Orchard Park, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills and longtime defensive backs coach John Butler have mutually agreed to part ways, sources tell Syracuse.com.
Butler served as the Bills defensive backs coach since coming to Buffalo from Houston back in 2018. He was promoted to the defense’s passing game coordinator in February of 2022. He called plays for the defense in Buffalo’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers but was passed over for the defensive coordinator job by linebackers coach Bobby Babich, whon was the assistant safeties coach back in 2018. Babich has since been promoted to safeties coach and then took over the linebackers room after his dad, Bob Babich, retired following the 2021 season.
Replacing Butler is 39-year-old Jahmile Addae. The Bills hired the now-former Miami Hurricanes secondary coach to become their new cornerbacks coach on Wednesday. Addae spent the past two seasons in Miami after serving as the Georgia defensive backs coach in 2021.
The Bills also announced that they’ve hired former New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Ronald Curry to be their new quarterbacks coach. Curry has been with the Saints since 2016 after beginning his coaching career as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. He was a seventh-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Raiders in 2002 after playing football and basketball at North Carolina. He converted from a quarterback in college to wide receiver with the Raiders and finished his career with 13 receiving touchdowns. He also served as a wide receivers coach while in New Orleans.
Butler and Bills 2022 first-round draft pick Kaiir Elam never seemed to get on the same page since the former Florida product entered the league. At locker cleanout back in January after the Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs, Elam expressed his frustration with a disappointing second season.
Elam said he had a great offseason but ultimately lost the competition for the starting number-two cornerback spot and only played in three regular season games (two starts).
When asked about how much he leaned on now former DBs coach Butler, Elam responded with: “No comment.”
“I wasn’t there health-wise for my team,” he went on to say. “I really couldn’t explode or couldn’t run. It gave more power to the person not to play me. I just feel like when I got healthy and able to show that I can take the ball away at a high level or go out there and be a great player, I was able to do that when I got healthy. I’m going to continue to work hard and keep striving to get better. That’s all I can do.”
The Bills also announced that the team has hired Christian Taylor as a defensive quality control coach.