The Buffalo Bills introduced their new head coach, Joe Brady, on Thursday, with general manager and President of Football Operations Brandon Beane kicking off the press conference.
Of course, the Bills made a change after nine seasons with Sean McDermott only to promote his offensive coordinator as his replacement, which understandably has Bills Mafia questioning how much will change going forward with Brady in charge.
Both Brady and Beane made an effort to clarify that aspect at the press conference, with Beane saying the team was interested in bringing on a ‘CEO-type’ head coach.
What the Bills mean when they call new head coach Joe Brady a CEO-type coach
“When we started this process, we were looking for a CEO type of head coach,” Beane said. “What I’m talking about is a fresh, new vision for the Buffalo Bills. Somebody who values strong culture, collaboration, and alignment. We wanted a highly intelligent, aggressive and excellent communicator. We wanted alignment. Joe Brady is all of that and more.”
Brady echoed that sentiment at the top of his opening statement while offering thanks to owner Terry Pegula for trusting him with the job.
“When this opportunity came along, I didn’t want to just be a head football coach. I wanted to be the head football coach of the Buffalo Bills. Doing it with the right people, under the right direction, and with alignment.”
Bean mentioned that after the wrapping up the final candidate interview, he, Pegula, Allen and the other members of the Bills’ coaching search team discussed their eight candidates for two hours, and in those conversations, Brady stood out.
“Honestly, I think Joe had a tough hill to climb,” Beane said.
Beane said he didn’t want to rush the process and wanted to be fair with every candidate, which meant approaching Brady’s interview as if he wasn’t already in the building. So, the Bills dialed up Brady for a video meeting, with their final questions ready.
“About halfway through that process, I was like ‘That’s our guy,’" Beane said. "But I still had to let Terry finish some questions, too, because I wanted to make sure he was on board and the approval. Terry didn’t even reach back over to me and he’s like ‘I think you’re the next head coach.’”
The second question Brady was asked in the press conference asked for details in what exactly Brady pitched to Pegula and Beane that he would be changing about the franchise, but Brady kept the true answer close to the vest. He didn’t budge much either when the reporter followed up for more information.
When fans think of CEO-type head coaches, they tend to think of coaches like John Harbaugh, who’s now with the New York Giants, or Dabo Swinney at the college level at Clemson. These are coaches who don’t call plays, and aren’t known for grand schematics offensively or defensively. But they are the leaders of their organizations, and they hire the right people to make sure the work is done at the highest possible level.
Brady, who confirmed again during the press conference that he will continue to call plays, doesn’t exactly fit the mold in that respect. Still, Brady has built up plenty of respect in the football world, especially at just 36-years-old.
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Some of the CEO talk is, to put it bluntly, a bit of corporate speak. Brady is in charge of the football team, and it's obvious to Bills Mafia he’s got as much say-so as Beane and Pegula believe he should have. After all, Beane will be assisting his new head coach in finding a new defensive coordinator as well.
Still, that’s not to say that Brady can’t eventually graduate into a CEO-type role that fits what fans usually expect out of such a coach. Bill Belichick and Nick Saban are two examples of coaches who went from defensive masterminds to CEO-types. Those two being two of the greatest football coaches of all-time shows how difficult a climb that can be, though. It requires proven excellence and, more importantly, championships to earn such a title.