Listen in on a meeting in the Buffalo Bills linebacker room, and you’re sure to catch Al Holcomb repeating himself.
The linebackers coach has some typical phrases he works into his lessons, and he does so with intention.
“I do have a lot of sayings, not necessarily slogans,” Holcomb said. “But I do have a lot of Al-isms, as they call it.”
Bills head coach Sean McDermott knowsplayers have keyed in on Holcomb’s sayings, too.
“You know he’s got that New York (City) accent,” McDermott said. “So, I think he gets made fun of, a little bit – in a good way. He’s got a great personality, so he lets it roll off his back.”
McDermott has known Holcomb for years. The two had worked together for four seasons in Carolina during McDermott’s tenure as defensive coordinator with the Panthers from 2011-16. Holcomb was the Panthers’ linebackers coach from 2013-17.
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But McDermott thinks Holcomb’s sayings have caught on in Buffalo for more than just the accent.
Just two weeks into the regular season, the Bills found themselves alarmingly thin at linebacker. Former All-Pro Matt Milano suffered a torn biceps in training camp, and in Week 2, Terrel Bernard suffered a pectoral injury.
Milano is out until at least December. Bernard won’t play in Sunday’s game at Baltimore, but he did return to practice this week.
In the meantime, Holcomb seems to have gotten the most of his reserves. Playing in Milano’s place, second-year pro Dorian Williams leads the team with 30 tackles. Baylon Spector, a third-year pro stepping in for Bernard, had 10 tackles in Miami and six tackles Monday against Jacksonville.
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Since Sean McDermott brought his defensive scheme to Buffalo in 2017, defensive ends are required to play stout and contain wide runs.
By the way, the Bills are 3-0.
In short, the linebackers have done their part. Maybe those Al-isms have helped.
“I think the good coaches have those,” McDermott said. “They’re a little bit maybe weird, in that way. At least when you’re playing for a coach, you always kind of mimicking him or her. But I think those are the things you remember when your playing time is over, and you really appreciate those things, looking back on it.”
It was Bernard who first coined the term “Al-isms.”
“He’s got a bunch of quotes and jokes, and I kind of wanted to come up with something that stuck for him,” Bernard said. “So, you know, the Al-ism was kind of a thing that just stuck.”
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It started in the offseason, with the departures of Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. It continued in the preseason, with the loss of linebacker Matt Milano to a torn biceps. Then, once the regular season started, Taron Johnson (forearm) and Terrel Bernard (pectoral) left the Buffalo Bills’ defensive lineup in consecutive weeks. That’s five All-Pro players and an All-Pro contender in Bernard, who, by the second quarter of Week 2, were no longer in the lineup.
The Al-isms are wide-ranging.
There’s “repeat offenders” for players who make the same mistake twice.
There’s “build our library of knowledge” for stacking lessons on top of lessons.
There’s “could have been somebody,” which is linebacker Nicholas Morrow’s favorite.
“If you have a play where you could have got a pick, you say, or a PBU or something like that, he’ll say: ‘You could have been somebody,’ ” Morrow said.
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Holcomb leads into positive reinforcement with one of Bernard’s favorites.
“He always starts off one of the meetings with, ‘What do you think about a guy …’ and then it leads into something that one of us has done,” Bernard said. “So that’s his thing. So we always see him and give him a little hard time for that. He’s got a bunch of key phrases and things like that, that kind of laugh up the room.”
Whatever the sayings are, they’re working.
Though Bernard could be back soon, the group hasn’t seen a dramatic drop-off without their premier starting tandem, and that is thanks, in large part, to Holcomb’s coaching.
“He’s very knowledgeable. He understands the game, but he puts it in a way that’s palpable,” said Morrow, who is in his first season with the Bills. “You can understand it, makes it simple, and once you kind of get used to his coaching style, you start to learn a lot, honestly.”
Holcomb, 53, joined the Bills in 2023 as a senior defensive assistant, rejoining McDermott’s staff after stints with the Cardinals, Browns and a second time with the Panthers. When Bobby Babich moved from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator this offseason, Holcomb moved to the position group.
Holcomb has been in all sorts of defensive roles as a coach, but he has welcomed the chance to be more hands-on with his linebackers.
“It’s been a lot of fun for me, because I haven’t been in the linebacker room, really, probably since 2019, so probably about five years or so,” Holcomb said. “So, it’s kind of rejuvenated me a little bit, in terms of just having kind of my own guys. It’s been fun.”
It has been fun for the players as well.
Rookie undrafted linebacker Joe Andreessen sees himself improving under Holcomb while also enjoying the process.
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“I’ve become so much better of a linebacker because of him,” Andreessen said. “His coaching style is … it’s my kind of coaching style, the way he keeps the environment very joking and relaxed – but then when it’s time to work, it’s time to work, time to take things seriously. And yeah, he’s super-detailed, and has helped me a ton.”
Andreessen said he has improved at pre-snap reads, identifying offensive formations and fine-tuning technique with his feet and eyes. Fellow rookie linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio finds Holcomb to crystalize his lessons in both the big-picture view and the tiniest detail.
“He does a really good job of communicating how things work,” Ulofohsio said. “And communicating how it fits in the grand scheme of things, and also in the minute, like man-to-man technique details, too.
“So, I think he’s amazing at the point. And then he’s just a New Yorker, man. He’s funny, man. He’s a funny cat.”
Bills linebackers and other coaches agree that Holcomb’s strength is developing players, no matter their level. Another Al-ism – “the standard is the minimum” – means that he holds all of his players accountable to the same level, whether they’re starters or backups, and that standard is just the beginning.
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“By the time I’m done coaching you, No. 1, I want you to play your best ball under my watch. And then No. 2, I want you to have a Ph.D. in football,” Holcomb said. “So, meaning they can get up in front of the room and coach me.”
It is not because Holcomb expects all of his players to become coaches one day. It is so he can make sure they really understand everything he teaches. It is especially critical at the linebacker level, where players connect the front and back ends of the defense.
The Ph.D. in football comes in handy when players want to make in-game adjustments based off their view on the field.
“They have to be able to disseminate that information to me, if I don’t see certain things, and they see it, and we need to have those conversations so that we can make adjustments,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb believes deeply in every one of his players, and he tries to make that clear.
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“I think the trust in one another is major, and I think that’s something he’s had with me since the beginning,” Williams said. “He knew what type of player I was, and just the trust that he had behind me was major for me.”
The trust comes from building personal relationships behind the scenes, during the long days of camp or the early morning meetings. And into meetings, players can expect Al-ism after Al-ism.
“They’re just sayings that get the guys in a happy place,” Holcomb said. “And I might be saying something bad about my own self in Al-isms – I might be talking down to myself or something like that. But I think it gets the room in that, like, happy place, good place. This is fun. We’re enjoying this and keeping it kind of light.”
Bills injury report: CB Kaiir Elam a full participant; LB Terrel Bernard improving, but ruled out
“I'm feeling pretty good. Good to get back out there, for sure,” Bernard said Friday after practice.
Johnson, Bernard still out
As expected, the Bills will be without nickel cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm) and Bernard (pectoral) on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.
Cornerback Kaiir Elam (neck) was a full participant in Friday’s practice and does not have an injury designation for the game.
Bernard was a limited participant on Friday for a second day in a row, practicing in a red noncontact jersey.
The key now is making sure the strength is there and Bernard’s movements are pain-free. On a possible return for Week 5 against the Houston Texans, Bernard said he is hopeful.
For the Ravens, cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) has been ruled out. Guard Andrew Vorhees (ankle) is doubtful. He did not practice all week. Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum (knee) is questionable, and he was a full participant in Friday’s practice.
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