Jauron

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y — Coordinator Perry Fewell was pegged by Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson to take over as interim coach because of the job he did in holding together the team's ragtag, injury-depleted defense.

In being promoted to his new job after Dick Jauron was abruptly fired Tuesday, Fewell's faced with an even more daunting task.

If Fewell has any intention of removing the interim tag and keeping the job after the Bills' final seven games this season, it's on him to figure out how to spark an offense that's sputtered despite Terrell Owens' presence, and turn around a franchise that's in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a 10th straight season.

With that in mind, Fewell shared a simple vision.

"Play like hell and win," he said during an inaugural 6-minute news conference Tuesday evening, hours after the shakeup was announced.

The coaching change — Buffalo's fourth in less than nine years — was prompted by Wilson, the newly inducted Hall of Fame owner who ran out of patience with Jauron's inability to build a contender after producing 7-9 finishes in each of his previous three seasons. The final straw was how the Bills stumbled coming out of their bye week with a 41-17 loss at Tennessee Sunday.

Wilson described his decision to make the switch as a difficult one, but one "for the best interest of our team."