ORCHARD PARK — A new energy surrounds the Buffalo Bills defense heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
Players can feel it from new defensive coordinator Bobby Babich as he prowled the practice fields during training camp.
And they can feel – and hear – it from his staff.
At one end of the field, defensive line coach Marcus West conducted a hand-fighting drill, battling each player himself instead of using a tackling bag. At the other end, cornerbacks coach Jahmile Addae and safeties coach Joe Danna barked commands to the secondary. And at midfield, linebackers coach Al Holcomb, a former defensive coordinator who was on coach Sean McDermott’s staff while he led the Carolina Panthers’ defense, leads his players.
Addae is the only newcomer amongst the group, but Danna is the lone coach in the same role as last year. That coincides with 11 new defensive players who weren’t on the roster in any capacity last year.
Defensive line/assistant head coach Eric Washington left to become defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears and the team parted with defensive backs coach John Butler after six seasons in Buffalo; he is now at Nebraska. Gone with them are Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer and Tre’Davious White, who were among 14 defensive players lost to free agency or released, nine of which spent at least four years with the Bills.
The new and different energy is led by newly-appointed play-caller Babich, who joked McDermott was moving him from the sideline to the coach’s booth because he was too intense.
The players feel the shift of the defense and they expect their style of play this season to reflect the coaches’ personalities.
“Bobby is just a lot more energetic and juiced every single day,” Bills cornerback Taron Johnson told the Gazette. “That’s something that’s just different. I like it. It rubs off on the other players, so which in turn, gives us that same energy, that same juice that he puts out.”
Just as it was when Leslie Frazier called the defense from 2017-2022, the scheme was designed by McDermott, although Babich will surely add his own twists. As much as McDermott is firmly entrenched in his brand of football, he is also known to seek input from players and that’s something Babich has continued.
Not all the ideas floated to Babich are implemented, but he listens to all of them, and on the occasions when he won’t bend on something, an explanation follows. Babich knows not every player is able to perform a certain task or technique the same way, even if it’s what the playbook dictates.
“As long as you listen in life, people are willing to hear what you have to say after you listen,” the 41-year-old Babich said. “… If a player doesn’t feel good about it, then why call it? At the same time, you got 11 people you have to think about. … You just try to put your guys in the best position that you could possibly be, but in the end, it’s about the defense. It’s not about the individual player.”
Babich’s approach is not dissimilar to Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who went to the offensive linemen late last season in search of their opinions on what running plays to call. Brady has also publicly given ownership of the offense to players this season, specifically quarterback Josh Allen.
Players naturally latch on to coaches who give them a say in the operation, but it also helps from a learning standpoint. Understanding the defense and what they are asked to do allows players to limit hesitation in games, which is why early in his tenure with the Bills, McDermott brought in so many players from his days as defensive coordinator for the Panthers.
“The main thing is just making sure we’re all comfortable,” Bills linebacker and defensive captain Terrel Bernard told the Gazette. “As long as we know why we’re calling what we’re calling, we can go out there and play fast. Bobby does a great job of putting together the plan and really being detailed and telling every single guy why we are who we are and why we’re calling certain things.”
Communication from the new defensive staff comes through varying personalities and experience. Babich has been a McDermott acolyte since arriving in Buffalo in 2017 and Danna and Holcomb are entering their 17th and 16th NFL seasons, respectively.
Addae spent 17 years as a college assistant, the last two years at the University of Miami, before joining the Bills for his first NFL job. Meanwhile, West spent his first 13 years coaching in the college game before he was hired as the Bills’ assistant defensive line coach in 2022.
Different experiences also bring different coaching methods. West, 40, leans heavily into physical demonstration during individual drills, considering linemen play one-on-one in games more than any other position on defense.
“I want them to feel me,” West said. “I want them to feel my energy, and I want to feel them. I want to feel that strike, I want to feel that punch, I want them to feel the urgency of what the block feels like, of what the rush feels like. … That’s why I tell them, ‘If you want to know what it’s going to take today, just match me.”
West is the most physically animated defensive coach, but it’s never hard to hear Addae, Babich and Danna on the practice field. Hearing Holcomb, though, requires being close by.
Sitting at his locker Wednesday, second-year linebacker Dorian Williams smiled when speaking about Holcomb’s personality, which has been described simply as “smooth” by players. Holcomb spent last year as a Bills senior defensive assistant before succeeding Babich as the linebackers coach. In contrast to Babich’s high energy, Holcomb has developed an ability to express his displeasure to players without blowing a gasket.
“Al’s a little bit more calm,” Williams said. “He’ll calm you down and tell you, ‘Boom, boom, bam. This is how it is.’ Everybody has their own little coaching style and their energy level is a little bit different, but (Babich and Holcomb) both get after you.”
Over the course of a season, having coaches with different personalities should prove beneficial to McDermott and the players. Some players may not respond to McDermott’s straight-faced intensity the same as they would for Babich’s perpetual energy or even the soft touch of Holcomb.
What matters most is that all of the assistant coaches share McDermott’s views of the defense and can deliver the same message in differing tones.
“Everyone’s got their personalities, you just kind of have to move with it,” said linebacker Nicholas Morrow, who is entering his seventh year in the NFL. “Every room is going to be different. Team meetings are a little different, defensive meetings are different, the linebacker room is different. It’s a good change of pace; keeps you focused. … You don’t want everyone to be the same.”