Bills Still Unsure Who Will Call Plays on Defense

The Buffalo Bills are not sure whether Sean McDermott will continue to call defensive plays, or if new coordinator Bobby Babich will take on that responsibility.

The Buffalo Bills have found their new defensive coordinator by promoting Bobby Babich from within, but they still have questions to answer on that side of the ball.

The biggest of said questions is definitely who will call defensive plays, which is not as simple of a question as it may seem. After the departure of Leslie Frazier last offseason, the Bills didn't have a true defensive coordinator as head coach Sean McDermott called plays instead. Defensive line coach and assistant head coach Eric Washington also helped a great deal, and him leaving to become defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears prompted the Bills to hire a true defensive coordinator this offseason.

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According to general manager Brandon Beane, though, the Bills are still working to figure out who will call plays come next season.

"If [McDermott] feels he needs to put someone else to call the plays, we would do that," Beane said last week, per ESPN. "If he is like, 'Man, yes, I can do this. I want to do it again,' then we would go that because ... there was nothing that left me saying he couldn't wear both hats."

The Bills' defense held up well with McDermott calling the plays this season, as they finished fourth in points allowed and ninth in yards allowed. Still, McDermott already has a lot on his plate, so handing play calling over to Babich may be in the team's best interest.

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Babich has been with the Bills since McDermott took over in 2017, ultimately working his way up to being named defensive coordinator earlier this week. The 40-year-old has earned praise from players and coaches alike, so if he were to take over play calling, he would have the Bills' full support.