With Leslie Frazier’s departure, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has a lot on his plate.

 

 

 

 

We need a new defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. This week, Buffalo’s defensive play-caller since 2017—Leslie Frazier—announced his intention to miss the 2023 season with the possibility of playing again in 2024. The Bills, who finished as one of the top two scoring defenses in three of the previous four seasons, now need to find a new head coach as Frazier leaves. Will Sean McDermott, head coach, shoulder the responsibility?

The timing of Frazier’s departure during the NFL offseason seems peculiar. In the last three months, 12 clubs have switched defensive coordinators as the hiring season is almost over. Prominent DC prospects like Brian Flores, Ejiro Evero, and Vic Fangio have already been signed by other teams.

But the bills are in a special place. They might not have been interested in hiring an outside coach who might have liked to introduce a fresh plan to Buffalo given their success on the defensive end of the ball.

McDermott started out in the NFL as a defensive coordinator. Before taking over as Philadelphia’s DC in 2009, he advanced through the ranks of Andy Reid’s Eagles, teaching linebackers and defensive backs. After that, McDermott worked for the Panthers for six years as their defensive coordinator before being hired as the head coach of the Bills in 2017.

The news that McDermott will take over play-calling in Buffalo in 2023 has not yet been released. However, it appears from general manager Brandon Beane’s remarks made this week at the Scouting Combine that McDermott would take on that extra duty.

Beane stated, “I’ve watched Sean do it for a long time, and he had terrific success and went against some great quarterbacks and offensive geniuses, if he elected to take over the play-calling.” “I’ll back it and have complete trust that he will do an excellent job if he believes that’s the right course of action for us.”

In the event that McDermott chooses not to call plays, the Bills have a number of capable internal possibilities. NFL defensive coordinator experience is shared by linebackers coach Bobby Babich, defensive line coach Eric Washington, and senior defensive assistant Al Holcomb.

That’s a significant factor taken into account there, as McDermott stated this week. “We already have qualified employees working for us. I simply think that we should attempt to take our time and do things the proper way, especially given the time of year we are in.

McDermott would be the 17th head coach with play-calling responsibilities if he chose to take over the defensive leadership of the Bills. But most of those head coaches with two responsibilities live on the offensive end of the field.

Play-calling is solely delegated to defensive head coaches Dennis Allen of the Saints, Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers, and Brandon Staley of the Chargers. DeMeco Ryans, the first-year head coach of the Texans, is still considering calling plays in Houston.

“I think the offense and defense are a little bit different because some of the game management components are more common on the offensive side than the defensive,” McDermott remarked. “I believe all of that information was taken into consideration while making this conclusion.”

McDermott may not be distracted by timeouts, fourth-down decisions, or other in-game administrative duties when calling defensive plays because they are more frequently encountered on the offensive end of the ball.

Buffalo’s defensive scheme was largely created by McDermott, so the Bills’ weekly game plans may not alter all that much. However, as Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni pointed out this week following Philadelphia’s hiring of Sean Desai as its new defensive coordinator, appointing a new play-caller gives opposing offenses a “little bit of unknown.”

Buffalo’s circumstances are not the same as Philadelphia’s. While McDermott is already on staff, the Eagles brought in an outside DC candidate who has the ability to completely change their defensive scheme. But even a few tweaks, like increasing the blitz rate or adding more man coverages to a zone defense that has mostly been used, could cause Buffalo’s offensive rivals to take notice.

Although McDermott’s prospective transition to coordinator should be relatively easy given his prior play-calling experience and Buffalo’s seasoned staff, the Bills’ seasoned defensive core should also aid in the change.

Buffalo’s scheme has been used for years by linebacker Matt Milano, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, and defensive backs Tre’Davious White, Taron Johnson, and Micah Hyde. If McDermott takes over as playcaller, that shared history ought to help smooth things over.

However, when the market opens in mid-March, the Bills may lose a number of defensive free agents. Tremaine Edmunds at linebacker and Jordan Poyer at safety seem likely to test free agency, and defensive linemen Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips are two depth players whose contracts are about to expire.

Although Buffalo is currently sixteen million dollars over the salary cap, the team may be able to make room by rearranging a few contracts. Josh Allen’s base pay could be converted into a signing bonus to free up over $20 million.

It might be challenging to hold onto Edmunds and Poyer, though. Edmunds—eighth on our top free agent list—is only 25 years old and is expected to command at least $15 million annually on the open market.