The Buffalo Bills made several new additions this offseason, but the most significant change might not involve player acquisitions.
Buffalo parted ways with head coach Sean McDermott after the season and promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to take over his role. Since McDermott was a defense-minded head coach, Brady needed to find a defensive coordinator and hired Jim Leonhard, who had previously served as the Denver Broncos‘ defensive pass game coordinator, as the new defensive coordinator.
Leonhard Might be the Bills “Intriguing Newcomer”
The Bills’ defense has let down the team in the postseason in recent years, and The Athletic’s Tim Graham thinks Leonhard is Buffalo’s “most intriguing newcomer heading” into training camp.
“Everyone will learn together how Leonhard runs an NFL defense because he never has done it before,” Graham wrote on Monday. “The former Broncos assistant head coach and pass game coordinator last oversaw the entire shebang at the University of Wisconsin from 2017 to 2022. Leonhard will deploy a 3-4 scheme in Buffalo, but nobody knows for sure how the 43-year-old will attack opponents.
“Rookie head coach Joe Brady has professed his desire for an aggressive defense that frazzles quarterbacks and offensive coordinators before the snap as well as after. Leonhard’s personnel also will be drastically different from what previous coach Sean McDermott worked with; six of the Bills’ 11 defensive starters in the postseason have remained unemployed throughout the offseason.”
The Bills have been accustomed to running a 4-3 defense under McDermott, but this season, Leonhard is set to introduce the 3-4 defense in Buffalo. He’s committed to making it work, though he understands it may take another year to fully realize his vision.
“I had a vision for what I want it to be, and it might not totally get there in year one,” Leonhard said in May via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. “We have to be real as far as who we have, what their skill sets are, and I have to be flexible as well as them.”
Buffalo Might be a Year Away From the Super Bowl
The Bills are entering a strange season: they are in win-now mode, yet they have changed their head coach and defensive coordinator. Often, teams that make changes to their coaching staff struggle, which is partly why they made those changes. Buffalo hasn’t reached the Super Bowl in the last six seasons after being on the rise, leading to changes to its coaching staff.
Many Bills fans are hoping the team will reach the Super Bowl this season, but it might be another year where they fall short of that goal. It’s tough for a first-time head coach and a first-time defensive coordinator to lead a team to the Super Bowl. The Bills may be one season away from achieving that goal.
The New England Patriots reached the Super Bowl last season with Mike Vrabel in his first year as their head coach. However, he had previously served as a head coach for a handful of seasons with the Tennessee Titans, during which he experienced playoff success. On the other hand, Brady has never been a head coach, and it will take him some time to figure things out.
NFL Insider Names Unexpected ‘Intriguing Newcomer’ on Bills Roster