There are two bad factors about being a successful team in the NFL. First, you typically don’t have a high first round draft pick. Not only does it mean that they lose out on the top talent, but they have to wait awhile before making their selection.
Second, it sets up coordinators to leave and then the team will have to find replacements to come in and pick up where the team left off. The Detroit Lions are going through that setup with losing Ben Johnson to the Chicago Bears and Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets. The Philadelphia Eagles lost both of their coordinators in Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon in 2023 and then the Eagles fell apart at the end of their 2023 season.
The Buffalo Bills avoided losing their coordinators this head coaching cycle. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady had some serious considerations from teams like the Jets, Jaguars, and Saints. Brady had a great shot at getting the Saints’ job, but he ended up withdrawing from the process to stay in Buffalo.
First-year defensive coordinator Bobby Babich didn’t get any looks obviously, but don’t think that he won’t if Buffalo can improve their defense in 2025. Babich is well-respected in the locker room and was the Bills’ linebacker coach during Matt Milano’s All-Pro season in 2022 and also helped Terrel Bernard breakout in 2023.
Both coordinators for Bills listed as top head coaching candidates for 2026
The 2025 NFL head coaching cycle is coming to an official end very soon with the Saints expected to hire Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. When the head coaching cycle comes around next year, there is a chance that the Bills may lose Brady or Babich, or even both.
Cody Benjamin from CBS Sports created a listed of head coaching candidates for 2026, broken down into three categories; former head coaches, offensive assistants, and defensive assistants. Both Brady and Babich were listed by Benjamin which could very much put the Bills in a difficult position.
Unless Babich can clean up this Bills defense in a major way, it’s very hard to imagine him leaving Buffalo for a head coaching job. On the other hand, 2025 might be the last time Brady coaches in Buffalo. Since taking over play calling duties in the middle of 2023, Buffalo’s offense has left their one-dimensional scheme in the past and opened up the playbook to create the “everybody eats” mentality.
There are usually 6-7 openings each cycle and Brady should be an expected candidate to get a lot of interviews. However, we can’t rule out the slight possibility of Buffalo losing both coordinators. If that does indeed happen, Sean McDermott will have a ton of work to keep continuity and stability within the coaching staff to best support his players.