Sean McDermott should have Bobby Babich call Buffalo Bills defense in 2024

Almost one year to the day, the Buffalo Bills announced that Leslie Frazier would not be returning to the team after being defensive coordinator for six seasons. At the time, McDermott was answering questions at the NFL Combine of who would be calling plays for the upcoming season.

The Bills would ultimately not hire a defensive coordinator and it was McDermott who would call the plays for that side of the football. When considering all the injuries the team dealt with last season McDermott did a great job as the team finished allowing the fourth fewest points, fourth in sacks and third in takeaways.

On Monday, Sean McDermott was once again being asked who would be calling the defense for the upcoming season. The reason is that the Bills promoted Bobby Babich and will have a coach on their staff with the title of defensive coordinator. Babich is a long-time position coach as he was safeties coach from 2018 through 2021 and linebacker coach for the past two years.

According to WGR550's Sal Capaccio, head coach Sean McDermott said that no decision has been made on who will call plays but the decision seems pretty clear.

Sean McDermott should turn play-calling for Buffalo Bills defense over to Bobby Babich

Based on the performance last season, the Buffalo Bills defense would be just fine with McDermott calling the plays. He proved he is still one of the best defensive minds in the NFL and can produce even without some of the top players.

However, there are plenty of benefits for Bobby Babich to call plays right from the start and make that decision now. The first is that it will allow McDermott to return to focus solely on being a head coach, helping guide younger coordinators in Babich, and offensive coordinator Joe Brady. In addition, it will allow him to lean into other things like game management, which has been a criticism of his at times.

The other reason is that if the Buffalo Bills have to change course at some point, it would not be nearly as bad for McDermott to take the defense over versus having to hand over playcalling to Babich. By making it clear now that Babich is going to be the play-caller it gives him more time to prepare and the players can get familiar with his scheme and style during OTAs and training camp ultimately leading into preseason games.

The good news is that this is a decision that doesn't have to be announced any time soon. The Buffalo Bills have this to their advantage but internally within the organization it should be made clear that this is Bobby Babich's defense to start 2024.