Might Bills Lose Their Top Two Coaches? Interview Requested by Bears
Long-term success has drawbacks, particularly in the absence of a Super Bowl trophy to compensate for the league’s natural parity policies. Teams often target assistant coaches in search of higher positions, and the Buffalo Bills might become a victim of this practice.
In addition to interviewing to remove the interim tag from his position as offensive coordinator, interim head coach Joe Brady has drawn interest from the Atlanta Falcons. Hiring teams have, nevertheless, also taken notice of a well-known figure on the defensive end of the ball.
Buffalo was asked for permission by the Chicago Bears to interview assistant head coach Eric Washington for the position of defensive coordinator. Washington coaches the defensive line for the Bills as well.
Washington followed Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott to Buffalo following the 2019 campaign, and the two have longstanding ties. In 2010, he was hired as an NFL position coach in Chicago. Washington went on to become the defensive line coach at Carolina, where he worked from 2011 until 2017. During the final two seasons of former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera’s tenure, he was promoted to defensive coordinator.
He has since moved to Buffalo, where he served as the defensive line coach, senior defensive assistant, assistant head coach, and assistant head coach in 2023. Early in the season, Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned, forcing head coach Matt Eberflus to put in extra time and take over defensive play-calling responsibilities. The defense greatly improved and is headed in the right direction for 2024 after trading for edge rusher Montez Sweat.
Washington doesn’t appear to be in a rush to leave Western New York, despite this. A bad 2024 could result in Eberflus’s dismissal as head coach, leaving Washington as a free agent. He is on the verge of becoming a lame-duck.
Buffalo’s steady success in the regular season should help Washington’s job security. Although McDermott has fired assistant coaches in the past—defense coordinator Leslie Frazier after 2022 and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this season—his position isn’t comfortable considering their relationship and Carolina ties.
Even if it means coming in second to McDermott as the most influential player on his side of the ball, he has the best chance of winning a Super Bowl with the Bills and/or using his position as a springboard for a real promotion.
