WhiskyBreath Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) The Bills website announced the full staff of 20 Assistant Coaches (under coaches, we actually list 26). This of course, excludes the Head Coach and the coordinators (Offense, Defense, and Special Teams). Silly question: for a team with 53 players, what do these people do and do we really need as many? Any risk of folks stumbling over each other, creating confusion, etc.? Edited February 16 by WhiskyBreath 1 1 1 Quote
BlueRed Posted February 16 Posted February 16 Good question, I’ve also wondered how hard it is for a coach to learn both the offense and defensive side of the ball? Coaches seem to get locked into either O or D and defer everything else to the other coordinator. I imagine Joe Brady understands defense to a pretty deep level - If I were in his shoes I think it’d be pretty hard for me to just hand half the team to someone else and not want to call the offensive AND defensive plays on game day. 2 Quote
BuffaloBillyG Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) 25 minutes ago, BlueRed said: Good question, I’ve also wondered how hard it is for a coach to learn both the offense and defensive side of the ball? Coaches seem to get locked into either O or D and defer everything else to the other coordinator. I imagine Joe Brady understands defense to a pretty deep level - If I were in his shoes I think it’d be pretty hard for me to just hand half the team to someone else and not want to call the offensive AND defensive plays on game day. Ah yes. The "Jack of all trades, master of none" approach. So, you would call both sides of the ball? Offense and defense? Would you call special teams too? Ask yourself why, with all the great football minds that have come through the NFL, the last coach that called the plays for both sides was, I believe Tom Landry. And when Landry did it the defense really didn't do a whole lot of designed plays. You sat in your 3-4 or 4-3 and played the man across from you. With all that happens on offense and defense these days, you wouldn't last the season. Now to the OP's question, yes that many assistants are common. You will see most teams have between 15-25 assistants. Couple of reasons. First off, coaching is an area you can add to without it hitting the salary cap. You can have as many as an owner wants to pay. Second, for the Bills specifically, they are implementing a new defense. More people to teach is never a bad thing as long as they are all on the same page. Now, with our HC being the OC, extra coaches are needed on offense as well to let him be the coach of the whole team and not just focus on offense. Also keep in mind that while the final roster is 53 (plus 16ish on PS) when they get to camp the roster is at 90. Plus you have guys get hurt and new guys coming in. You have bottom of the roster shuffling and new faces in weekly. The Assistant DB coach or Assistant WR coach will often be the guy working after practice with those guys to get them up to speed. Coaches can burn out too, so it's good to have a deep staff to help take things off coaches plates. Edited February 16 by BuffaloBillyG 2 1 Quote
MikePJ76 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 3 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said: Ah yes. The "Jack of all trades, master of none" approach. So, you would call both sides of the ball? Offense and defense? Would you call special teams too? Ask yourself why, with all the great football minds that have come through the NFL, the last coach that called the plays for both sides was, I believe Tom Landry. And when Landry did it the defense really didn't do a whole lot of designed plays. You sat in your 3-4 or 4-3 and played the man across from you. With all that happens on offense and defense these days, you wouldn't last the season. Now to the OP's question, yes that many assistants are common. You will see most teams have between 15-25 assistants. Couple of reasons. First off, coaching is an area you can add to without it hitting the salary cap. You can have as many as an owner wants to pay. Second, for the Bills specifically, they are implementing a new defense. More people to teach is never a bad thing as long as they are all on the same page. Now, with our HC being the OC, extra coaches are needed on offense as well to let him be the coach of the whole team and not just focus on offense. Tom Landry invented the Flex defense and did more than just sit in 4-3. 1 Quote
BuffaloBillyG Posted February 16 Posted February 16 6 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said: Tom Landry invented the Flex defense and did more than just sit in 4-3. I imagine his folks were proud. 5 Quote
artmalibu Posted February 16 Posted February 16 There are rules on how much time a team can practice. So the more coaches the more guys get coached during practice. 4 Quote
MikePJ76 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 3 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said: I imagine his folks were proud. Hey, you chose one of the nfl’s important innovators to minimize as calling just a 4-3 and basic offense. I imagine his parents were more than proud of their son flying combat missions in world war 2 and helping win the war in honor of his brother. 1 3 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) Live look at One Bills Drive as one more assistant coach position opening was announced. Edited February 16 by ChevyVanMiller 7 Quote
PromoTheRobot Posted February 16 Posted February 16 1 hour ago, Sweats said: Well, if it's anything like the philosophy at my work, throw more bosses on it and see if it works itself out. Absolutely. If you don't have the most of everything, are you even trying to win? 1 Quote
BuffaloBillyG Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) 16 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said: Hey, you chose one of the nfl’s important innovators to minimize as calling just a 4-3 and basic offense. I imagine his parents were more than proud of their son flying combat missions in world war 2 and helping win the war in honor of his brother. He created the defense in the mid 1960s. The point I made remains the point. The game has evolved in the almost 70 years since Landry's "Doomsday Defense". And yes, at its core Landry's 4-3 flex was a basic defense with special tweaks geared to stop the Packer offense and other run heavy offenses of its time. The mindset of the defense was to read and react rather then just blindly fire into gaps. You read they play and...as I said...played the man in front of you. Which was pretty smart at the time. It lines players back off the ball a bit. It was hardly a tricky or complicated defense to call plays for. While I admire his war record, I don't admire his lack of ability to innovate the defense further than what it was. Which eventually led to some pretty bad Dallas defenses once the league started moving to a more pass happy approach. Edited February 16 by BuffaloBillyG 1 Quote
Sweats Posted February 16 Posted February 16 39 minutes ago, MJS said: Do the Bills have more coaches than other teams? Good question and i actually have no idea on this. Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 (edited) Makes dining out with the coaching staff that much more budget friendly. Unless you get one of those sorts that carp about "But I only had small fries and a soda!" Edited February 16 by Ridgewaycynic2013 1 Quote
Kirby Jackson Posted February 16 Posted February 16 47 minutes ago, MJS said: Do the Bills have more coaches than other teams? 7 minutes ago, Sweats said: Good question and i actually have no idea on this. They’re probably on the higher end but not crazy. As a rule, franchises that employ more coaches, and/or have bigger scouting staffs, have committed ownership. That’s not the best way to say it but leaner staffs equal higher profits. The bigger your staff the bigger your investment. 1 Quote
Tenhigh Posted February 16 Posted February 16 57 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said: Hey, you chose one of the nfl’s important innovators to minimize as calling just a 4-3 and basic offense. I imagine his parents were more than proud of their son flying combat missions in world war 2 and helping win the war in honor of his brother. Come on, it was a little funny. Both he and hos parents are looooonnnnngggg passed. Quote
Low Positive Posted February 16 Posted February 16 59 minutes ago, MJS said: Do the Bills have more coaches than other teams? It's about normal. Here is the Seahawks staff: https://www.seahawks.com/team/coaches-roster/ (20 assistants, not counting coordinators and S&C coaches) Even the Bengals have 17 assistant coaches, not counting coordinators and S&C coaches: https://www.bengals.com/team/coaches-roster/ Quote
NewEra Posted February 16 Posted February 16 2 hours ago, WhiskyBreath said: The Bills website announced the full staff of 20 Assistant Coaches (under coaches, we actually list 26). This of course, excludes the Head Coach and the coordinators (Offense, Defense, and Special Teams). Silly question: for a team with 53 players, what do these people do and do we really need as many? Any risk of folks stumbling over each other, creating confusion, etc.? Need? To win a Super Bowl? Probably not. Need, to give us a better shot at winning a Super Bowl? According to the FO, yes. I don’t see any problem with it Quote
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted February 16 Posted February 16 7 minutes ago, Low Positive said: Even the Bengals have 17 assistant coaches, not counting coordinators and S&C coaches: https://www.bengals.com/team/coaches-roster/ True, but I wonder if Mike Brown is using interns and minimum wage workers from Kelly Services. 🤔😁😇 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.