Revamped Bills Coaching Staff Appears Complete
Finalizing their coaching staff by the end of this month, which the Buffalo Bills appeared to do Thursday, should be helpful to them with the NFL Scouting Combine set to begin in just a few days.
The Bills announced a series of coaching reassignments and additions to their staff that should make for a smoother evaluation and interview process when the staff heads to Indianapolis next week.
Given different or added responsibilities were John Butler, Bobby Babich and Jim Salgado.
Butler, the defensive backs coach, will also be the passing game coordinator in 2022. This comes after the Bills allowed the fewest passing yards in the league (163 per game) this past season.
Babich moved from safeties coach to linebackers coach to take over for his father, Bob, who has retired.
Salgado, who coached the nickel backs, the previous two seasons, will coach the safeties now.
As previously reported by Bills Central, Kyle Shurmur was officially announced as one of eight new hires from outside the organization. The former NFL quarterback who is the son of former Cleveland Browns and New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, will begin his coaching career as a defensive quality control coach.
Also added on Thursday were Nick Lacy (strength and conditioning), Marcus West (assistant defensive line), Jaylon Finner (defensive quality control), Cory Harkey (assistant special teams) and Austin Gund (fellowship).
The Bills had already hired Aaron Kromer as offensive line coach and Joe Brady as quarterbacks coach to replace Bobby Johnson and Ken Dorsey, respectively.
Johnson followed Bills former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to the New York Giants to do the same job with them under Daboll, the new head coach. Dorsey had been promoted to take Daboll's place.
Also previously promoted was former special teams assistant Matthew Smiley, who takes over as special teams coordinator following the departure of Heath Farwell, who left to take the same job with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
All things considered, the Bills have to feel fortunate to come out the other end of this year's coaching carousel in favorable shape.
General manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott will talk about the revamped staff and other subjects when they speak at the Combine next Tuesday.
Bills Central will be there for all the coverage, so keep this site bookmarked for all that happens in Indianapolis.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
