AFC East Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia writes that the Bills were impressed with RB Devin Singletary in his rookie season and will look to make him a bigger part of the offense in 2020. 
• Buscaglia mentions Bills RB T.J. Yeldon will have a shot at the backup job if he can fix his fumbles, as Buffalo is expected to move on from RB Frank Gore. 
• Buscaglia doesn’t anticipate the Bills making a major free agent or draft acquisition at running back, with maybe a late-round pick on a back with some power and special teams ability the extent of their needs. 

Dolphins

Dolphins HC Brian Flores asked Monday about his decision to fire OC Chad O’Shea after just one season in Miami. Flores explained that he felt he needed to do something to alter the vision for the offense to something that more aligned with what Flores was doing with the whole team. 

“I have a lot of respect for Chad,” Flores explained, via the Miami Herald. “I think he’s a very, very good coach. At the end of the day, I feel like for the future of this team, my vision for us offensively, I feel like it’s a move we have to make. … From a vision standpoint, as far as how we’re going to run the football and throw the football. How we’re going to go about meetings and practices and walk-throughs I felt like we needed to do something a little differently than we had in the past.

“I’m charged with having a vision for this team. … At that position, from the coaching staff standpoint, a lot of thought went into this. It wasn’t a snap decision. It was definitely a back and forth. When you’re in this seat you have to make some hard decisions and that was one of them. I felt like it was the best thing for the team.”

As for the decision to lure Chan Gailey out of retirement, Flores said he’s “very innovative” and his prior experience should help them out moving forward. 

“He’s very innovative,” Flores said. “He’s been a head coach in this league. He understands situations. He has coached a lot of different types of players. He’s done a job of getting the most out of players. He’s someone I have a lot of confidence in. He’ll help us.”

Flores also praised Gailey for his work with quarterbacks and getting the most out of his players. 

“He’s worked with a lot of quarterbacks, he’s been a head coach,” Flores said. “He understands, let’s call it ‘coach-quarterback,’ that dynamic, that relationship, how important it is. He’s a very good teacher and he’s gotten the most out of every guy that’s been in that room. To me, that’s coaching.”

• According to ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe, Jim Caldwell won’t return to the Dolphins in 2020. Caldwell was hired last year as a QB coach and assistant head coach, but stepped away due to health reasons in July. 
• The Dolphins met with Utah State QB Jordan Love at the Senior Bowl. (Joe Schad)

Jets

• According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the list of prospects the Jets could be interested in at the Senior Bowl include Houston OT Josh Jones, Washington OT Trey Adams, Michigan G Ben Bredeson, LSU CB Kristian Fulton, Michigan State DE Kenny Willekes and Florida DE Jonathan Greenard.

Patriots

• The Patriots hired former S Vinnie Sunseri to the coaching staff in a support role. Sunseri was a grad assistant at his alma mater, Alabama, in 2019. (Matt Zenitz)