The Buffalo Bills have shaken things up this offseason from top to bottom. Their coaching staff is pretty much unrecognizable from last year, and their roster has once again been revamped in an effort to help superstar quarterback Josh Allen get over the hump and lead this team to a Super Bowl championship.
Bills fans have been forced to process all of these changes fairly quickly, but it appears there’s reason for optimism heading into the new season. One guy who certainly is looking forward to the upcoming campaign is former center Mitch Morse. In an exclusive interview with Heavy on Bills, Morse took a closer look at some of the team’s biggest moves of the offseason, including their decision to fire his old head coach, Sean McDermott.
Mitch Morse Gets Real on Bills’ Surprising Head Coach Change
After another short playoff run, the Bills made their first big move of the offseason when they decided to fire McDermott, who had been the team’s head coach since 2017. Morse spent his entire five-year stint in Buffalo playing for McDermott, so he was understandably conflicted when it came to his departure. While he’s excited for what’s to come, he admitted that it was tough to see McDermott get the ax.
“There was a sense of mourning, because you mourn the man, and you realize what he meant to me personally as a man and a coach, and what he’s meant to that organization,” Morse told Heavy on Bills. “In 2017, he turned this thing around and set up a sustainable organism that was the Buffalo Bills, along with (Brandon) Beane. But it wasn’t shocking … I just miss the man. I miss Sean. I really adored him as a person, but it’s a business.”
With McDermott gone, the Bills quickly began searching for a new leader. In the end, they decided to promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady, making him McDermott’s replacement as head coach. Morse only spent one year playing for Brady in Buffalo, but he’s confident that he will be able to take what McDermott built to the next level now that he’s in charge of the entire operation.
“He’s the man who was already ingrained in the culture that has all the good that Sean instilled,” Morse said of Brady. “He’s a chameleon in regard to how he can interact with players. Can be stern when he needs to be, can also be relatable … He seems to walk that fine line of being a guy who’s in a leadership role, an authoritative role, but at the same time the players can relate to.”
From a roster-building perspective, one of the Bills’ biggest moves saw them trade for wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Chicago Bears. Morse is a big fan of this deal, but he thinks the rushing attack will remain Buffalo’s forte, even with all its aforementioned changes. “This is still going to be a run-heavy offense,” Morse said. “What helps the run is having that threat on the outside, a guy who can take the top off, have an explosive play when you need him the most.”
Mitch Morse Opens Up on Josh Allen’s Complicated Postseason Legacy
GettyCenter Mitch Morse and Bills quarterback Josh Allen at Soldier Field on August 26, 2023.
During his time with the Bills, Morse played a big role in helping Allen turn himself into the franchise player that he is today. At this stage of the game, the only thing Allen really hasn’t won in his career is a Super Bowl, and until he does, he’s going to have his fair share of detractors. Morse understands why that’s the case, but in his eyes, Allen is only continuing to improve his play on the field, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.
“Josh is coming into the best form of himself in regard to he still is able to play physically at this level, where he can run and pass at the same time,” Morse admitted. “The game continues to slow down for him … What makes him so unique is that when those moments come, when the pressure is at its highest and its most palpable, that’s when everything seems to slow down for him. He seems to hone in and play his best football.”
In what can only be described as a championship-crazed era of sports, though, Allen’s individual play doesn’t matter to some fans if he can’t find a way to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory. Last season’s playoff run certainly didn’t help Allen in this department, but he’s still only entering his age-30 season. So while he hasn’t had the sort of postseason success he would have hoped for to this point in his career, Morse still sees several deep playoff runs in Allen’s future.
“I still am of the belief that, yes, he’s in a really good spot in his career with a lot more football ahead of him,” Morse said. “If it continues to go this way, it’s going to be a part of his story. But I think the only thing that matters to him is getting over that proverbial hump. And I do have to believe that he’s going to have more shots at this.”
Exclusive: Mitch Morse Reveals True Feelings on Bills Decision to Fire Sean McDermott