Carolina North just promoted one of their many familiar faces.
As announced on Wednesday morning, the Buffalo Bills have bumped up former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Eric Washington. The 53-year-old, who served as a senior defensive assistant and defensive lines coach during the 2022 campaign, will now add the title of “assistant head coach” to his business card.
We’ve promoted Eric Washington to assistant head coach/defensive line. 👏 #BillsMafia
Details: https://t.co/HNe1kSPzFg pic.twitter.com/rdbhrT54xl
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) June 21, 2023
After eight years in the college ranks between Texas A&M, Ohio and Northwestern, Washington earned his first NFL job as a defensive assistant for the Chicago Bears in 2008. He’d spend three seasons in the Windy City, finishing his run there as a defensive line coach in 2010.
Washington assumed the same position for the Panthers starting in 2011 under new head coach Ron Rivera. Much like the rest of Carolina’s staff in that era, including former defensive coordinator and current Bills head coach Sean McDermott, he stuck on for a lengthy tenure in Charlotte.
His promotion to defensive coordinator came in 2018, a post he’d hold for two years. Washington shuffled off to Buffalo in 2020, the first year after Rivera’s departure from the Panthers organization.