The other known candidates to replace the fired Ken Whisenhunt are Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley and Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.

With the exception of Horton, the candidates are rooted in offense and that’s the Cardinals’ area of greatest need. Arizona had the worst offense in the NFL last season.

Bevell, who also is in the running for the Chicago Bears’ job, played a key role in the development of rookie quarterback Russell Wilson. The tandem of Bevell and Wilson, who both played college ball at Wisconsin, helped the Seahawks’ offense become more potent as the season progressed.

Seattle put together an impressive rally before losing 30-28 at Atlanta in the NFC semifinals last weekend.

Bevell, 43, has local roots. He grew up in Scottsdale, and attended Chaparral High. He spent a redshirt freshman season at Northern Arizona before leaving for a two-year Mormon mission. When Bevell returned, he enrolled at Wisconsin and quarterbacked the Badgers to a Rose Bowl victory over UCLA in 1994.

He joined the professional coaching ranks in 2000 as an offensive assistant in Green Bay and was promoted to quarterbacks coach of the Packers three years later. Bevell served as the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2010. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll brought him in as offensive coordinator in 2011.

The Cardinals’ list of potential coaches lost a name when the San Diego Chargers hired Mike McCoy.

The Cardinals obviously had high interest in McCoy, interviewing him in Denver over the Broncos’ bye weekend in the first round of the playoffs. They wanted a second interview, but were thwarted when the Chargers closed the deal.

It was the second time a would-be candidate was taken away. Cardinals president Michael Bidwill had reached out to fired Philadelphia coach Andy Reid but never even got a chance to interview him because the Kansas City Chiefs moved in quickly to secure an agreement.

Whisenhunt, interviewed for several NFL head coaching jobs since his dismissal, was fired by Arizona after six seasons, tied for the longest tenure for a coach in the Cardinals’ long, mostly losing history. He got the team to the Super Bowl in his second season and won a second straight NFC West title the following year, but quarterback Kurt Warner retired and the team’s offense never recovered.

The Cardinals used four quarterbacks this season. Only Kevin Kolb had much success, helping the team to a 4-0 start before going down in week six with what proved to be a season-ending rib injury. Kolb threw for eight touchdowns with three interceptions. The other three QBs — John Skelton, rookie Ryan Lindley, and late-season pickup Brian Hoyer combined for three TDs and 18 picks.

Arizona went six games without a touchdown pass, losing 11 of its last 12 to finish 5-11.

Arizona also fired general manager Rod Graves, promoting Steve Keim, the vice president for player personnel, to fill the vacancy.

Horton, who also interviewed for the jobs in Buffalo and Cleveland before those teams went elsewhere for a coach, has a year left on his contract as defensive coordinator and presumably would return to that job if he doesn’t get the head coaching position.

The Cardinals have confirmed interviews with Horton and Gruden but not with Haley, although Steelers president Art Rooney II told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the interview did take place.

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Owner Ralph Wilson, 94, relinquished his title as team president to Brandon, who already held the title of CEO. In his new role, Brandon will report directly to Wilson.

Brandon said Buddy Nix will remain the club’s general manager. A team source told ESPN, however, that the Bills will transition to Doug Whaley at GM at some point. Whaley will be involved in the coaching search as well.

The Bills fired coach Chan Gailey on Monday after their second consecutive 6-10 this season and are in the midst of their fifth coaching search since 2001.

“As soon as we get off this podium, we go to work,” Brandon said Tuesday. “We’re heading out of here and starting that process.”

First stop: Arizona.

That was the destination of a plane Brandon, general manager Buddy Nix and several other key front-office members had boarded to immediately begin the process of finding a coach.

Though the team, on its website, didn’t divulge any details beyond Brandon’s travel plans, Arizona is home to three potential candidates: Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton as well as former Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his assistant Russ Grimm, who had both been fired a day earlier.

Buffalo has asked for permission to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy for its coaching vacancy, a league source told ESPN.

Brandon discussed his promotion at a news conference following a Monday meeting with the 94-year-old Hall of Fame owner at his home in suburban Detroit.

“It was a rather emotional visit,” Brandon said. “He told me he was passing the torch to me to run the franchise in totality. He has granted me full authority to run the franchise with zero restrictions and zero limitations.”

Buffalo extended the NFL’s longest playoff drought to 13 years this season. Over that stretch, Buffalo only once had a winning record — 9-7 in 2004.

Wilson, the franchise’s founder, has only once before given up the title of president. That was in 2001, when he hired Tom Donahoe to also serve as general manager. Donahoe was fired after the 2005 season, at which point Wilson took back the title and said he had no plan to ever give it up again.

“These past 13 years have been very difficult on our fans and we have not produced the type of winning team that they deserve,” Wilson said in the statement. “It has been frustrating for our organization and for me as well. We want our team to be one that our fans are proud of. I believe that Russ has the unique abilities to assemble and lead the talent we will need to get the job done.”

Brandon said the coaching search will be “exhaustive” as he attempts to revive a once-proud franchise whose brand and relevancy, he believes, is “tarnished.”

“We haven’t won enough games. And that’s on us,” Brandon said. “And we’re going to change it. We need to change it. And I will go to the end of the earth to make sure that we change it.”

Nix will report directly to Brandon, while maintaining authority over football operations.

Nix declined to be pinned down on the what he’s looking for in a coaching candidate, saying: “This time, I think it’s wide open.”

That’s a switch from three years ago, when Nix narrowed his parameters on hiring someone with previous head-coaching experience and an offensive background.

On other issues, Nix called it “an organizational” decision to fire Gailey. Nix backtracked on the unconditional support he voiced toward Gailey in November by saying: “Things change, and it changed some with us. We kind of collapsed at the end. That made a difference.”

As for starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s future, Nix said that will be left up to the next coach.

Brandon completed his 16th season with the Bills, and has been serving as the team’s chief operating officer since 2008. He was initially hired to work as the Bills director of business development and marketing. He previously served as general manager in 2008 and `09, taking over after Marv Levy stepped down.

During his time with the team, Brandon’s played a key role in expanding the franchise’s small-market base both east into Rochester, and north into southern Ontario and Toronto.

In 2008, Brandon played a significant role in spearheading the Bills playing games in Toronto, located a two-hour drive from Buffalo. The team reached a five-year deal to play eight games — including five annual regular season games — in Canada’s largest city and financial capital.

The deal with Toronto-based Rogers Communications expired this year, but the Bills and Rogers have expressed confidence that the series of games will be renewed in the coming months.

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Reid’s status as the favorite for the Cardinals’ job was earlier reported by KTVK-TV in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Arizona is fast tracking Reid so it can move as quickly as possible. One league source said he was “95 percent” certain Reid will wind up coaching the Cardinals.

The Cardinals formally interviewed defensive coordinator Ray Horton on Tuesday, one day after Ken Whisenhunt was fired following six seasons as the team’s coach.

Cardinals president Michael Bidwill also plans to fly to Denver over the weekend to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

Reid has spent recent days assembling a coaching staff, telling potential assistants that an announcement could come quickly, according to one assistant. After his run of 14 seasons in Philadelphia ended Monday, Reid appeared set on coaching again next season.

Arizona would be appealing to Reid and his family on a number of levels, none more so than his wife Tammy is from the Phoenix area and it would bring them closer to family.

In Arizona, Reid also could try to help salvage the career of former Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb, who has struggled since signing a lucrative five-year deal with the Cardinals following a trade from Philadelphia in 2011.

In a perfect world, Arizona would get to hire Reid and his offensive staff and match it with Horton and the defensive staff, giving the Cardinals a winning one-two coaching combination.

Kolb, who threw 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in four seasons with Philadelphia, remains under contract with Arizona, but the team is expected to want to restructure his contract. He is set to make $9 million plus a $2 million roster bonus for the coming season.

“I’m not ready to give up on Kevin Kolb yet,” Bidwill said Monday.

Bidwill has to interview McCoy this weekend in Denver under NFL rules that provide a narrow window for such meetings with members of coaching staffs whose teams have a bye the first round of the playoffs. McCoy also has an interview scheduled with the Browns.

Larry Fitzgerald, who had one of his worst seasons as the Cardinals struggled at the quarterback position, weighed in on the firing of Whisenhunt and general manager Rod Graves. In a lengthy tweet, Fitzgerald thanked the pair for giving him the opportunity to “live my dream in the NFL.”

“We all shoulder the blame for a disappointing season which began with such promise,” Fitzgerald wrote.

He said that “even in the midst of a tumultuous season, it was still a pleasure to work for the staff we served under, and for that we remain grateful.”

“Their professionalism will provide for renewed accomplishments in different environs,” Fitzgerald wrote. “We all, to a man, thank them and wish them the best.”

Whisenhunt set the record for victories by a Cardinals coach, going 45-51 in six seasons, 4-2 in the playoffs. The team got off to a 4-0 start but lost 11 of 12 to finish 5-11 for the second time in three seasons.

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