Getty Tremaine Edmunds makes a tackle in a game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The coaching changes continue for the Buffalo Bills, with another defensive coach reportedly leaving — and a very familiar face taking over.
The Bills have lost a number of top coaches this offseason, as offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was named the head coach of the New York Giants and has brought a number of position coaches along with him. The latest departure is reportedly coming through a retirement, with a replacement already lined up.
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Bills Losing Linebacker Coach
As Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network reported, Bills linebackers coach Bob Babich is retiring and the team is planning to replace him by promoting Bobby Babich, his son who is currently serving as Buffalo’s safeties coach. Bob Babich was formerly a defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Chicago Bears, also spending time as defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As Wilson noted, Bobby Babich has gotten some strong performances out of his position group, with the tandem of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer considered one of the best in the league. Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said that Hyde and Poyer have fostered some great chemistry, and credited Babich for helping put together the game plans that give opposing offenses trouble.
Jordan Poyer (first-team) and Micah Hyde (second-team) have been named to the AP All-Pro team.
Poyer is the first Bills safety to be named an AP first-team All-Pro since Henry Jones in 1992.
“That’s part of being together for the last five years – they feed off each other,” Frazier told the Buffalo News in November. “They really give quarterbacks a hard time sometimes with their looks. There are times Bobby Babich and John Butler, our secondary coaches, we give them the liberty to have input on the game plan, about what type of looks we want to give the quarterback, or what’s the best strategy in this particular defense.”
Many Changes for Bills This Offseason
Babich’s reported retirement would be the latest change for a Bills coaching staff in flux, and many of the replacement coaches have come from within. After Daboll’s departure, the Bills promoted quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey to offensive coordinator, a move that was heavily endorsed by Josh Allen.
After the team officially named Dorsey to the position, Allen credited his former position coach with helping develop him into one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
“I think when he got here three years ago, my career definitely changed in terms of how I viewed the game of football,” Allen said. “Just having a guy in the quarterback room that played the game, was the winningest college quarterback of all time. He was 38-2. He’ll never let me forget that. He says it all the time, but just the way he approaches the game. He’s competitive. He’s smart. He works his a** off. I appreciate what he’s done for me over the course of my career so far.”
From NFL Now: The #Bills are hiring QBs coach Joe Brady to pair with OC Ken Dorsey — all good news for Josh Allen.
Allen will be getting another highly coveted coach to take over Dorsey’s spot, as the Bills brought in former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady to serve as the new quarterbacks coach. As NFL.com’s Kevin Patra noted, Brady had a strong reputation and is seen as an innovative offensive mind who is expected to be a good fit in Buffalo’s pass-heavy offense.
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