HONOLULU -- Getting double-teamed is nothing new for Jevon Kearse. During the AFC's Pro Bowl practice on Thursday, though, the Tennessee Titans defensive end didn't expect to have two guys coming at him.

Fortunately for Kearse, the players -- both of them Bills defensive players -- weren't looking to pancake him but to pick his brain.

"Ted Washington and Sam Cowart asked me about him," Kearse said of Titans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was hired as the Bills' new head coach on Thursday. "I told them he's a good coach and he has a good defensive mind.

"He's a player's coach. He knows how to get you excited. He knows how to get inside your head and make you play hard and give more effort."

The choice of Williams comes as a surprise because two other defensive coordinators, Marvin Lewis of the Ravens and John Fox of the Giants, were considered the top candidates. Washington said some of the Bills hoped their own defensive coordinator, Ted Cottrell, would get the job for the sake of continuity.

"I guess Gregg Williams is the guy who beat him out," said Washington of Cottrell, who interviewed with the Bills but has since joined the Jets. "We'll just have to deal with it."

"I hope he (Williams) has a good defensive game plan. As for personnel and players, just get us lined up and let us go at it."

Williams will get the Bills in order, said Titans safety Blaine Bishop. Honesty with players and a desire for perfection helped Williams form the NFL's top-ranked defensive unit this season. "He's straight from the heart," Bishop said. "That's what players want. They want guys they can trust and tell you how it is. That's what he does.

	“	He's a very organized and disciplined coach, he's on time -- he pays a lot of attention to the little things and to detail. That's how his team will be and he's going to a team where he'll inherit a lot of good players. ”
		— Blaine Bishop on Gregg Williams

"He's a very organized and disciplined coach, he's on time -- he pays a lot of attention to the little things and to detail. That's how his team will be and he's going to a team where he'll inherit a lot of good players."

Williams replaces Wade Phillips, another defensive-minded coach who led the Bills to an 8-8 mark this season but was fired on Jan. 7 after refusing to make coaching staff changes. Offensive or defensive philosophy, guard Ruben Brown could care less.

"As long as we win," he said. "I look forward to seeing him and seeing what he's all about."

Clearly, one thing Williams doesn't want to do is play musical quarterbacks, like Phillips did. The controversy involving Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie became a distraction and ultimately divided the Bills.

"That hampered us a lot," Washington said. "Get that out of the way and let the guys go out and play and not worry about who's quarterbacking. Stick with one guy and go from there. If that guy's not doing the job, put the other guy in. I think they (Williams and new general manager Tom Donahoe) will clean that up."

From his interrogation of the Titans, Washington got the answers he wanted to hear. "They say he's a good guy," he said. "I hope he comes in and gets this team back on track."

Titanic loss for Tennessee
Perhaps no Titan will take the departure of Williams harder than Bishop.

	Bishop

Williams has been on the franchise's staff since Bishop was drafted by the Oilers in 1993. Williams helped turn Bishop, an eighth-round pick out of Ball State, into a four-time Pro Bowl selection.

"It's going to be tough," Bishop said. "He developed me from day one. We have a real close relationship, a father-son type of relationship.

"I have mixed emotions. I'm happy for him because I know he deserves it, but I'm saddened that we'll lose him and we'll probably lose some other coaches as well. It's going to be interesting to see how everything pans out."

Kearse said the Titans can't let a change at defensive coordinator distract them. "We've got to realize that it's the players who are playing, not the coach," he said. "We've got to continue to do what we've been doing."

Raven mad over Marvin
Bad news for Marvin Lewis meant good news for the Ravens, who were prepared to send their defensive mastermind off to another team after their Super Bowl title run. Still, some of the Ravens voiced their displeasure over Lewis' snubbing.

"I think it's disappointing because he's a guy who's well deserving (of a head coaching job)," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "But at the same time, I think it's great to have him back with us."

"I'm disappointed in the fact that some people didn't even look at him because of whatever it may be," defensive tackle Sam Adams said. "But I tell you what, that's their loss and our gain."

Marvin Lewis may have to wait until next season to get a head coaching gig. Right now, no NFL team, including the expansion Texans who begin play in 2002, has an opening for a top job.

Joe Lago is the NFL editor for ESPN.com.