HEAD COACH LIAM COEN
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026
(On why he hired Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile) “I think I mentioned it before,
where I was at Maine and he was at Boston College. We didn’t know each other but his
brother was a UMass alum. But I didn’t really know them that well. I’d heard of his family
more so because of his brothers that were high school coaches in Jersey. And then, I went
down to watch a practice at Boston College for staff development. And I just was watching
their practice and saw his style and the way that his players kind of responded to him. And
then I watched their meetings and was like, ‘Oh, dude’s pretty impressive.’ And just kind of
kept his name and then linked up a few times randomly and then he worked for [Former
UMass Head Coach] Don Brown at Michigan, which was my college head coach. And so,
then there was a natural connection that was made. And so, we kind of just stayed in
touch, followed them over the years. And then when you looked at Green Bay last year, their
run defense specifically and how they played the run, how they played as a group, I really
respected and he made it hard coming here. He made it really hard. It was very clear. I know
some of his players in Green Bay at the time were hurting when he left and that was a huge
reason why he didn’t really want to leave was because of the relationship with the players.
So, his personality shows in our defense and in the staff and the way that they kind of
prepare, go through things. The people that he’s worked with, you can see so much of what
he’s taken from those people and made his own. When you see a player walk into the
stadium with his face on his shirt, as Antonio [S Antonio Johnson] did, it’s kind of cool. He
shows you that there’s a relationship there. He’s a very passionate person. So, it shows in
his work, he pours into it and the relationship piece is the main part that I’ve always
respected and appreciated about Camp. And you want the majority of your coaches to be
that way, to be relational. And when you work in college, a lot, you get that because you
have them at your house a lot. You have them over, you’re with recruits, you’re with families,
and you’re able to relate in that way. And I think that’s what you’re seeing.”
(On if the team will practice in pads this week) “That’s TBD.”
(On the schedule today) “Yeah, walk through today. Normal Thursday practice tomorrow,
that’ll be our potential pads day, will be tomorrow. We’re just going to kind of see how
things go today and where we are.”
(On Bills Safeties Jordan Poyer and Cole Bishop) “I mean, shoot Jordan Poyer, man. I
remember 2020. I think he was there when we were playing there, and they were damn
good defense. Look, they’ve been running this similar defense since [Head] Coach [Sean]
McDermott’s been there. And so, they see all the quarters, beaters, they see all the 3 deep
beaters, they see all the quarter-quarter half beaters. And Jordan Poyer’s seen a lot of
football and he’s played a ton of ball. I know he’s a leader; he’s a communicator back there.
And then you see Bishop getting his hands on the ball, making plays, anticipating some of
those concepts that they’re used to seeing and you can tell they do a lot of pass offs and
coverages in the back end is pretty tied together. You can tell, I mean they’re what number
one pass defense for a reason and I think those two guys are a big reason why.”
(On what stands out about Bills RB James Cook III) “Elusive, slippery, elusive, smooth. He
just has a great feel for mid zone, for the zone game and the press combinations and then
he just has such a great feel. And then duo, if you collapse it all, he’s fast enough to bounce
it and go one-on-one with a corner that’s got a crack replace and he’s fast enough to run
around the edge and make that guy miss. I mean the run against the Browns that has been
all over the place. I mean it was ridiculous. They had two guys unblocked in the hole and he
just makes them both miss and he’s off to the races and they use them a lot in the pass
game as well. So, he’s a dual threat. He’s one of those guys that fits in the same mold as
your Bijans [Falcons RB Bijan Robinson], your McCaffreys [49ers RB Christian McCaffrey],
those kinds of guys. You’ve got to be on the screws with the matchup in the pass game and
we’ve got to be at our best clamp tackling this week.”
(On how using QB Carter Bradley as the scout team QB can help the team prepare for Bills
QB Josh Allen) “Yeah, just making sure that we extend some plays and just giving those
guys a look of like, alright, Carter’s got a big arm. I mean, that ball can go anywhere on the
field in some ways. So, it’s a great representation of there’ll be examples of throwing on
time and in rhythm and practice. And there’ll also be some examples of, hey, Carter, hang
on to this one, move around, find some lanes, run around and try to try to throw it
somewhere down the field. Just trying to give those guys as realistic of a look as you can. I
mean, Nick [QB Nick Mullens] will still get some reps and do what he’s always done and
done a great job. But Carter can do some of those things and be able to create a little bit off
schedule that can help give those guys—I showed the team this morning some of those
plays from Josh [Allen] where he’s got people draped all over him, stiff arm and pump faking
them and he’s football player, man.”
(On the strain that Allen puts on a defense) “Yeah, it’s the ultimate strain is what it is.
Because you’re a dual threat. You have to defend the run and the pass every time the ball is
snapped. It’s not as if you can just tee off on a guy like that knowing man, well, he can’t
really move, so you can just go play two man or go do these things. Your rush plan has to be
extremely dialed in. Your spy game has to be dialed in if you’re going to do any of that stuff.
Your zone coverage has got to make sure that you’re giving eyes obviously on the
quarterback at all times and, look, when you have to account for the quarterback every
play, we have a luxury of that as well, in ways where our quarterback can take off on you,
it’s hard to defend every blade of grass.”
(On how the defense will look to defend Bills TEs Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox) “Both
Kincaid and Knox, very good football players. Great in the pass, they work their tails off in
the run game and they do a nice job of putting them in advantageous matchups in the run
game. And they’ll get heavy, they’ll go jumbo but still have those tight ends out there. So
now you’ve got bigger people on the grass defensively, but they like to maybe spread it out
and throw it. So, they do a nice job of creating matchups for the tight ends and they’re good
players. There’s a trust level you can tell between Josh and those guys. And obviously, we
struggled a little bit against Bowers [Raiders TE Brock Bowers], who obviously a lot of
people have struggled against him. But I do think that some of where we’re at now with
Antonio and with some of these different packages can help us continue to defend bigger
sets that way but still have athleticism on the grass and be able to feel comfortable about
stopping the run still. That’s the predicament that they put you in when you play with a lot of
tight ends and you go heavier. Well now, yeah, you’re better against the run, but you’re more
susceptible against the pass. Vice versa, you play little against heavy people, big people.
Now you’re susceptible against the run. So that’s why you do it. That’s why you see [Rams
Head Coach] Sean McVay doing a lot in L.A. with 13 personnel and stuff. It definitely can
create some mismatches.”
(On what has changed about Buffalo since he faced them with the Rams in 2020)
“Definitely their linebacker core. When I was there, I think Edmunds [Bears LB Tremaine
Edmunds] and Milano [Bills LB Matt Milano]. Milano still there, obviously they’ve continued
to emphasize athleticism with Bernard [Bills LB Terrel Bernard] in there and obviously [Bills
CB] Taron Johnson being that nickel position that he’s a damn good run defender when
you’re playing at 11 and you’re staying in nickel, which they do even the 12 personnel at
times. So, you can definitely tell within their scheme, they have personnel evolve both on
offense and defense, as you mentioned, because it was a little bit more geared towards,
when we played him in 2020, like the skill players and Josh and being able to do those
things. Now you can see the evolution of the run game, the physicality that while also I
mean they can spread you out with Shakir [WR Khalil Shakir] and all those guys inside. So
they’ve done a nice job and I’ve got a lot of respect for Sean McDermott and how they’ve
continued to win regardless and evolve as a staff.”
(On if success has come as quickly as he thought when he took the job) “I think you try not
to put too many expectations on it when you take the job. Like I didn’t sit here saying, ‘I
hope we win eight’ or ‘I hope we win ten.’ I didn’t put many of those labels on the job. When
you get it, you’re really just hoping to improve and to help players improve, you’re hoping to
obviously continue to elevate the standard and raise the bar. To say, I assumed we would
win 13 games when I took the job, I can’t say that. But I think that, I guess you could say
we’ve, I’m not going to say overachieved, but I think you can say that we’ve probably gotten
a lot better in some ways. And so, you say, yeah, you’ve helped, you’ve done what you
wanted to do, which was get better, which was improve, which was help individual players
reach their potentials. Like those are the goals that you have. And so, I guess you could say
we’ve reached some of those goals for sure.”
(On Bills RB Ray Davis and his journey) “Extremely special. Know Ray very well, know his
whole story, his whole life, the background, the journey that it took to get where he’s at now
and to see him have the success that he’s had. It was no surprise, but it’s an incredible
story. Very mentally tough, very talented football player. I mean, he led the SEC in
touchdowns that year in ‘23 and he just continues to get better. And you can tell how
trusted he is there, how dynamic he’s been in the return game and then when last week,
he’s the number one back, what that can look like. So, they’ve got a really good one, two,
really three punch with those running backs back there and Ray’s a huge part of that very
proud of Ray to be where he’s at today.”
(On how big of a game this is for the front four) “Huge. Huge, showed some of those
examples this morning about, seeing Atlanta and just the teams that are able to create a
rush with four because you need to have eyes in the secondary on him as well in some of
the zones and making sure that you’re changing the picture back there for him and for those
receivers and skill players. So huge test for those guys. I believe they’ll be up for the
challenge and whether we have to rush with four or five, six, whatever it is, we’ve got to
impact and affect the quarterback in and out of the pocket.”
(On what has made RB Bhayshul Tuten an effective short yardage runner) “Yeah, for a guy
that obviously is coming out with speed, he does a nice job like getting behind his pads and
he’s rocked up for being a small dude. And I know we were looking at when I was in Tampa
last year, we were looking at Ray Davis and looking at Bucky Irving and those guys. And then
this year you kind of have, I’m not going to call it same type, but there’s some similarities.
Those compact backs, that can take a hit, but maybe you’re not getting whacked every time
you take a hit because they’re compact. They’re smaller, lower center of gravity. They’re
able to kind of get in there and gain those short yardage, hard yards. Tuten when he’s feeling
good and he’s been healthy and stuff, obviously you guys have seen, he’s helped us. So, we
need to continue that. He’s been so concerned about ball security. I’m like, dude, you’ve
got to stop running out in the open field with two hands on the rock, dude. Like go be
creative, man. Cover it up, lock it up when you’re in traffic. But dude, you don’t need to run
with two hands on the ball all the time.”
(On if he allowed himself to think about how cool this was in the morning) “(joking) No, I’m
pretty mis [miserable] in the morning. So, I’m not thinking of too many happy thoughts in
the morning. No, but it’s cool to come into the team meeting this morning, congratulating
the team because we went through the game a little bit on Sunday that we just had and
went through the players of the game and all that stuff. So, we were able to cheer for that
and move on. And so, yeah, a ton has been accomplished, but you sit here and say that,
well, you’re here now. So, you might as well—nothing really does matter what we just did. It
really doesn’t. It’s kind of whatever gets celebrated. No matter what, in a few weeks from
here, whenever it ends, you’re going to be pissed off or you’re going to be really happy. One
person, one team, one organization is typically happy at the end of the season and that’s
what is hard about this job and this profession, but it’s also what’s exciting about it.”
(On if he handles the week the same with players who are playing in their first playoff game)
“Same as, man, same as. That’s what we talked about this morning, was 1-0 again this
week. That’s especially, we’re in the dance now, we’re in the tournament, so we’ve got to go
1-0 each week, but taking it week in, week out. I think that our players have done a nice job
of rising to the level of competition and playing well in important games. And the no flinch,
no blink mentality, the mindset to, hey, we’ve got to go take care of ourselves, go play our
best football, put our best foot forward and go compete our asses off and see what
happens. I think we’ve got enough guys that I’ve played in playoff atmosphere that know
what it takes, that know what it’s about, that can help some of these younger guys maybe
talk through it, but yeah, it may be a little faster, maybe a little more physical. Guys might
sustain blocks a little longer, and that’s the difference. That is playoff football, and we’ll be
ready.”
(On if he has read ‘Chop wood, carry water’) “I have not. I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about
it. I’ve seen, obviously, a lot of the notes on it, but no, I haven’t read too much. I used to
read more than I do now, and I probably need to get more into it but with two little ones, it’s
pretty hard.”
QUARTERBACK TREVOR LAWRENCE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026
(On the video of him getting squatted at a bar) “Yep. It’s done, so we can all move on now. I
know you guys are worried about it, but yeah, just having a good time, I guess. I don’t know
how else to describe this. I did not think that was going to happen, but it was interesting.
Phones now record everything, so there you go.”
(On if he knew it was going to be filmed) “I didn’t think it was going to get filmed. I knew I
was going to get squatted. She didn’t just pick me up. That’d be crazy. But no, we’re just
having a good time. Obviously, a thousand people have asked me about that. We got
anything? Playoff game this weekend.”
(On if the week feels different) “It’s obviously a playoff feel knowing that you’re one of the
teams that’s in the playoffs and a lot of teams are done. You see all this stuff about all these
teams that are kind of packing up, going home. And so that feeling of still playing ball feels
really good, but as far as the preparation in the week, it’s the same. We’re preparing the
same way. Obviously the mindset, it’s the similar to how we’ve been playing. I feel like
we’ve been playing with that playoff kind of mentality and one week at a time and that’s
truly what it is now. Before you had your schedule set out, and you have to intentionally
take it one week at a time. Now, we’ve got the Bills this weekend, whoever wins gets to keep
playing. So, everything’s going into this one game and we’re preparing the right way and just
trying to keep our process the same as it always is.”
(On how fun the season has been) “It’s awesome. Winning’s fun. So, we’re having a lot of
fun and I think just the way we’re doing it, the way we’re playing with confidence and
feeding off one another and the team is really close, I think that’s usually what makes the
team good, is that tight knit, the family feel and the relationships with each other and the
staff and the players and all those things. And we have all that so, winning’s fun and we’ve
just got to keep winning because it gets more and more fun. So, but it’s been a really fun
year, the group coming together. I think that’s the coolest thing is just the relationship part
of it and seeing guys have success and our team have success and just feeding off that, it’s
been awesome.”
(On the Bills defensive system) “They always present a lot of challenges on defense. They
do a good job. Their scheme has been very similar for a lot of years, so you kind of, I say
what you’re going to get, but they do a really good job of disguising and changing the picture
on quarterbacks and they bring a lot of different pressures and they play that game a little
bit that you’ve got to kind of figure out the chess match. And they do a nice job, and they
present some challenges and it’s going to be the same way this week, but yeah, definitely
similar to how they’ve been in the past, which is throw a little bit of things at you and you try
to figure it out.”
(On if he has a new appreciation for winning) “Yeah, like I said, Coach Swinney [Clemson
Head Coach Dabo Swinney] used to say it all the time, ‘The fun is in the winning.’ It’s so true
and we’re all very fortunate to play this game and it is a fun game and it’s awesome and
don’t get me wrong, but the fun part is having that success as a team. Like that’s why you
play, it’s not for—all the other stuff’s great too, the money and all the other benefits of it, but
the reason why you play is to win as a team and to put all this work in to collectively do
something together. It’s a special feeling and it’s really fun when you’re doing that. So, like I
said, we’ve just got to keep that going.”
(On how to make a big name feel ‘normal’) “Yeah, at the end of the day it’s just another
game. It’s going to be 60 minutes, who knows, maybe longer, it could go to overtime I guess,
but it’s four quarters. It’s football, it’s what we’ve been playing and obviously the stakes are
a little bit higher. Whoever loses goes home, but you can’t let that freak you out and play
differently or do something different or try to do too much. There’s a fine line. You have to
prepare the right way and put the work in like we’ve been doing. But you also have to keep
yourself calm and go out there and it’s just a game. You’ve got to go play and play free and
continue to build upon what we’ve been doing this year and keep getting better every week.
You can’t make it bigger than what it is. At the end of the day, we’ve still got to go and
execute and play our game, and we know we’re a good team. We know Buffalo’s a good
team too, so it’s going to be who plays better on Sunday.”
(On what he will tell players making their postseason debut) “Yeah, just that it’s a little bit of
a different feeling, you’re pretty juiced for the game, but like I just said, it’s still just a
football game, so you’ve got to try to settle in as quick as possible. But everyone is—not
that people aren’t playing hard every Sunday—people are playing hard every Sunday, but
there is that uptick of just because there’s so much in the line. Like I said, you lose, you go
home, so there’s that extra drive, the finishing plays, the running around, guys making plays
all over the field. That extra uptick in effort from some players I guess, but this league,
everybody plays hard. So even that, I’d say it’s just a game and you’ve got to just settle in as
quick as possible. Don’t let the moment get too big.”
(On QB Carter Bradley being the scout team quarterback to emulate Bills QB Josh Allen)
“Yeah, I think it’s really valuable. Obviously, Josh is a really special, unique player and what
he was able to do and create out of the pocket and he can do it from inside the pocket too,
which makes him really a threat. Obviously, he can kind of do it all, but having that extra
element, having a guy like Carter who can extend plays and I see him a little bit obviously in
practice and throwing from different arm angles and getting on the move and making plays
and scrambling and really putting some stress on our defense of having to cover that and
also cover the QB scrambles and runs. There’s a lot that you have to do as a defense to be
able to execute all that. And he’s done a great job giving us a look all year, and it’ll be really
valuable obviously this week like you pointed out and coach pointed out with Josh.”
(On if he feels vindicated from the success) “Not really. I just think I’ve said it a bunch, it
just gives you perspective, I’ve always had confidence in who I am and I just try to go to
work every day and get better and I know in my career I haven’t always played my best every
single Sunday and that’s part of growing and learning and evolving and there’s some
growing pains and there’s some things that you’ve got to go through and I just think I have a
better perspective through all of it. And at the end of the day, I just want to keep getting
better and people can say what they want now, all the good stuff. And I don’t really care
about any of that either. I just want to keep getting better and keep finding ways to win.”
