Dennis

Thurman

Thurman was let go when the Bills brought in new coach Sean McDermott, but he might not be on the street for long. Thurman presumably did not take on the full responsibilities of running a defense under Rex Ryan in New York and Buffalo, but his Jets defenses did have reasonable success. He fits right in with the likes of Mike Pettine, Rob Ryan, Jason Tarver, and Greg Manusky, who the Redskins have also interviewed.

New coach Sean McDermott has hired Leslie Frazier to lead his defense. Along with Rex Ryan, Thurman oversaw an underachieving unit in 2016. All four years of Thurman’s coordinating experience have come under Ryan. He’ll likely have to settle for position coach work in 2017.

The alleged victim claims Thurman was “hitting on” her and offering her drinks, but became aggressive after she refused his advances. Thurman then allegedly slapped her across the face. Uninjured, the woman left the bar with her friend and contacted the police when she got home. The Jets released a statement saying, “We take these matters seriously. There have been no charges filed and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

The Bills have added Rob Ryan and Ed Reed to the coaching staff this offseason but Thurman’s job will remain the same. Rex also confirmed that he’ll be calling the plays on defense. Buffalo’s defense regressed this year, finishing 19th in yards allowed compared to fourth in 2014. It’s possible Ryan and the rest of his coaching staff will be out of jobs if the Bills miss the playoffs again in 2016.

Thurman, 58, has been coach Rex Ryan’s right-hand man dating back to their days together in Baltimore. The two have been coaching together since 2002, and Thurman was the Jets’ defensive coordinator the past two seasons. Ryan will call the shots on defense, but thinks Thurman will be a head coach someday. Greg Roman will be running the show on the other side of the ball as the Bills’ OC.