FanHouse Turk Schonert

For an NFL coach, the final week of the preseason is a time to tinker. To take care of your nagging little housekeeping items. You watch the borderline guys battle it out on special teams and you make your final roster decisions. You pick a No. 3 quarterback. You catch up on the last couple of episodes of "Hard Knocks." You fire your offensive coordinator.

Wait. What?

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Hall of Fame weekend in Canton was all about Buffalo Bills history, and so it was only fitting that the team took the field for the game Sunday night and ran a no-huddle offense, just like they used to do it when Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas ruled the town.

Thing is, though, it wasn't a tribute. The no-huddle is the offense the 2009 Bills are planning to use all year. They used it in minicamps, and they've used it throughout training camp. Sunday night, they showed it off for a national TV audience, and their internal reviews were pretty good for an opening night.

J.P. Losman has looked pretty good this preseason. Maybe it's because it's taking him five years to finally put it all together, maybe it's the fact that he's primarily facing second-team defenses, or maybe he's feeling less pressure because he's currently serving as Trent Edwards' backup.

Whatever, the Bills' former first-round pick hasn't been half bad. But his new role as understudy -- even though it looks like J.P. will start this weekend against the Colts because of an Edwards injury -- doesn't have him all that jazzed.

Losman has admitted that he's not happy about the situation he's in and even expressed a desire to be traded before the draft in April. The Bills declined because, as Tuesday's Edwards incident illuminated, NFL teams need to have two fully functioning quarterbacks, preferably with experience, and at the very least Losman gives Buffalo a backup who has plenty of playing time in the league.

And after not speaking with the media throughout training camp, Losman got all Chatty Cathy earlier this week, adding:

Remember Turk Leroy Schonert? He went to Stanford, was a ninth-round pick of the Bears in 1980, and played nine seasons with the Bengals and Falcons. He ended his career with 12 starts, 3,788 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

Schonert is now the the Bills' quarterbacks coach. With offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild headed to Colorado State after Sunday's game, Schonert wants a shot at the OC job:

Noting his experience as a coach and as a former NFL quarterback, Schonert said he deserves consideration because he's familiar with the Bills offense and players, which would allow for a smooth transition this offseason.

"I just think whether it's me or somebody else, the closer you can stay to the same language and concepts, the better off this team would be," Schonert said. "I'm sure if you talk to players, they'd like to keep it as close to what we've got right now."

I think Schonert's right -- it's usually a good idea to try to make the transition from one OC to the next as smooth as possible. That said, the Bills' offense haven't exactly been setting it on fire recently. It wouldn't be a totally insane idea to look outside the organization for a fresh perspective.

Head coach Dick Jauron won't discuss staffing moves until the off-season, but wideout Lee Evans and quarterback Trent Edwards are Schonert fans. That's a good start, I suppose.