Jaguars one of healthiest playoff teams after hiring strength coach fired by Bills

When the Buffalo Bills lifted Eric Ciano of his duties, the Jacksonville Jaguars attached the hiring process for their strength and conditioning coach with a workout style: As many reps as possible.

Buffalo fired Ciano in February after 15 seasons with the organization. Other NFL teams were flabbergasted.

"Everyone's shocked. Everyone I'm talking to is saying this is one of the best strength coaches in the NFL," Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli told told 1010XL's Frank Frangie this past offseason. "My phone's blowing up with people I know in the league saying 'Hey, you need to talk to Eric Ciano."

The rapid recruitment

Boselli bulked up the outreach.

Boselli texted Ciano the night he was fired — about 11 p.m. on Feb. 13 — and quickly got him on the phone. He asked if Ciano could fly to Jacksonville the next day, but Ciano already had a family commitment with his son.

Boselli was able to get Ciano to make one more commitment: that he wouldn't sign with another NFL team before coming to Jacksonville on that Monday.

Ciano, who was named the strength and conditioning coach of the year in 2020 by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, arrived that Monday for an interview. He made a powerful impression.

Boselli didn't want Ciano's interest to atrophy.

“Do not let Eric Ciano get on a plane,” Boselli recalled telling another team vice president. “Do not let him leave.”

He didn't. Ciano accepted Jacksonville's contract offer.

"We felt like he was the right guy to bring the juice, the energy," Boselli said. "We got his staff all settled. We got a couple new assistants for him. We're really excited about that whole room."

Now, Ciano will face his former team when Jacksonville hosts Buffalo in the AFC wild-card round at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Jaguars glad they hired Ciano

Jacksonville enters the postseason with just seven players on injured reserve — the fewest of any AFC playoff team.

Ciano and his summer conditioning program were spotlighted in a full episode of Jacksonville's Jaguars in the Hunt documentary series, which highlighted his emphasis on competition, leadership and energy.

"When Eric ended up transitioning out of Buffalo I was kind of inundated with a ton of calls and texts from a lot of people than I respect in this profession," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said in the episode. It was exactly what we needed.

"You look at his track record going back all the years in Buffalo and how consistent they were in terms of being healthy at the top of the NFL and the ability in Buffalo to be physical, strong, tough. The toughness was the aspect that I really wanted to provide to the players. We felt that pretty immediately."

The episode introduced the Iron Jaguar Games, an offseason competition created by Ciano in which team captains drafted teammates for a series of strength and conditioning events designed to build camaraderie and mental toughness.

"Our number one goal is to have a competitive atmosphere and great, positive energy," Ciano said. "We want guys to want to be in there. We want to make it everyday where they want to be in there, they want to have fun. They knew that we believe in them, we're going to help them, and at the end of the day help us perform on the field."

The Jaguars have performed on the field, winning their last eight games to capture the AFC South title.

"The thing that drew me here was the family atmosphere. How good they were to me and how important family was here," Ciano said. "Also, the biggest part was the commitment to winning. Giving us the resources we need to be successful, surrounding ourselves with the right kind of people. Those are the things for me to come here that I knew this was the place that I want to be."

Why did the Bills fire Eric Ciano?

Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed at the NFL's annual league meeting in March that the team decied to move on from Ciano, who worked in Buffalo from 2010-2024.

"Coach Ciano gave a lot of years of service, he and his family both, staples in our community and Orchard Park. Great friends with his family as well," McDermott said. "Hard to see him move on. Happy for him that he's landed in Jacksonville, and he's going to do great there."

Ciano was replaced by Will Greenberg, who has been on the staff since 2017.

Buffalo was healthy down the stretch with Ciano leading the strength and conditioning department in 2024. Only one game was missed by a Bills starter due to injury across three playoff games, and Buffalo’s strength staff received an A grade, third-best in the league, in the 2024 NFLPA player survey.

Brandon Beane spoke at his 2024 end of season press conference about tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver Keon Coleman struggling to regain their form after injuries.

Beane attributed to Dalton Kincaid's drop in production in his sophomore season durability and the need to work on his "play strength". Kincaid played in 13 games in 2024 and 12 games in 2025.

Keon Coleman reportedly added 10 pounds of muscle this past offseason. His receiving yards slimmed from 556 as a rookie in 2024 to 404. He was a healthy scratch in four games this season.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Jaguars thriving with Eric Ciano after he was fired by Bills