Could Bills Lose Top 2 Coaches? Chicago Bears Request Interview with Washington

The Buffalo Bills are in danger of losing several coaches this offseason. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has garnered some attention but so has a key defensive assistant.

Sustained success has its disadvantages, especially if there isn’t a Super Bowl trophy to outweigh the league’s natural parity measures. Teams frequently poach assistant coaches looking for promotions, and the Buffalo Bills may find themselves as a victim of that process.

Interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady has interviewed to take the interim tag off of his role but has also received interest from the Atlanta Falcons head coaching search. However, a respected name on the defensive side of the ball has caught the eye of hiring teams, too.

The Chicago Bears requested permission from Buffalo to interview assistant head coach Eric Washington for their defensive coordinator opening. Washington is also the Bills defensive line coach.

Eric Washington, senior defensive assistant/defensive line coach on the sidelines with the players during their playoff game against the Bengals in Orchard Park on Jan. 22 :: © Tina MacIntyre-Yee /Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Washington has long been tied to Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and followed him to Buffalo after the 2019 season. His first NFL position coach job came in Chicago in 2010. Washington would move on to Carolina, where he was the defensive line coach from 2011 to 2017. He was promoted to defensive coordinator for the last two seasons of former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera’s tenure.

Since then, he has resided in Buffalo, first as the defensive line coach, then as a senior defensive assistant, and in 2023 as the assistant head coach.

Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned early in the season, leaving head coach Matt Eberflus to work overtime and take over defensive play-calling duties. After trading for edge rusher Montez Sweat, the defense improved significantly and is trending in the right direction for 2024.

Even so, Washington doesn’t figure to be in a rush to leave Western New York. Eberflus is teetering on being a lame-duck head coach, and a poor 2024 could lead to his firing, rendering Washington a free agent.

Buffalo’s consistent regular-season success would presumably be good for Washington’s job security. McDermott has parted ways with assistant coaches before – offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this season and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier after 2022 – but given their relationship and Carolina ties, his seat isn’t warm.

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His best chance to win a Super Bowl – and/or use his job as a launching pad for a true promotion – is with the Bills, even if it means being the second-most important voice on his side of the ball, behind McDermott.