The Buffalo Bills made a coaching change this offseason, and Joe Brady is already on the hot seat.
Buffalo promoted Brady, who was the team’s offensive coordinator, to head coach. It was a surprise, as the Bills talked about needing a culture change, but they went within as their head coach.
Ahead of Brady’s first year as an NFL head coach, there is pressure on Buffalo to be a Super Bowl contender. With that, NFL analyst Nate Davis of USA Today put Brady ninth on the hot-seat coaches’ rankings.
It’s almost patently unfair to include a rookie coach – nearly as unfair as McDermott losing this job after the Bills lost a divisional-round playoff game in overtime thanks to a highly debatable Josh Allen interception. But owner Terry Pegula made it clear after firing McDermott that he justifiably expects this team to be in the Super Bowl. And soon. He also said ‘there’s a lot of people that want to look at taking this job – there’s a lot of interest,'” Davis wrote.
“Ultimately, 36-year-old Brady, who’s close to Allen, was promoted from his offensive coordinator role. But − now matter how good the vibes are currently − if a team that reached postseason each of the last seven years under McDermott doesn’t at least remain on the cusp of reaching Super Bowl Sunday for the first time since the 1993 season, who knows what Pegula might do next?”
Brady being on the hot seat is a surprise, but it does make a bit of sense. Buffalo’s in a win-now window, and if Brady struggles as a coach, the Bills can’t afford to waste more of Josh Allen’s prime years.
Bills GM Defends Joe Brady Hire
After Buffalo promoted Brady as head coach, there were many who were critical of the hire.
Many thought the Bills should have looked outside the organization, but Beane felt like Brady was the best candidate and defended his hire.
“(Expletive) the outside,” Beane said in an interview with Go Long. “It’s about the right selection for this team. And if we win, they’ll love it. It’s the same thing I said when I took Josh Allen. If I’m wrong, the moving company will be at my house. So, I understand. And I’m not going to have regret of choosing someone to appease the outside if I thought it should have been something different.”
Beane, meanwhile, said he will stake his job on the Brady hire; that is how confident he is.
“If I’m wrong, I’ll (expletive) take my job and (expletive) go home,” Beane said. “I don’t want to be wrong — see him go somewhere else — when my gut told me it was Joe Brady. I’m never going to do that. I would love for everyone to cheer every move, but it’s not about winning the press conference. It’s about winning games.”
Josh Allen ‘Looking Forward’ to Working With Brady
After Brady was hired as the head coach, Allen spoke about the hire and was excited about it.
Allen made it clear that he was looking forward to Brady being the head coach, and he also planned on holding him accountable.
“I looked at [Brady] the other day and he promised me and I promised him to hold each other to a standard and hold each other accountable and not get complacent of where we’re at,” Allen said. “So, I’m very, very much looking forward to that challenge, and continuing the chase and to chase something great.”
The Bills will open their season on Sept. 13 against the Houston Texans.
Bills’ Head Coach Joe Brady Placed on Chopping Block Ahead of 1st Season