Late in the game, the Las Vegas Raiders seemed to add Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady to their list of head coaching candidates they were seriously considering hiring. He flew out to Las Vegas for an in-person interview, but the two sides are going in different directions.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bills have decided to promote Brady to be their next head coach. He first joined the franchise as a quarterbacks coach in 2022 before being promoted to offensive coordinator.
In each of the last two seasons, the Bills have finished in the top four in scoring offense with Brady as the playcaller. Quarterback Josh Allen typically gets most of the credit for that, but it’s clear that the Bills believe that Brady doesn’t get enough credit.
He was once considered one of the hottest young offensive minds in football after spending a year as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the historic 2019 LSU team.
Brady’s star faded a bit after a disappointing two-season stretch as the Carolina Panthers‘ offensive coordinator. After nearly a decade of being led by the defensive-minded Sean McDermott, the Bills wanted to go in an offensive direction, and Brady was the safest choice for them.
What Brady Hiring Means for Raiders?
It’s unclear how seriously the Raiders were considering hiring Brady, but the Bills hiring him has a pretty major effect on the team’s search. Buffalo and Las Vegas seemed to have a lot of the same candidates.
The Bills were also considering Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Now the Raiders face far less competition for either.
Webb and Kubiak aren’t considered options for the Arizona Cardinals or Cleveland Browns openings. The Bills were the biggest competition left with an opening due to Allen’s presence, but now it’s fair to say the Raiders have the best remaining opening.
Armed with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and a ton of salary cap space, the Raiders should be very appealing to a young offensive mind.
Who Will the Raiders End up Hiring?
The Raiders recently interviewed Webb in person, but he hasn’t signed a contract yet. That means he’s either still weighing his options, the Raiders are waiting to speak with other candidates or the team just doesn’t think he’s ready to be a head coach.
If Las Vegas likes Webb, he’ll likely be hired in the coming days. If he’s not, that has to mean that Kubiak is the play. He’s the only coach in the Super Bowl whom the Raiders have already interviewed.
The team can interview him again, but Kubiak could want to keep his focus on the Super Bowl. The Raiders are just going to have to be patient and wait nearly two more weeks to hire him.
That’s a long time to wait, but if the team thinks he’s the guy, they’ll happily wait. The only problem is that the Raiders will miss out on top assistants who are already getting scooped up by other teams. At the same time, the head coaching job is the most important, so the Raiders can’t rush the search for the sake of getting it done.
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