Sean McDermott publicly defends Bills' defensive coordinator amidst ugly stretch

The Buffalo Bills have lost two in a row, but the head coach isn't considering stripping Bobby Babich of his defensive play calling duties

Oct 5, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on from the sidelines during the first half against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Although the performances were far from pretty, there's a valid argument to be made that the Buffalo Bills' defense did enough to warrant wins in Weeks 5 and 6.

In the end, the offense squandered multiple chances to take control in back-to-back primetime losses to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.

There's definitely plenty of blame to go around, but head coach Sean McDermott, unsurprisingly, declined to publicly criticize defensive coordinator Bobby Babich when given an opportunity.

In his second season as the defense's playcaller, Babich has seen his unit get gashed on the ground, and through the air, on multiple occasions.

“Bobby's young in this position. He works extremely hard. He's gifted and play calling is one of the harder things to do in this business," said McDermott.

On October 5, the Bills had no answer for old friend Stefon Diggs and couldn't prevent the Patriots from driving for the game-winning field goal with 00:15 remaining. On Monday night against the Falcons, the Bills surrendered over 300 total yards in the first half alone.

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“I have a lot of confidence in Bobby and our defensive staff. I thought they made some real good adjustments last night in the second half in particular. At halftime, we came out and played really well after half," said McDermott.

While McDermott took over play calling for the 2023 season, after Leslie Frazier departed, the head coach has not considered pushing Babich aside and pulling double duty during the Bills' 4-2 start.

“No. We're trying to improve in every area. Defensively, I think there's some things we're doing well, and some things that we have to improve on, but that has not crossed my mind at this point," said McDermott as the Bills broke for their bye week.

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Although the Bills' defense ranks last in the NFL for allowing 5.75 yards per rush, and the offense has shortcircuited in consecutive losses, McDermott sounded confident that his staff will identify and implement the necessary changes during the bye.

"Overall, again, within our building, I'm confident in the people in our building, whether it's this situation or other situations, that we can get the job done," said McDermott.

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator, Bobby Babich yells to the team during warm ups trying to get them pumped up before their home game against the New Orleans Saints in Orchard Park on Sept. 28, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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