It’s almost officially summer in these parts and that signals the start of training camps soon and a return to the NFL regular season. Most teams are working on strategies to trim down their rosters. Before that, however, some teams within the division made changes within the coaching staff. This time on the AFC East Roundup, we recap some of those changes.
The Miami Dolphins were the only team to make changes to their offensive and defensive coordinators. Taking over the play-calling on offense is a name that Bills fans will remember in Chan Gailey. Gailey was the head coach in Buffalo from 2010-2012 and was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 2015-2016. On defense it will be Josh Boyer—the team’s cornerback coach last season. Boyer is entering his 14th season in the league but this will be his first calling plays.
The Buffalo Bills added two new faces to their defensive coaching staff. Eric Washington will be taking over the defensive line after serving as the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers the last two seasons. Washington is familiar with head coach Sean McDermott, serving on the same coaching staff as him for six seasons during their time with the Panthers. Also, new hire Jacques Cesaire will be assisting Washington in coaching the line. Cesaire spent the last five seasons as the defensive line coach at the University of San Diego and played in the NFL.
As for the New York Jets, they added Leigh Torrence to their staff as an assistant defensive backs coach. Torrence was a cornerback for five NFL seasons before starting his next chapter in the league. He was most recently the defensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints after a stint as a coaching intern with the team.
For the New England Patriots, a hole was left on their special teams coaching staff when coordinator Joe Judge became the head coach of the New York Giants. Taking his spot will be Cameron Achord who served as Judge’s right-hand man for the past two seasons for the Patriots. Taking the assistant spot left by Achord will be Joe Houston who spent the last four seasons at Iowa State. Perhaps the biggest news is the retirement of long-time offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. He’s being replaced internally by Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo.