Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott hasn’t been shy about overhauling his staff since becoming head coach. After his first off-season, he fired his offensive coordinator. After his second, his offensive line coach and special teams coordinator. He explained his thought process from the Senior Bowl (via The Athletic).
“I feel like we’re heading in a certain direction as an organization,” McDermott said. “I wasn’t necessarily satisfied with those two areas. If I wake up with that feeling in my stomach that this is the right way to go for our organization, or if I wake up with a feeling that we can’t get to where we’re trying to get to with what we have at those two spots, and that was the case as it related to the offensive line and special teams situation.”
Heath Farwell is only 37, but that didn’t stop McDermott from bringing him on board. The former special teams captain only has a few years in the coaching ranks.
“We decided to go with a young guy with great energy, and we take a bit of a leap of faith that he’s going to continue to grow and learn and, in this case, we can grow our own,” McDermott said. “I like the energy he brought to the interview. I like the thirst for knowledge and taking advantage of situations. We were all young at one point and someone gave us an opportunity. It’s what you do with it.”
While not as young as Farwell, new offensive line coach Bobby Johnson fits the bill as a younger coach as well, at 45 years of age. He’s 14 years younger than the man he replaced.
McDermott has known former offensive line coach Juan Castillo for twenty years since they were together in Philadelphia. Castillo admitted after the firing that he was hurt and confused by the decision, but McDermott was so sure of the move it was his first change of the offseason.
Buffalo also moved on from receivers coach Terry Robiskie, but have yet to replace him. It’s rumored that offensive assistant Chad Hall may be in line for a promotion, further bringing down the age of Buffalo’s coaching staff. Hall is younger than three players on the current roster.