BUFFALO, N.Y. - Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone suddenly has a big hole to fill at defensive co-ordinator with Mike Pettine leaving to take over the Cleveland Browns. With Pettine hired on Thursday, Marrone is forced to enact the contingency plan the team began preparing once Cleveland honed in on his key assistant. "We have a plan in place," Marrone said, in a statement released by the team. "I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Mike on becoming the Browns new head coach and thank him for all of his time and efforts with our team this past season. He did an excellent job of improving our defence, and we wish him the best." Marrone did not reveal a timetable or list of potential candidates. Depending on whether any Bills assistants follow Pettine to Cleveland, Buffalo has several in-house assistants to consider, most notably linebackers coach Jim ONeil and defensive backs coach Donnie Henderson. ONeil has spent the past five seasons working under Pettine, including the first four with the New York Jets. Henderson is the most experienced, having split 29 years as a coach at the NFL and college levels, including stints as a defensive co-ordinator with the Detroit Lions in 2006 and Jets, 2004-05. Replacing Pettine is not something Marrone was anticipating a year after luring the former Jets defensive co-ordinator to Buffalo to become the most-high profile member of his first staff. Pettines departure is a significant blow to a defence that emerged as the Bills strength last season. And the loss has the potential of under-cutting much of the progress the Bills hoped would carry over into next season after a 6-10 finish that extended the NFLs longest active playoff drought to 14 seasons. Continuity also becomes an issue for a defence set to be led by a fourth co-ordinator in as many years. Pettine succeeded Dave Wannstedt, who was fired along with Chan Gailey and his staff a year ago. Wannstedt replaced George Edwards, who struggled during his two years as co-ordinator. Pettine, in one season in Buffalo, played a considerable role in transforming the Bills once-porous defence into an aggressive unit that finished second in the NFL with a franchise-record 57 sacks. Though the Bills were inconsistent against the run, they still finished 10th in the NFL in fewest yards allowed — Buffalos best ranking since finishing second in 2004. The Bills success on defence translated into four players earning Pro Bowl selections, including defensive tackle Marcell Dareus as a last-minute injury replacement. Also selected were defensive linemen Mario Williams and Kyle Williams and safety Jairus Byrd. In November, Pettine indicated he was in no hurry to leave Buffalo. He enjoyed the community and also wanted to continue what he began building with the Bills. Pettines approach and no-nonsense demeanour was popular among players and staff. During the Bills bye weekend off in November, Pettine and a number of assistants spent a weekend sharing a cabin in nearby Ellicottville. He also earned raves among several veterans, including Mario Williams, who led the team with 13 1/2 sacks. Pettine learned his defensive approach under Jets coach Rex Ryan. And its a style thats somewhat unique among NFL teams in placing a premium on players versatility and capability of playing several positions to confuse offences. The secondary benefited in finishing second in the NFL with 23 interceptions. The change at co-ordinator could have an effect on Byrds desire to return to Buffalo. Byrd played last season under a one-year contract after the Bills retained his rights by applying the franchise tag. The Bills have the option of tagging Byrd once more this off-season, but are also making a push to sign the player to a long-term contract. Despite initial reservations, Byrd enjoyed playing in Pettines system and working with Henderson. The defence also featured the Bills most promising youngster, linebacker Kiko Alonso, an NFL defensive rookie of the year candidate. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/. -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. Fake NCAA Jerseys . Once again, the third baseman delivered in a big spot. Ramirez kept up his torrid hitting with a two-run homer to help back Wily Peraltas solid start, and the Brewers extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Ref! In last weeks game between the Canadiens and the Avalanche, Alex Galchenyuk came out of the penalty box and scored a highlight reel goal after poke-checking an Avs player to steal the puck. However, the Avalanche argued that he had one leg in the penalty box when he made that poke check. In the replay, though tough to make out, it seems Galchenyuk had one leg in the air but technically in the penalty box. Should he have been given a penalty on the play? Thanks! Rajiv Mississauga, ON On Saturday night in the Avs-Canadiens game, Alex Galchenyuk scored a nifty goal straight out of the penalty box. On slow motion replay, it showed that he stole the puck as it passed by him while he still had one foot INSIDE the penalty box. While this is a real testament to his skills, I have to wonder if this is actually a legal play, as the player was technically not on the ice? Thanks, Rene Roy Rajiv and Rene: Alex Galchenyuk had only touched the ice with one skate after exiting the penalty box and therefore was not deemed legally on the ice when he stole the puck off the stick of Nathan MacKinnon. By the letter of the law Alex Galchenyuk should have received an additional minor penalty for interference (56.2) and no goal would have resulted in what turned out to be a 3-2 Montreal victory in regulation time. Two rules reference this play in determining when a player is deemed to be legally on the ice from either the players bench or penalty box. First, 56.2 states that a minor penalty shall be imposed on any identifiable player on the players bench or penalty bench who, by means of his stick or his body, interferes with the movements of the puck or any opponent on the ice during thhe progress of the play.dddddddddddd In addition, should a player about to come onto the ice, play the puck while one or both skates are still on the players or penalty bench, a minor penalty for interference shall be assessed. Rule 74.3 more clearly defines when a player is deemed to be legally on the ice: A player coming onto the ice as a substitute is considered on the ice once both of his skates are on the ice. If he plays the puck or interferes with an opponent while still on the players bench, he shall be penalized under rule 56 - Interference. The burn-in of the penalty clock shows that Galchenyuk exited the box a good two steamboats after his penalty had expired (00:00) due to his own slow departure. While he was entitled to be on the ice, the replay demonstrates that Alex had only planted his left on the ice while his back skate remained in/on the threshold of the penalty box door when he played the puck and interfered with MacKinnon. Even the most diehard Habs fan would have to agree that Alex had not yet contacted the ice with both of his skates when he stripped the puck from MacKinnon in violation of the above referenced rules. This can be a difficult infraction to catch but it is imperative that the officials count down the remaining penalty time as the clock ticks and then be aware if the puck is in the vicinity of the penalty box area. It is not just sufficient that the player is entitled to be on the ice but most importantly that he is deemed to be legally on the ice. Most players dont realize that they must have had both skates in contact with the ice prior to playing the puck from the players bench or penalty bench. I assessed penalties in more than two such situations when a player played the puck illegally from the penalty box. Alex Galchenyuk and the Montreal Canadiens caught a break on this play. ' ' '