The Buffalo Bills had a lot to celebrate after a dominant 47-17 playoff win over the New England Patriots on Saturday, January 15. While it’s incredibly exciting that the Bills are moving on to the next round, there’s a lingering dark cloud hovering above the team’s success.
On Sunday, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Fraizer will start interviewing with other teams to possibly become their new head coach next season.
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Frazier and Daboll will actually be competing against one another since the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears have invited both of them to interview for the head coaching position, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Busy 24 hours for the Bills,” Schefter tweeted Saturday morning. “OC Brian Daboll and DC Leslie Frazier are scheduled to interview with for the Bears and Dolphins HC jobs Sunday, per sources. Bears also expected to interview Bills’ assistant GM Joe Schoen for their GM job Sunday. Game today, interviews Sunday.”
Frazier was hired by the Bills in 2017 and Daboll joined Buffalo’s coaching staff in 2018, and they are two huge reasons why the Bills have resurged to the top of the AFC East.
During the postgame conference on Saturday, quarterback Josh Allen was asked to share his thoughts on the possibility of losing both Daboll and Frazier next season.
News 4 Buffalo’s Matt Parrino tweeted, “Josh Allen says he knows Brian Daboll and Leslie Frazier could have some opportunities coming up (both are hot names for HC jobs), and it’s something that adds urgency for this season.”
Daboll Is Considered the X-Factor Behind Allen’s Exponential Growth in Buffalo
GettyBuffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterback Josh Allen during 2021 training camp.
Over the past few years, Allen has formed an incredibly close relationship with Daboll, who won the AP’s Assistant Coach of the Year last season, and earlier this month, named by Bleacher Report‘s Maurice Moton as the No. 3 most-sought-after “Top Head Coaching Candidates for 2022 Job Openings.”
As more teams’ seasons come to a close, and more vacant head coaching positions open up, Daboll will likely have even more interviews lined up. Morton wrote:
The Buffalo Bills offense relies heavily on quarterback Josh Allen, who’s tied for sixth in touchdown passes (34) and ranks seventh in passing yards (4,168) leaguewide while listing second on the team in rushing yards (700). With that said, no one can deny the signal-caller’s growth under Brian Daboll. Between the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, Allen made an impressive leap from an inaccurate passer who completed fewer than 60 percent of his attempts to an MVP candidate with a 69 percent completion rate.
That was likely the last game Brian Daboll coaches at Highmark Stadium as a coach for the Bills.
A great WNY native. An often under appreciated leader. There is no Josh Allen without Daboll.
Daboll HC interviews gonna be a single slide powerpoint that says “scoreboard”
After Allen and the Bills offensive line’s incredible performance against the Patriots on Saturday night, Daboll’s stock has only risen, and Buffalo’s $258 million franchise star seems aware.
Brian Daboll is crushing this job interview.
“We know this team pretty well, it’s a good team we just played and the way we came out and executed was good to see,” Allen said after the game, per News 4 Buffalo’s Heather Prusak. “Daboll lit it up.”
Frazier Helped Turn Buffalo’s Backfield into the No.1 Defense in the NFL
GettyDefensive coordinator Leslie Frazier of the Buffalo Bills looks on before the game against the Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium on October 31, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York.
For the first time in 22 years, Frazier helped the Bills become the No. 1 defense in the entire league, an impressive feat considering the team’s top cornerback, Tre’Davious White, suffered a season-ending injury during Buffalo’s Thanksgiving Day matchup.
Figuring out how to replace an irreplaceable defensive star mid-season, while bolstering the superstar duo that is Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, deserves applause. The Bills defense didn’t just surge toward the end of the season either, they ranked No. 1 in total defense during the last 15 weeks of the regular season, per Bills Wire.
Sean McDermott- “I want to give credit where credit is due. This is not Sean McDermott’s defense. This is Leslie Frazier’s defense.”
It’s difficult to think of what the Bills defense will do without Frasier, who also took on assistant head coach duties in 2020.
Fan Sided’s Matt Lombardo tweeted, “A smart team is going to buck the trend of hiring offensive head coaches, and hit it out of the park with Leslie Frazier. Guys who played for him love him, defenses consistently dominant, affable personality. Leader.”
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Bills QB Josh Allen Breaks Silence on Coaches’ Possible Exit in 2022