Bills stay in-house with Joe Brady hire. Why, and what’s next?

Orchard Park, NY — buffalo bill Owner Terry Pegula walked into the postgame locker room in Denver on January 17 after another year in which his team missed advancing to the Super Bowl.

the bills were just defeated denver broncos In overtime. Buffalo’s 2025 season ended in the divisional round for the fourth time in the last five years. After seeing the disappointment and sadness at the quarterback josh allenIn the face of, Pegula decided that change was needed and he sean mcdermott should be fired. He felt the team had hit a proverbial “playoff wall”.

On Tuesday, the blame was placed squarely on McDermott when the Bills chose an internal candidate to replace him. The Bills promoted 36-year-old offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who agreed to a five-year deal to become the youngest current head coach in the NFL. This comes despite the fact that Brady was a part of most of those disappointing seasons as quarterbacks coach (2022-23), interim offensive coordinator (for the final eight weeks of the 2023 season) and full-time offensive coordinator (2024-25).

If change was needed to bring the Bills up from a Super Bowl bounce, how would bringing in someone tied to past failures accomplish that? Let’s explore that elephant in the room, what stood out about Brady in the interview process and what awaits him this offseason.

Why was Brady hired?

General manager Brandon Beane, who was also promoted to president of football operations last week, said the team is not looking for an offensive-minded coach. However, seven of the nine candidates interviewed by the Bills came from offensive backgrounds. Brady was the first coach to be interviewed.

The Bills chose Brady because of the continuity he brings, and gives Allen and the rest of the offense a coach they are comfortable with. But what stood out to the recruiting group was how he fit into the “CEO” aspect of the job, which Beane had emphasized during a press conference with Pegula less than a week earlier.

“That’s a CEO’s job. It really is,” Bean said. “A lot of your time as a head coach or GM is spent scouting me, seeing players or coaches in their plans X and O, so we have to make sure we get the leadership, the CEO part.”

While there was already a sense of who he is as a coordinator, it’s still unclear what Brady, who has never been a head coach at any level, wants and plans to do in the role.

Brady’s vision of how things should be structured, as shared during the interview process, was well accepted by the hiring group. Part of it is how Brady has framed his approach regarding alignment between coach and player personnel. Brady and Beane have an established working relationship, and Beane already knows what Brady is looking for in the offense.

has been an aggressive player steadfast in their praise For Brady because he was named interim coordinator during the 2023 season, and tight end Dalton Kincaid He was among a small group of players who posted messages in support of his appointment on Tuesday.

Allen has also spoken highly of Brady over the years and has advocated for promoting him to the coordinator role. When Brady took over the coordinator role full-time in 2024, one of his first words was that this was “Josh Allen’s offense.” Allen was in coaching interviews, revealing the team’s desire to find a coach who works well with the reigning MVP.

After signing his contract extension in the spring, the receiver Khalil Shakir Also showed his support for Brady: “Which is dope, man. Obviously, [my] Joe’s career took off a bit after I took over, so I felt a lot of love for him and his trust in me. …I really appreciate what he does.”

“I am very grateful for this [Brady]And this whole team, this offense has a lot of respect for him as a coordinator and a person,” the tight end Dawson Knox Said last week. “We could feel the love that he had for us, not only as a football player, but as a man, off the field as well, how our families were doing. But the way he was aggressive, I mean, there was never a game that we felt like we were on the outside looking in.”

How much blame does Brady deserve for the Bills’ postseason disappointments?

The good news for Allen, who turns 30 in May, is that he won’t have to learn a new offense. However, there were times during the 2025 season when the Bills’ offense struggled with consistency and playcalling. The team scored 20 points or less in all five of its regular season losses. After taking the fewest (14) during his MVP campaign in 2024, Allen took more sacks in 2025 (40) than any other season in his eight-year career.

Brady has shown the ability to adapt his scheme over the years, learning from his experiences in previous jobs, including his tenure as offensive coordinator. carolina panthers In 2020-21. He is expected to continue his aggressive play in his new role.

Allen had his best season in 2024, and since Brady took over as interim offensive coordinator in Week 11 of the 2023 season, the Bills rank first in expected points added per game (0.14) and second in points allowed per game (29.1).

Meanwhile, the outside receivers haven’t developed under Brady; No Bills player has reached 900 receiving yards in the last two seasons. The passing game – and especially the downfield passing game – has been a struggle at times in 2025, and the talent in the receiver room has been examined. Questions have also been raised about whether more blame should fall on Bean in relation to the takeover. In 2025, Allen had the fewest pass attempts of 15 or more air yards (93) and the third-fewest completions (44) in his career. The Bills had 9.7 air yards per pass attempt when targeting outside receivers, which was the lowest in the league.

In each of his last three postseason appearances, Brady’s offense scored 24 or more points in each game, but in each of those postseason-ending losses, the offense had the ball for a potential go-ahead or game-winning drive and failed to convert. Two years ago, the Bills lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round after a missed game-tying field goal with 1:47 left in the game, followed by a drive that took 6:40 off the clock. The following season, they lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game when Allen threw a failed pass to Kincaid with two minutes remaining. And this year, the Bills did not score on their only overtime possession in Denver after a controversial interception call that was intended to brandin cook.

A key point to highlight is that the Bills’ defense also had problems in the postseason, allowing 28.3 points per game in seven playoff losses under McDermott.

A key signing of the Brady offense has been the addition of a dynamic running game, including Allen James Cook III Ending the 2025 season with a great title. Cook finished with 1,621 rushing yards, the first Bills to win a title since OJ Simpson in 1976.

Through Week 10 of the 2021–2023 season, the Bills ran the designed run play 35% of the time (27th). Since Brady was promoted in Week 11, 2023, his rushing rate has increased to 44.2% (4th), and he had the third highest run rate in 2025. This should be expected to continue. However, it will look different in 2026 as offensive line coach Aaron Cromer, who played a big role in the team’s run game, is set to retire.

“[Brady’s] When his name comes the players smile. His players want to play for him. … He’s a coach you want to do the right thing for because he does the right thing for you,” the left tackle Dion Dawkins Said after last season. “…He’ll make you feel confident and he’ll put you in the right position to win and as a professional, you can respect that because all we want to do is win.”

It’s still unclear how much of the offensive blame falls on Brady, but now that he’s taking over the entire team, what happens next will undoubtedly be his responsibility.

What will happen next?

The staff Brady hires will be important, and that starts on the defensive side of the ball. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, former Bills player and current Broncos defensive pass coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to be a leading candidate for the defensive coordinator job.

The change in defensive philosophy would be consistent with the decision to move on from McDermott, as it brings a significant change to the organization.

Among the coaches on the staff, a couple who have established history with Brady and who could be considered for future roles include quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and offensive quality control and assistant wide receivers coach DJ Mangas.

There is also significant work to be done for a roster that has question marks at several starting positions. This also includes the future of the 2024 No. 33 pick Keon ColemanWhich hasn’t worked in Brady’s offense the past two seasons. In a recent press conference, Pegula selected receiver On the coaching staff.

Roster decisions will include collaboration with Beane, to whom Brady will report directly.

No one is feeling the pressure more than Brady. He faces the task of not only continuing the Bills’ run of success that has included seven straight playoff appearances, but also taking the next step and winning a championship.

Advancing in the postseason with Allen is a top priority, and the Bills will hope that the consistency Brady brings puts them in position to do that.

“I’m passionate about calling plays from a sports standpoint, but I’m also passionate about teaching and coaching and being around guys and watching them party in the end zone,” Brady said in 2024. [Carolina]. So this is a great opportunity for me to dive into the players, not just the player element, but the person. And so I was proud of this work. I am very proud of this organization. You live in Buffalo, you know how much the Bills mean to it.”