The Buffalo Bills have not made any major changes to their roster, which feels notable if only because they’re in a division where everything seems to be changing.
Not only are we witnessing a paradigm shift, with Bill Belichick’s Patriots losing the upper hand in the division to Josh Allen‘s Bills, but we have also seen the Jets add Aaron Rodgers and the Dolphins add Jalen Ramsey and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. With New England no longer in charge, the division has turned into the most competitive and complicated one in the NFL.
So can the Bills hold onto their spot at No. 1 for another year?
That could depend upon a move that few people are discussing. It’s head coach Sean McDermott’s decision to add to his duties and take over the defensive coordinator role following Leslie Frazier’s decision to step away from coaching for at least a year.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this without a really strong staff, on the defensive side in particular,” McDermott said in April during a press conference. “It’s almost like you’ve got to have kind of a two-track mind. One as a head coach, and then also as a defensive coordinator. But it’s been great to this point.”
To his credit, McDermott was outstanding in managing the seconds, minutes and days following Damar Hamlin‘s cardiac arrest last season. The coach seems to have a strong moral compass. But the defensive leadership role — along with playcalling duties — will add more responsibility to a coach who has not yet established himself as one of the league’s top game managers.
He’s getting more into the weeds when he still sometimes struggles with the bigger picture.
“To me the head coach’s seat is a leadership seat and that’s all good, and I love that part of it,” McDermott said. “But what you miss the most is rolling up your sleeves, getting in with the players side-by-side and coaching and getting in that defensive room, really getting down to the details. So I missed that, and it feels good to be back doing that again.”
There’s some question about how well he’s managing the locker room as a whole after the blowup with Stefon Diggs during minicamp. Diggs showed up for camp last Monday and passed his physical, but left before practice on Tuesday and did not participate in Day 1 of minicamp. The star receiver met with McDermott, among others, that morning. McDermott said they needed to take a break, which was when Diggs left the facility. Finally, Diggs quieted concerns by practicing on Wednesday. But it still seems like something happened between Diggs and the Bills’ leadership before Day 1 of minicamp — and we haven’t heard from Diggs about whether the situation is rectified.
Josh Allen: Stefon Diggs “working on some things — not football related.”
Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes discuss Stefon Diggs’ absence from the first day of Bills minicamp.
That said, some coaches have had success calling plays and running the team. Rams coach Sean McVay, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and Chargers coach Brandon Staley call plays in one phase. McDermott can bring value.
“It’s part of how I got here [as a head coach],” he said when asked about calling plays. “So I just think being in the defensive staff room, having those critical conversations that come up, solving problems, trying to evolve where we need to evolve, and where the game is going. And then working hand in hand with our players. Again, that’s been mostly the assistants to this point. Then together with the staff figuring some things out. It just feels good, it feels natural. And we’ll see where it goes in the future.”
Edge Von Miller said that the transition isn’t all that substantial. “He was always giving pointers throughout the whole entire season,” Miller said. “So now he’s just full-time in there.” But edge Gregory Rousseau indicated that, with McDermott teaching the defensive scheme this year, he has grown a deeper understanding of the system.
“[McDermott is] doing an amazing job honestly,” Rousseau told reporters last week. “He does a really good job of just talking us through everything. He’s increased all our understandings of the scheme a lot more. He’s saying like, ‘We do this for this reason.’ It’s been great to listen to Sean articulate about the defense.”
How might that change the defensive performance?
“Just having a full grasp of the defense and all the concepts will push players to play more physical, more aggressive and faster,” Rousseau said.
Jets, Bills, Chargers among NFL teams under most pressure in 2023
McDermott served as the Carolina Panthers‘ defensive coordinator from 2011 to 2016. His defense was in the top 10 in yards allowed from 2012 to 2015, and the defense helped the Panthers make a Super Bowl appearance in the 2015 season.
He has also taken over defensive playcalling for short stints in Buffalo. Back in 2018, McDermott called the whole second half off a 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. McDermott also called plays for a series during the team’s epic 42-36 OT loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2021 playoffs, per former NFL executive Michael Lombardi. It seems McDermott occasionally took over when he felt the team needed a spark.
But this is different. He’s not taking over for a half or a drive. McDermott will take over the unit for the entire year. He is both the head coach and the defensive coordinator for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations.
Two of the Bills’ five most important jobs? (Those five jobs are quarterback, coach, GM, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.)
That’s a lot of pressure for a guy who is coaching in a Super-Bowl-or-bust atmosphere. As McDermott piles on more responsibility and more pressure, he makes himself a better candidate for the Coach of the Year Award. But he also leaves himself more vulnerable for a toasty seat, if the team fails to meet expectations.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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