INDIANAPOLIS — With the NFL combine starting up at Lucas Oil Stadium on Tuesday, it was the first time the media has heard from Bills' general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott.
Their objectives for the week, and the offseason were clear: to keep Josh Allen as protected and as comfortable as possible, and to share the organization's proposal for the league's overtime rules.
So far in the offseason, the Bills have promoted quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey to offensive coordinator - after Brian Daboll departed to become the New York Giants next head coach, and taking offensive line coach Bobby Johnson with him. The Bills brought in their former offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.
Those two decisions have revolved around Allen.
The quarterback gave Dorsey his vote of confidence to be the next offensive coordinator, should Daboll be leaving for another job.
Beane said the Bills did their due diligence interviewing other candidates, but ultimately agreed with Allen.
"Part of our plan when we got started was continuity for Josh, from the coaching staff, the organization, the plays, the protections, meaning that we got a new line coach, we don't have to change all the protections. He's coming in to kinda learn our system," Beane said on Tuesday afternoon at the combine in Indianapolis.
"The more we can keep the same for Josh, the easier it will be to assimilate... We felt in the end, that was the most important."
Keeping that offensive line running in a similar fashion, McDermott felt confident in Kromer's hiring, as well.
"I feel good about Aaron with the level that he's coached at as an offensive line coach. A big emphasis for us protecting our quarterback, and you guys know why. I don't need to tell you why," McDermott said about Kromer.
"So making a big time hire at that position was important for me this offseason so that those players are developing the right way... I expect that he'll do a good job for us."
While the Bills expect to keep the line in front of Allen in tact, they'll likely need to replace the guy behind him - second string quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who came to Buffalo on a one-year deal in the offseason.
Bean called Trubisky a "marry your daughter type of guy," for how great of a teammate and person he had been in Buffalo, but said "It'll be our job to find a suitable replacement, assuming we're not able to get Mitch back."
Beane said they are looking high and low for the right backup for Allen, given the style of football he plays. The Bills front office plans to look into free agency, trading and in the draft.
"We definitely need to find that piece because we know how Josh plays. As much as I always want Josh to get down, Josh sometimes sees the play all the way through, and it's a 17-game season, so we'll definitely have to find the right answer there," he said.
As for the Bills' overtime rule proposal, McDermott was at first tight-lipped: "We have a proposal. We'll see where it goes," he said before meeting with the NFL Competition Committee in Indianapolis.
Then elaborating more, referencing the AFC Divisional loss in overtime to Kansas City, when Allen and the offense didn't get the ball in their hands in a 42-36 shootout, said, "You experience some of those things firsthand, in particular, you want to evolve the game, and I think evolving the game for us, going through like that we did as a firsthand experience. So say 'hey, we can make the game better if we just did X, Y and Z.
"We've got some ideas, and I think they'll help move the game forward, and we'll see where it goes."
"A GM and I laughed in the Super Bowl, there's gonna be 32 different proposals, but you know, we definitely, you know, put our stamp on one," Beane said, then provided more detail on the Bills' proposal.
"Instead of one possession and you get the other possession is a time, you know similar to basketball you play five minutes... A time limit, I'm talking about postseason only, to play it out, and that way both teams will definitely have a chance and maybe even more than one possession."
