Long-term success has drawbacks, particularly in the absence of a Super Bowl trophy to compensate for the league’s natural parity policies.

Teams often target assistant coaches in search of higher positions, and the Buffalo Bills can become a victim of this practice. In

addition to interviewing to remove the interim tag from his position as offensive coordinator, interim head coach Joe Brady has drawn

interest from the Atlanta Falcons. Hiring teams have, meanwhile, also taken notice of a well-known figure on the defensive end of the ball.

Buffalo was asked for permission by the Chicago Bears to interview associate head coach Eric Washington for the position of defensive coordinator. Washington coaches the defensive line for the Bills as well.

Washington followed Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott to Buffalo following the 2019 campaign, and the two have longstanding ties.

In 2010, he was hired as an NFL position coach in Chicago. Washington went on to become the defensive line coach at Carolina, where

he worked from 2011 to 2017. During the final two seasons of former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera’s tenure, he was promoted to

defensive coordinator.

He has now moved to Buffalo, where he served as the defensive line coach, senior defensive assistant, associate head coach, and

assistant head coach in 2023.

Early in the season, Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams quit, forcing head coach Matt Eberflus to put in extra time and take

over defensive play-calling responsibilities. The defense greatly improved and is headed in the right direction for 2024 after dealing

for edge rusher Montez Sweat.

Washington is not in a rush

Washington doesn’t appear to be in a rush to depart Western New York, despite this. A bad 2024 could result in Eberflus’s dismissal as

head coach, leaving Washington as a free agent. He is on the verge of being a lame-duck.

Buffalo’s steady performance in the regular season could help Washington’s job security. Although McDermott has fired assistant

coaches in the past—defense coordinator Leslie Frazier after 2022 and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this season—his position isn’t

comfortable considering their closeness and Carolina ties.

Even if it means coming in second to McDermott as the most influential player on his side of the ball, he has the best opportunity of

winning a Super Bowl with the Bills and/or using his position as a springboard for a real promotion.

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