Buddy Nix
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Charles Kenneth "Buddy" Nix (born December 6, 1939) is a former
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
coach and executive. He was the
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) from 2009 to 2013. Nix was a scout for the Bills from 1993 to 2000. He joined
John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...
and A. J. Smith with the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
from 2001 to 2008 and returned to the Bills in 2009.


Early years

Nix was born in
Carbon Hill, Alabama Carbon Hill is a city in Walker County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in February 1891. At the 2010 census the population was 2,021, down from 2,071 in 2000. History About 310 million years ago, Carbon Hill was located in a swampy are ...
, where he later attended Talladega High School and played
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. Nix attended Livingston University (now the
University of West Alabama The University of West Alabama (UWA) is a public university in Livingston, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1835, the school began as a church-supported school for young women called "Livingston Female Academy". The university serves students ...
) in
Livingston, Alabama Livingston is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, Alabama, United States and the home of the University of West Alabama. By an act of the state legislature, it was incorporated on January 10, 1835. At the 2010 census the population w ...
, playing fullback on its football team.


Coaching career

Nix was head coach at Eufaula High School in
Eufaula, Alabama Eufaula is the largest city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census the city's population was 13,137. History The site along the Chattahoochee River that is now modern-day Eufaula was occupied by three Muscogee Cre ...
, leading the Tigers to their first
Border Conference The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 school year. Centered in the southwestern Unite ...
championship in 1966.


Chattanooga

Nix had a successful college football coaching career at the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...
. He was responsible for recruiting star
wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), also known by his initials "T.O.", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the greatest wide rec ...
.


Administrative career


Buffalo Bills

Nix was a regional scout under
John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...
from 1993 to 2000 for the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
, specializing in the
Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...
.


San Diego Chargers

Nix left Buffalo with Butler and A. J. Smith after the 2000 season. He was initially the director of pro player personnel (2000–2001), but after Butler died, Smith was promoted to general manager, and Nix to assistant general manager. Nix's job with the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
was to oversee both professional and college scouting and to be one of the main decision makers in each
NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
. Nix was a major reason the Chargers turned around from a losing football team to a rebuilt, winning team. In 2004, three players Nix drafted were selected to the
2005 Pro Bowl The 2005 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2004 season. The game was played February 13, 2005, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was AFC 38 – NFC 27. The most valuable player was Peyton Manning of the Col ...
. In 2005, six players Nix drafted were selected to the
2006 Pro Bowl The 2006 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2005 season. The game was played on February 12, 2006, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. It marked the 27th consecutive time that the National Football League's all ...
. In 2006, eleven players Nix drafted were selected to the
2007 Pro Bowl The 2007 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2006 season. The game took place on February 10, 2007, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The game was held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday after the Super ...
. In 2007, eight players Nix drafted were selected to the
2008 Pro Bowl The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2007 NFL season, 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by NFL on Fox, Fox and b ...
. The Chargers won four of the last five
AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
titles with Nix as assistant GM and director of player personnel, in charge of college scouting and instrumental to the decision making process of their NFL drafts.


Buffalo Bills

Nix was hired as a national scout for the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
on January 26, 2009. He was named general manager of the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
on December 31, 2009, after
Russ Brandon Russell Jerome Brandon (born June 1967) is an American sports executive, and current CEO and President of the United Football League (UFL). Brandon is best known for his 21-year tenure in the front office of the Buffalo Bills of the National F ...
was promoted to CEO. He extended the contract of running back Fred Jackson before Jackson was allowed to hit free agency. He also extended quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the ...
's contract. This cleared the way for him to work to re-sign wide receiver
Stevie Johnson Steven John Johnson Jr. (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Johnson was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft ...
once he hit free agency and then work to improve his defense by adding
Mario Williams Mario Jerrel Williams (born January 31, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the NC State Wolfpack, and was selected first overa ...
. Following the 2012 season, Nix and
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
GM
Mark Dominik Mark Dominik (born March 9, 1971) is an American former professional football executive and scout, most notably for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL), where he worked from 1995 to 2013. Dominik joined the Tampa Bay ...
fell victim to a
prank call A prank call (also known as a crank call, a hoax call, or a goof call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call and can be illegal under certain circumsta ...
. In particular, Nix inadvertently revealed that he was unhappy with Fitzpatrick's contract, stating "we just can't afford to pay that kind of money for a guy who's fighting for probably a backup job". Shortly after the leaked phone call was reported on by ''
Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog owned by Lineup Publishing. Founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and originally based in Chicago, it was then sold to Gawker Media, Univision Communications and G/O Media. Lineup Publishing acquired it in March 2024, t ...
'', the team parted ways with Fitzpatrick, releasing him on March 12, 2013 before he was due a $3 million bonus, with NFL.com speculating that Fitzpatrick likely asked for his release following the leak. The Bills organization later referred the incident to legal counsel. On May 13, 2013 the Bills announced that Nix would step away from his role as GM and transition to special assistant.


Personal life

Nix has three children: Steve (wife: Sherry) and Stan (wife: Holli), and Stacey (husband: Alan). Nix also has six grandchildren: Hope, Ana, Tyler, Dakota, Sawyer and Tucker, and he has three step-grandchildren: Macaela, Haydn, and Jake. He is the great-grandfather to Lara Kate, Olivia, Ahlani, MJ, Lykan, late great granddaughter Lainee, and Roman. His wife is Diann Abernathy of
Lafayette, Alabama LaFayette ( , ) is the county seat of Chambers County, Alabama, United States, northwest of Columbus, Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 3,003. History Chambers County was formed in 1832. The newly elected county ...
.


Head coaching record


College


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, Buddy 1939 births Living people American football fullbacks American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football coaches Buffalo Bills executives Buffalo Bills scouts Carson–Newman Eagles football coaches Chattanooga Mocs football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches San Diego Chargers executives Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches West Alabama Tigers football coaches West Alabama Tigers football players NFL general managers High school football coaches in Alabama High school football coaches in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Carbon Hill, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama