DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ANTHONY CAMPANILE
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
(On Bills QB Josh Allen) “Really good. He’s great player. When I was in Miami for a bunch of
years, we would play him at least twice a year. One season there we played three times, but
he’s phenomenal player. Just every facet of what he does is elite. He’s elite in the pocket,
elite thrower, hard to tackle, obviously in his career but a smart guy, too. Kind of running the
show up there as you know, he gets them into great plays. I think he’s got all the skill sets of
an elite player in this league at that position. And he makes you stay up late at night to try
and get it right; that’s for sure.”
(On the opportunity of facing the number one rushing offense) “I think it’s just an
opportunity for us to play with technique and do our job. That’s kind of the way we’re
looking at it. That’s the way the guys in room are looking at it. That’s how I’m looking at it.
They challenge you in so many ways with their run game. They make everybody tackle. They
do a really good job in their combinations, do a good job playing with their hands as an
offensive line. Really everybody, I would say. I think their perimeter does a very good job
blocking. And that’s generated a lot of the big runs for them down the field, even in the
screen game, which are an extension of the run game. They’ve done a great job in the
perimeter blocking. So, it’s a challenge at every level of the defense and the running back
obviously is elite. I think he does a tremendous job. Cook [RB James Cook III] does a
tremendous job of finding cracks. You look at some of the stuff on tape, there’s nowhere to
go and he pops through there. So, he’s an elite back and obviously the quarterback’s an
elite runner as well but they have a bunch of good backs. They’ve really given everybody fits
at this point in the season in the run game, so it’s a great challenge for us.”
(On the challenges that Bills WR Khalil Shakir poses) “Yeah, he’s a guy they move around
quite a bit but he’s just so elusive. In my opinion, he’s got great stop-start, and that’s what’s
really challenging about him. So, in man-to-man, he’s a challenge to cover. And you’ve got
to know where he is, really every down, because he becomes an issue in terms of them, like
you said, moving him around and them trying to get numbers issues in their favor in the run
game too.”
(On putting DEs Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen next to each other when rushing the
passer) “Yeah, they work pretty well together, like even when we’re running the pass rush
games. And again, sometimes that’s just trying to find the right matchup that we want in the
rush, and I think that that’s been pretty productive for us also. So, they’ve done a great job
with that, those two guys and it’s something I think they enjoy doing as well, working
together, working right next to each other.”
(On S Antonio Johnson) “Keep asking, because every time you do it, he keeps playing good.”
(On what Johnson can bring to the defense with his build and skill set) “He’s done so much
for us because of that, because he has a very unique skill set because he’s a big guy, big
enough to play on the line of scrimmage, down on the line scrimmage, like you said, has
really good coverage skills so he can cover the skill guys and does a good job on tight ends
as well. And he’s got range when he plays in the post or plays in the half. So, his football
intelligence is really high to be honest with you. I think I’ve said in here before just how hard
he’s worked doing the extra stuff, meeting with other guys on the team and coaches. He’s
improved so much and he really to your point, gives us a lot of options with him in the
game.”
(On if Johnson will be important due to the Bills use of TEs) “Yeah, he’s important every
week, but their tight ends, they have a very good tight end room as you know. I think Knox
[Bills TE Dawson Knox] has had a tremendous career, Kincaid’s [Bills TE Dalton Kincaid] an
elite athlete. They’re doing a great job in the run game and in the pass game. So, it’s a
challenge and Antonio’s a guy throughout our season who’s helped us a whole lot in that
way.”
(On who has influenced him in his career to stay focused) “I think a lot of people had a huge
influence on me. I’d say recently, obviously working with [Packers Defensive Coordinator]
Jeff Hafley, I thought we had a very similar belief system and style. We see things very
similarly and then [Eagles Defensive Coordinator] Vic Fangio is probably a guy who—he
had a tremendous impact on me, just in seeing certain things in the game and how you call
the game. And even in terms of how you practice things, so he’s been somebody that has
been a great resource for me, was a huge help to me. And he definitely had a big effect on
me as well. Jeff’s one of those guys and Flo [Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores]
too. Coach Flores had a huge impact on me. And you can probably see a lot of the things
that we do, they may show up for some of those teams as well.”
(On if watching tape of a similar defense such as the Eagles vs. Bills is helpful) “Yeah,
you’re always looking at stuff if there’s any similarity for sure. But I’ve pretty much went
through all the games and that’s usually what my process is, what I do. And I think that our
coaches have done a great job, our assistant coaches have done a great job kind of raising
points and looking at certain things. They’ve been a huge resource as well, but yeah, all the
games. Usually you do that five-game breakdown, five most recent and then we’ve kind of
just gone through everything.”
(On the importance of building relationships with players and why it was ‘hard’ to get him to
leave Green Bay) “Yeah, that was probably just more, I struggle with that just in general,
which is probably maybe not a good thing in coaching. I don’t know. But that was hard for
me. It just made it hard on me, to be honest with you, I was really close with the guys in that
room, but not just the guys in the room, the team and the coaches. You spend so much
time together in this business. You spend more time with the people in the room than you
do with your family throughout the season, so that is super important. That really is. For you
to be great at something, I think you really got to almost have an obsession with making it
right and if you care about people you’re going to want to see them be successful and we
have a great group of people here too. So, I was like super fortunate. To leave that was
something I struggled with making that decision but being here there’s been so many—
everywhere you go you meet great people in this game, you really do. But this place is
special, we’ve got a great group of guys, and this place has certainly made it easy on me,
our players and coaches because they’re hard guys not to love being around.”
(On how helpful it is to have QB Carter Bradley serve as the scout team QB) “He’s a stud.
He’s awesome. I’m glad you asked me that. Yeah, he’s been so good for us in terms of giving
us like the exact look, even the communication of things at the line of scrimmage. He takes
it so seriously. He’s got great leadership qualities at the line of scrimmage, and you can see
him driving the scout guys. And he’s a great help to me because I’m kind of like that in
practice too. I want the thing going, want everybody going flying around and he really does a
great job of controlling the tempo of the practice and giving us such an accurate look of
what – not only what the plays are going to be, but what the pre snap process is going to be.
He’s been awesome. He’s a stud. He’s been awesome. I appreciate you asking that.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GRANT UDINSKI
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
(On if he had anything to do with OL Coach Shaun Sarrett joining the staff) “Well, funny
enough, the process actually happened at the same time where Liam [Head Coach Liam
Coen] was in the search for an offensive line coach while he also in look for an offensive
coordinator. So, we actually came down together—well not together, but we were down
here at the same time, we were both interviewing. So, it worked out really well where I was
able to talk about Shaun. I’m sure he asked questions to Shaun about me during that
interview process. And then Shaun was brought on very shortly after I joined the staff. So, I
was super fired up to get to continue working with Shaun. It was great to have that
experience and that background with him. He’s done a phenomenal job working with the O-
line, working with our staff, a bunch of different things that he’s managed and juggled.
We’ve talked about the different guys at different positions at the offensive line. That’s not
an easy task to have guys playing left tackle, right tackle, blocking run schemes that are gap
scheme one week, wide zone the next week, tight zone the week after that, handling all that
stuff. He’s done a great job along with the rest of the offensive line.”
(On what stands out about the Bills defense) “A lot stands out about the Bills defense.
You’re not going to be number one in pass defense without having really a great group
across the board that’s highly coordinated, plays hard, great technique, great
fundamentals and they’ve really mastered that scheme. They do a great job matching route
concept, passing different things off, making it challenging. Not only post-snap, they make
it challenging pre-snap. They present a bunch of different looks for the quarterbacks and
that causes different issues that show up, whether it’s the pass game or the run game. So,
they present you a lot of issues, then you get into the front. They do a great job attacking
blocks, they do a great job getting off the ball. They’ve got guys that they can rotate in and
out, so they’re always fresh on the defensive line. And then you see the athleticism, the
linebackers, they have great command of that defense. They’re all sideline to sideline guys,
they all can cover backs, they can cover tight ends. And they’re out there, they’re great in
the zone, they make plays on the ball. So, it’s a solid group across the board.”
(On if the Bills are playing more base defense recently based on what he’s seen) “They’ve
certainly evolved in base this year and just like anybody on offense, on defense, we’ve
evolved as well throughout the season. They continue to evolve as well, so they start to play
some base. They play some nickel. They’re able to play both and they’ve got the guys to
play both. They really have more than enough guys to play both because they have more
than three. They’ve got five or more quality linebackers, so they play some base. One of the
challenges that they present is they could be in nickel versus certain personnels. They
could be in base versus certain personnels. So, we have to have a plan for both.”
(On where OL Walker Little will play based on potential injuries) “The luxury is that he can
play both. Chuma [OL Chuma Edoga] has played both. Cole’s [OL Cole Van Lanen] played
all over the place. These guys have gotten these reps starting at all these different
positions. So, it’s unfortunate that we’ve had to be in those situations and get those guys
certain spots. I would love to be in here and say we had the same five offensive line start
every single game at the same spot all year. But that’s not the case and it’s probably never
going to be the case. So, the luxury of that is or the benefit of that is now guys have reps on
both sides. Walker’s comfortable playing with Anton [OL Anton Harrison]. He’s played all
year with Ezra [OL Ezra Cleveland], so he’s played on both sides. He’s played inside and
outside and that’s really a valuable trait for us to have and an asset to the offensive line and
the offense as a whole.”
(On the improvement of TE Brenton Strange) “Yeah, he’s improved in all areas of the game
throughout the course of year. The one thing I wish maybe we could have done a better job
was showcasing some of that talent earlier in the year. I think he’s been talented even from
the offseason, from the time we got here. Now it takes time for anybody to learn the system
and continue to understand the timing of routes, the spacing of routes, where guys are
going to be at certain times and kind of the little nuances of when a defense plays it this
way, I adjust the route slightly at a higher angle or I dive and go inside of a defender. And
he’s done a great job continuing to master those nuances. But he’s had a lot of ability in the
pass game in a one-on-one matchup zone or man really all year. I think we’ve just
continued to try to build and find our stride at deploying them properly.”
(On if WR Brian Thomas Jr. has taken the same steps as Strange this season) “Absolutely,
absolutely. He’s another guy, a lot of physical talent, and he’s had some injuries earlier in
the year, banged up here and there, and he’s fought through and played through that stuff.
So I’m grateful for his commitment to sticking with us as we continue to try to find what he
does best, what’s our best way to use him. He’s run a really wide route tree and lined up at
a bunch of different spots. He’s played different positions, been asked to do multiple
things. And a lot of those things are things that he hasn’t done in the past. So, it’s only
natural that with time, as he continues to get reps, continues to get practice at those
things, he gets more comfortable. And you see him playing faster, rolling off the ball,
attacking the ball in the air, and then making plays after the catch. I think that’s just a
product of hopefully our work continuing to try to improve things, but really his work on the
practice field continuing to improve and be comfortable.”
(On the value of when every pass catcher on offense can contribute) “Yeah, it’s a
tremendous luxury. It’s the same situation as the offensive line in a sense. Having that
versatility of guys who can go in there and play and make plays, Dyami [WR Dyami Brown]
makes an awesome play on the slant at the end of the game, a contested catch. Guys are
making catches outside the numbers, down the field, shallows, catch and runs. So, having
a wide receiver room that can play different positions and you can mix and match guys and
line up those guys at different spots. And then not only that, play with different groups of
guys and complement their release patterns or complement their route spacing, is a huge
advantage for us. It’s also a great testament to their preparation, their work ethic
throughout the course of the week, because there are a lot of times guys go into a week and
they don’t know necessarily if I’m going to get 40 snaps or am I going to get two snaps? Am I
going to get 15? What’s going to happen? But you’re always a play away. And that’s a true
test of a player’s character, their preparation, their work ethic. When they’re not expecting
to play, they’re not going in there anticipating to play a certain letter position. They’re not
going to be the X, they’re not going to be the Z this week, but they’ve done the extra work
just in case. There’s no guarantee of a reward, but they stick to the process anyway. So
that’s the type of stuff that really lights me up that I love to see from those guys and I’m glad
they’re able to get a catch when they do that.”
(On how facing Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile’s defense has helped him
develop as a coach) “That’s a great question. I’m beyond fortunate to have—we’re all
beyond fortunate to have Camp here. Liam’s done a phenomenal job of building not just an
offensive unit and a defensive unit, a special teams unit, he’s really built a team and he’s
built a culture of all of us in here working together and all of us working towards the same
goal. We try to go out there and play complementary football every week. They may pull
their weight more than we do sometimes with giving us the ball in great situations, but we
try our best to complement that. When you talk about the practice field, I love the
opportunity to go against such a variety of schemes and such a challenge each week.
Camp’s not going to make it easy on us, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want
somebody who’s going to go out there and test your rules, who’s going to try to force issues,
force challenges because it only improves us. Iron sharpening iron is kind of one of those
things that we get to see every day out there. Not only from a schematic standpoint, from
what Camp challenges, but also from a cultural and an effort and a strength standpoint. He
has those guys playing so hard that it helps raise the standard. That’s something that
Liam’s kind of created through the entire culture here, not just out there on the practice
field, talking about the weight room, everybody’s bought in, but the defense and the level
they’ve played at and the effort that they’ve played at only elevates the offense.”
