Bills DC Leslie Frazier to Take 2023 Season Off, Return to Coaching in 2024

The Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday that defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will take the year off from coaching in 2023.

Frazier intends to return to coaching in 2024, but the Bills are now without a DC for the 2023 campaign.

The 63-year-old has been Buffalo's defensive coordinator since 2017, joining the organization shortly after Sean McDermott was hired as head coach.

Frazier has led a Bills defense that has been among the best in the NFL statistically over the past six seasons, which is a big reason why they have won three consecutive AFC East titles and reached the playoffs in four straight seasons, and five of the past six.

With Frazier calling the defensive plays, the Bills have ranked sixth or better in total defense in four of the past five seasons and inside the top two in scoring defense in three of the past four seasons.

Buffalo led the league in both categories in 2021 and finished 2022 sixth in total yards allowed and second in points allowed.

Per the Bills, Buffalo ranked third in the NFL in points allowed per game, first in total yards allowed per game, first in passing yards allowed per game, first in passing touchdowns allowed, second in interceptions and second in takeaways during Frazier's time as defensive coordinator.

Frazier brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, which led to his elevation to assistant head coach in 2020, alongside his DC duties.

In addition to being a longtime NFL defensive coordinator, Frazier was also head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for parts of four seasons from 2010 through 2013.

As good as the Bills' defensive numbers look in recent years, it can be argued that their playoff shortcomings have largely been a result of poor defense in big moments.

Over the past three seasons, the Bills have lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round and the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Round.

In each of those games, the Bills played against top-tier offenses led by elite quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, but they consistently gave those quarterbacks huge cushions, which allowed them to dissect the Buffalo defense.

Part of the issue this past season was the season-ending injury suffered by Von Miller, which severely impacted the Bills' pass-rush late in the year and during the playoffs.

It is unclear what path the Bills plan to take in terms of replacing Frazier for the 2023 season, but Buffalo has two obvious in-house candidates with strong ties to McDermott.

McDermott was the Carolina Panthers' defensive coordinator from 2011 to 2016, and current Bills defensive line coach Eric Washington coached under him in Carolina as defensive line coach during that time.

Washington then served as the Panthers' DC from 2018 to 2019 before joining McDermott's staff in Buffalo in 2020.

The Bills announced the hiring of Al Holcomb as senior defensive assistant Tuesday, and he too is a candidate to replace Frazier.

Holcomb was the Panthers' linebackers coach from 2013 to 2017, and returned to the Panthers from 2020 to 2022, serving as interim defensive coordinator for part of that tenure.

Many of the top defensive coordinator candidates from outside the organization have already been hired, but one coach worth considering is Kris Richard.

Richard is currently without a job, but he has a strong history as a DC, serving as the Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2017 and the New Orleans Saints' co-defensive coordinator last season.

Seattle ranked inside the top five in both total defense and scoring defense in two of Richard's seasons at the helm, plus the Saints were fifth in total defense and ninth in scoring defense last season.

No team with Richard as defensive coordinator has ever ranked worse than eighth against the pass, either.