The 2024 NFL season is now history, and it’s time for our annual review of the local franchise, the Buffalo Bills. This, part 1 of our 4 part series, deals with the ups and downs of the front office and coaching staff. To recap, Buffalo had an outstanding regular season, dominating the AFC East division and clinching a playoff spot early. The year included victories over the top seeds in both conferences, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, and a 5-1 record against division opponents, with the lone defeat coming in a meaningless week 17 contest against New England, played by backups. Unfortunately the season once again ended in massive disappointment, however, as the Bills were defeated by the Chiefs in the conference championship game. That is now 4 times that Kansas City has ended the Bills’ Super Bowl dream in the last 5 years. In looking at the team’s management, it may be time to begin questioning the effectiveness of GM Brandon Beane in building a team capable of getting over that K.C. hump. His swapping of draft picks that enabled the Chiefs to draft fleet wide receiver Xavier Worthy definitely hurt. Passing up Ladd McConkey in favor of Keon Coleman doesn’t look good at this point either. His 2023 draft class as a whole was similar. The players showed flashes at times of being decent additions to the squad, but other than maybe running back Ray Davis, none were consistent, either to being too inexperienced or having their development hampered by injuries.
As for coaching, the promotion of Joe Brady to full time offensive coordinator turned out great. Buffalo was among the lead leaders in points scored, least sacks taken and least interceptions thrown, while displaying a solid rushing attack. The offensive line, under the tutelage of Aaron Kromer, was one of the league’s best. Defense was another story. That side of the ball is supposed to be head coach Sean McDermott’s specialty, and that unit, under new DC Bobby Babich, underwhelmed. They were the main reason, once again, for the final playoff failure, allowing the Chiefs to score more points than they had all season in the title game. The pass rush didn’t really produce sacks all year. The one aspect the defense did well – causing turnovers – masked a lot of deficiencies. To begin this offseason, the team has made a few moves to help shore up those deficiencies, hiring veteran defensive backs coach Mike Pellegrino and former Jaguars’ DC Ryan Nielsen as a senior defensive assistant to help Babich. His specialty is scheming simulated pressures on passing downs. The special teams haven’t been very special for years now in Buffalo, and a move was made there as well. Matthew Smiley was fired as special teams coordinator after a couple of seasons’ worth of gaffes that cost the club games, replacing him with Chris Tabor, former Panthers’ special teams coordinator who was voted second best ST coach by the NFL Players’ Association in 2023. With lots of holes to fill, and 10 draft picks and a lot more salary cap space to work with in free agency, this is a vital offseason for Beane and his staff.