The Buffalo Bills were one of the many teams that not only went through a head coaching change, but they also had to bring in new coordinators heading into the 2026 season. With Joe Brady being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach, he had to bring in a new staff with him.
In the end, he hired Pete Carmichael Jr. as the offensive coordinator and Jim Leonhard as the defensive coordinator, both coming from the Denver Broncos. While Carmichael is the new OC, Brady will be calling the plays on gameday. As for Leonhard, he will have total control of the defense.
The changes within the Bills organization surely can be scary, but it should also be exciting as well. It's a new era at One Bills Drive, but they aren't the only ones who made some changes this offseason.
Bills set up to make 4 new coordinators struggle in 2026
Ben Solak from ESPN recently wrote about how there are 10 new coordinators and how there are questions that they will have to answer in 2026. Jim Leonhard was one of the new coordinators listed by Solak, but the Bills are set to face 4 of them on Solak’s list and it could very well set Buffalo up to make life harder for them.
The 4 coordinators that were listed by Solak that will face the Bills include Ravens OC Declan Doyle, Broncos OC Davis Webb, Lions OC Drew Petzing, and Chargers DC Chris O'Leary.
Ravens OC Declan Doyle
“Does he have the Sean Payton/Ben Johnson touch?” - said Solak.
Doyle was the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears last season, but it was really Ben Johnson who called the offense. It was a similar setup to what Pete Carmichael will be in with the Bills this season. Now that Doyle gets his first chance at calling plays with Jesse Minter as the head coach of the Ravens, the Bills will see what he can do in Week 8 in Orchard Park.
Broncos OC Davis Webb
“Can the Broncos play faster?” - said Solak.
The former Bills quarterback was interviewed for the Bills’ head coaching job back in January, but he will be calling plays for the Denver Broncos offense. Webb is considered to be one of the fast-rising coaching minds in football, and now he gets his shot to prove that he is head coach worthy. Buffalo’s defense, led by Webb’s former colleague in Jim Leonhard, will have the chance to get revenge on the Broncos from last year’s playoff game.
Lions OC Drew Petzing
“Can he coach around the line?” - said Solak.
Petzing was a true playcaller for the Arizona Cardinals the last couple of years. With the Cardinals moving on from most of their coaching staff, Petzing managed to land with the Detroit Lions and will be calling the offense there. The Lions looked bad on offense at times last season, so Petzing will be tasked to get them back to the level that they were at before.
Even though he’s no Ben Johnson, Petzing could certainly work some magic with the players he has. However, Buffalo’s defense could also make life miserable for him when Petzing and the Lions come to Buffalo in Week 2 in the debut of the new Highmark Stadium.
Chargers DC Chris O’Leary
“What can he sustain? What can he adapt?” - said Solak.
With the departure of Jesse Minter to the Ravens, the Chargers went out and hired Chris O’Leary as their next defensive coordinator, after he had been their safeties coach in 2024, before going to the collegiate level to be the defensive coordinator for Western Michigan. Now he comes back to LA to take over the defense that was great under Minter.
O’Leary has the experience, and now he will get his chance in the pros to lead a unit. However, he won’t have an easy task against the Bills in Week 3 when he will gave to gameplan for Buffalo’s offense.
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