the last 10 and feels like we are coming home. I was fortunate enough to be a part of some of the greatest years in Buffalo Bills history and I am looking forward to trying to reprise that era.”
Cortez brings 30 years of coaching experience to Buffalo, and will make his NFL debut as a position coach in 2010. Cortez has spent a total of 18 seasons as a coach in the Canadian Football League – including 11 with the Calgary Stampeders, seven as offensive coordinator. In the CFL, he has won four Grey Cup championships with Calgary (1992, 1998, 2001 and 2008). Cortez also spent four years as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of California-Berkley from 2002-2005, where he aided in the development of first round NFL Draft Picks Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller.
Hixon has 30 years of coaching experience at the college and pro levels. He spent the previous six seasons as the wide receivers coach of the Washington Redskins. Hixon guided WR Santana Moss to a breakout season in 2005 that ended with his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Moss set a new Redskins franchise record with 1,483 receiving yards on the season, surpassing the previous mark held by Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell (1,436). Moss also led the team in receptions (84) and average yards per catch (17.7) and was second with nine touchdowns. Prior to joining the Redskins, Hixon spent 24 years coaching at the collegiate level. Most recently with LSU (2000-03), where he served as associate head coach in addition to wide receivers coach and was part of the Tigers’ 2003 NCAA National Championship team. He coached players to three 1,000-yard seasons and had a player named first-team All-SEC three times.
White came to the Bills in 2008 as the team’s defensive quality control coach and assisted with Buffalo’s defensive backs. He participated in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship program with the Bills for two seasons (2006-07) – coaching defensive backs during training camp. He also participated in internships with the NY Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. White also coached in NFL Europa for seven seasons.
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