| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1939-12-06)December 6, 1939 (age 85) Carbon Hill, Alabama, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1957–1960 | Livingston |
| Position(s) | Fullback,linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1962–1964 | Anniston HS (AL) (assistant) |
| 1965–1966 | Eufaula HS (AL) |
| 1967–1968 | Jonesboro HS (GA) |
| 1969 | Carson–Newman (DL) |
| 1970–1971 | Livingston (assistant) |
| 1972–1975 | Southern Miss (LB) |
| 1976–1980 | Auburn (DB) |
| 1981–1983 | LSU (DC/ILB) |
| 1984–1992 | Chattanooga |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1993–2000 | Buffalo Bills (scout) |
| 2001–2008 | San Diego Chargers (DPP/AGM) |
| 2009–2013 | Buffalo Bills (EVP/GM) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 44–54–1 (college) |
Charles Kenneth "Buddy"Nix (born December 6, 1939) is a formerAmerican football coach and executive. He was thegeneral manager of theBuffalo Bills of theNational Football League (NFL) from 2009 to 2013.[1] Nix was a scout for the Bills from 1993 to 2000. He joinedJohn Butler andA. J. Smith with theSan Diego Chargers from 2001 to 2008 and returned to the Bills in 2009.
Nix was born inCarbon Hill, Alabama, where he later attended Talladega High School and playedlinebacker. Nix attended Livingston University (now theUniversity of West Alabama) inLivingston, Alabama, playingfullback on its football team.
Nix was head coach atEufaula High School inEufaula, Alabama, leading the Tigers to their firstBorder Conference championship in 1966.
Nix had a successful college football coaching career at theUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was responsible for recruiting starwide receiverTerrell Owens.
Nix was a regional scout underJohn Butler from 1993 to 2000 for theBuffalo Bills, specializing in theSoutheastern United States.
Nix left Buffalo with Butler andA. 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 theSan Diego Chargers was to oversee both professional and college scouting and to be one of the main decision makers in eachNFL draft. 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 the2005 Pro Bowl. In 2005, six players Nix drafted were selected to the2006 Pro Bowl. In 2006, eleven players Nix drafted were selected to the2007 Pro Bowl. In 2007, eight players Nix drafted were selected to the2008 Pro Bowl.
The Chargers won four of the last fiveAFC West 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.
Nix was hired as a national scout for theBuffalo Bills on January 26, 2009. He was named general manager of theBuffalo Bills on December 31, 2009, afterRuss Brandon was promoted to CEO.[2]
He extended the contract of running backFred Jackson[3] before Jackson was allowed to hit free agency. He also extended quarterbackRyan Fitzpatrick's contract.[4] This cleared the way for him to work to re-sign wide receiverStevie Johnson once he hit free agency and then work to improve his defense by addingMario Williams.
Following the 2012 season, Nix andTampa Bay Buccaneers GMMark Dominik fell victim to aprank call. 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 byDeadspin, 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.[5][6]
On May 13, 2013 the Bills announced that Nix would step away from his role as GM and transition to special assistant.[7]
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 ofLafayette, Alabama.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga Moccasins(Southern Conference)(1984–1992) | |||||||||
| 1984 | Chattanooga | 6–5 | 5–1 | 1st | LNCAA Division I-AA First Round | ||||
| 1985 | Chattanooga | 6–5 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1986 | Chattanooga | 4–7 | 2–4 | 6th | |||||
| 1987 | Chattanooga | 6–5 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1988 | Chattanooga | 4–7 | 3–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1989 | Chattanooga | 3–7–1 | 2–4–1 | 5th | |||||
| 1990 | Chattanooga | 6–5 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1991 | Chattanooga | 7–4 | 4–3 | T-4th | |||||
| 1992 | Chattanooga | 2–9 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| Chattanooga: | 44–54–1 | 29–29–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 44–54–1 | ||||||||