Getty Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach Joe Brady with the Carolina Panthers in 2021.
The New York Jets offensive coordinator search is beginning to heat up. After being shot down by a couple of veteran candidates, Gang Green set their sights on a pair of coveted up-and-comers on January 22.
The first was Klint Kubiak, the 35-year-old son of Super Bowl champion head coach Gary Kubiak. Hours after that announcement, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that “sources say the Jets requested permission to interview [Buffalo] Bills QB coach Joe Brady for their vacant OC job.”
Rapoport did add that “it’s unclear if Brady would take [the promotion], given how much he loves Buffalo.”
Jets OC Candidate Joe Brady Helped Mold Joe Burrow & Currently Works With Bills QB Josh Allen
Still just 33 years of age, Brady was initially a fast riser in the football world. After entry level positions with William & Mary and Penn State in the college realm, the offensive mind joined Sean Payton in New Orleans for his first NFL position.
As a Saints offensive assistant under Payton, Brady learned a ton from 2017 through 2018. The following year, he landed the first major opportunity of his career, the passing coordinator role with LSU and quarterback prospect Joe Burrow.
The pair excelled together in 2019 — Brady’s lone season at LSU — as Burrow led the Tigers to a National Championship and a record-breaking campaign, offensively speaking. The future Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller also won the Heisman Trophy that year, throwing for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns with only six interceptions and a 76.3 completion percentage.
During that impressive run, Coach Payton even admitted that he had told Brady that “he was making a mistake” when he left his staff to pursue a college level job before adding that he was obviously wrong about that. “We’re their biggest fans, we’re excited for them, and it’s a great time to be a football fan in Louisiana,” Payton voiced at the time.
All of this led to Brady’s first NFL offensive coordinator position — two seasons with the Carolina Panthers under Matt Rhule. Although that stretch didn’t go as planned, with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold at quarterback among others, it was a good learning experience for the promising young mind.
He’s currently in a sort of reset with the Bills and Josh Allen, taking over for Ken Dorsey — who was promoted to offensive coordinator in place of New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll in 2022. It’s important to note that Dorsey is also getting looks as a potential head coaching candidate this offseason, which would likely mean Brady stays in Buffalo to take over as OC under Sean McDermott.
An internal promotion like that would obviously block any potential suitors like the Jets.
Jets Could Pair Joe Brady With Veteran Senior Advisor
If New York ends up going young with their OC hire, head coach Robert Saleh already made it clear that they would likely pair that sort of decision with a veteran senior advisor. Basically, the Mike LaFleur-Greg Knapp plan if the heartbreaking tragedy had never occurred.
The difference between Brady and LaFleur is that the Bills assistant has called plays before. In other words, Carolina was Brady’s first time calling the shots for an NFL franchise, just like LaFleur’s initial opportunity in New York.
It’s good to have that experience in the back pocket already. That means less learning on the job and hopefully, a better understanding of what went wrong the first time around.
All great NFL coaches have been fired and it’s almost as if most need that initial trial run to eventually figure it all out. For young guys like Brady and LaFleur, the future still looks bright, but their next position will be an important one.
As of now, it’s unclear who the Jets might target for an advisory role, being that most experienced coaching candidates have made themselves unavailable early on.