The Buffalo Bills have fired offensive line coach Juan Castillo, according to NFL insider Jason La Canfora. He becomes the first casualty of the 2019 off-season.
While many would say Castillo was saddled with sub-par talent on the offensive line, you could also argue that he was working with lots of NFL experience at his disposal. Buffalo signed Russell Bodine and Marshall Newhouse last off-season and drafted Wyatt Teller to solidify the offensive line, but they could not gel this year in the wake of the loss of Eric Wood and Richie Incognito.
Buffalo was 21st in rushing yards per attempt in 2018 at 4.2—a figure that was unacceptable to head coach Sean McDermott. That number was buoyed by Josh Allen, who averaged 7.1 yards per attempt. Running backs averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in 2018. Quarterbacks were sacked on 7.6% of their drop-backs this season.
Castillo was with the Baltimore Ravens from 2013-2016 as their o-line coach and run-game coordinator. Before that, he was with the Philadelphia Eagles and actually took over as defensive coordinator for two seasons when McDermott was fired from that job following the 2010 season. He was Andy Reid’s offensive line coach for 12 seasons prior to that.
The Bills will now look to hire a new offensive line coach. With a quarter of the league overhauling their entire coaching staff and several more teams firing offensive coordinators and offensive staff, there will be plenty of guys to choose from.