INDIANAPOLIS -- Bills head coach Sean McDermott kicked combine week off with his press conference Monday evening from the Indiana Convention Center.

McDermott spoke to reporters about four coaching hires, growth he's anticipating from the team's young core and James Cook's desire for a new contract.

Here's what we learned:

NFL experience key for new special teams coach

Sean McDermott confirmed four new coaching staff additions to the Bills for the 2025 season, including Chris Tabor as the special teams coach.

With over 15 years of NFL coaching experience, his expertise was widely valued by McDermott during the interview process.

"Probably one that was higher up on my scale was, experience, veteran experience," McDermott said. "It's not all that different in terms of hiring coach (Aaron) Kromer, right? Just in terms of veteran, experienced position coach, in this case, coordinator that's had a lot of success."

With Tabor not on an NFL coaching staff in 2024, that allowed McDermott an opportunity to make a hire that typically hadn't been possible in prior years.

"Tabes has been usually tied up, as many of these good veteran coaches are. This year, him being out this past season coming off of his time at Carolina offered me an opportunity to interview him, spend some time with him, and then make the hire," he said.

Tabor has been the special teams coordinator for now four different NFL teams, including the Bills, Panthers, Browns and Bears.

Development of Bills' young core

Coming into the 2024 regular season, the Bills knew that they would have to have young players play in some big roles for them. McDermott spoke on some of those young players, including rookie WR Keon Coleman, who had an up and down year by McDermott's estimation.

"I thought he got off to a start that he built momentum through, and then he got injured, and then from there on, it was rather rocky," McDermott said.

While he said that he had an up and down first year, he added that Coleman will have to show that he has the drive, determination and fire in his heart to improve from year one to year two.

"We're looking for him to learn from those moments of adversity, and come back and have a really, really, really strong offseason and get himself going into the start of season two," McDermott said. "And that takes a certain type of person with a certain drive and determination and fire in their heart, and it's going to be Keon's turn to show that he has that this offseason."

TE Dalton Kincaid also dealt with injury and McDermott said that the goal for Kincaid is to become more durable this offseason so that he can help the team in the playoffs when they need him the most. Kincaid missed three games this past season with a knee injury and played in 50% or more of the snaps in just one of six games after returning from injury.

"So, the most important thing that we need to do, and we need to help him with, and he needs to do as well, and taking the lead on this is getting stronger and more durable for us to be out there even more," McDermott said.

McDermott believes Kincaid has the right mentality to do so.

"The thing about Dalton that I want to make sure everybody understands is he is as serious about football and his improvement as anybody on our football team. He loves the game, he loves to compete, and some of the way he plays is reflection of his competitiveness," McDermott said.

Third year LB Terrel Bernard was one-of-two captains this season alongside QB Josh Allen and McDermott said that he feels that he turned the corner toward the midpoint of the season to making splash plays.

"To get a 'C' on your chest when there's only two given out and you're just your third season as a pro, I think really speaks volumes about who he is and how the how his teammates view him," McDermott said. "I think at some point, he turned a corner and started to make some of those splash plays again."

McDermott was also noncommittal as to whether S Cole Bishop would be the one to step in at safety given the current state of the safety position for the team, but did say that he expects him to continue to have an impact on the defense.

"I have a lot of confidence Cole's wired the way that he will be a player that will put in the time and work," McDermott said. "When you draft a player where we drafted him, you want him to win that job. But he's got to do it. We can't do it for him."

Overall McDermott said that his evaluation for all the young players is "what does this player come back looking like?"

"Does he come back looking like he just busted his tail in the time when he was away from us," McDermott said. "It doesn't take long to know when a guy walks back in the building if he's worked or not."

What the new defensive assistants will bring to the coaching staff

In addition to the hiring of Tabor, McDermott announced the hiring of Ryan Nielsen as a Senior Defensive Assistant, Jason Rebrovich as the Assistant Defensive Line coach and Mike Pellegrino as the Nickels coach.

Nielsen was previously a defensive coordinator for both the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. He was also the defensive line coach for the Saints from 2017-2022 and they ranked in the top 10 in sacks each year under him.

"Ryan's going to help us out on defense overall. His main focus is going to be the defensive line," McDermott said.

Rebrovich will also join the defensive line's coaching staff and will partner with both Nielsen and Marcus West. Rebrovich previously served as the Packers' defensive line coach for a group that amassed 45 total sacks. The Western New York native also spent 2013-2016 coaching for the Bills in various roles during his time in Buffalo.

McDermott mentioned that for him they can never have enough good coaches and that the success that Nielsen has had with the defensive line is what drew him to add him to the coaching staff.

"He has that pedigree," McDermott said. "He's had that success at that position… When you can put good coaches around yourself as a head coach, it's who have been there and done that at a high level. It bodes for good things in the future… From a coaching standpoint, those are the pieces that I control, and I'm always trying to add the best possible coaches that I can."

Pellegrino also joins the coaching staff after serving as the Patriots' cornerbacks coach from 2019-2024.

"One of the things that came across was just really what they've done defensively there, in particular under coach Belichick on the defensive side with some of the way that they've shaped their coverage packages, their zone, their man-to-man, and their development of some of those players that they've had in the back end," McDermott said. "So, I think that's probably the biggest thing that drew me to Mike and spending some time with him."

On James Cook's contract situation: "Business part is going to take care of itself"

Bills Pro Bowl running back James Cook since the season ended has stated his desire for a new contract. Cook is under contract for the 2025 season, but is eligible to receive an extension this offseason.

While there's no guarantee an extension will get done this offseason, McDermott reiterated how proud he is of Cook's growth from his third NFL season.

"When you're a coach and you're on the field with these players, and you're in the meetings, and you're watching them develop on the field, off the field, he's a great example of one of the joys that comes with coaching is watching a young man develop," McDermott said.

In the meantime, McDermott will leave any negotiations on a new contract to general manager Brandon Beane.

"The business part is going to take care of itself. Brandon is on top of that, and he will be on top of that moving forward," McDermott said.

Recently, Cook told Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco on ‘The Nightcap', that he doesn't want to be a distraction to the team.