INDIANAPOLIS -- The Bills will have a new offensive coordinator this season, but he's very familar to Patriots fans -- former tight ends coach Brian Daboll.
After one year of being the offensive coordinator at Alabama, Daboll returned to the NFL to become the offensive coordinator of his hometown team. Speaking at the NFL combine, head coach Sean McDermott is excited to have him on board.
“Well there’s a lot of benefits of adding a coach like Brian Daboll," he said. "Obviously, he has been around winning, much like I have, being around a great coach in Bill Belichick and then myself with Andy [Reid]. When you look at his experience now in the college game adding to what he already had in terms of his acumen and knowledge and wisdom of the pro game and that system.
"For us, it was a good fit. Obviously, him being from Buffalo was an added benefit as well.”
The Bills made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years, but McDermott admitted the franchise isn't as far along as some think.
“Well, you know we made a lot of progress in a short amount of time," he said. "We made some big time gains in that first year and it was a team effort, really. The biggest thing for us is making sure we hit the re-set button. We’re not maybe as far along as some people think we are. We have a lot work work to do, and at the same time remaining true to who we are as an organization and our core values.”
Being in the AFC East, they will always be competing with the Patriots and McDermott said his team needs to remain hungry.
“You mentioned the Patriots and the season that they just had - congrats to them and their organization, and the Philadelphia Eagles, congrats to them as well," McDermott said. "I think we all work to get to where they are. With that said, we had a good season, yet we have a lot of work to do, so hungry, the word you used is a great word. We have to stay humble and hungry and embrace that mindset."