The last time the Buffalo Bills entered an NFL season with a new head coach was in 2017, when Sean McDermott was hired after taking over for Rex Ryan. For the next nine seasons, the Bills became a contender not just in the AFC, but in the entire NFL.
Despite five consecutive division titles and making it to the playoffs 8 out of 9 seasons, the Bills never reached the Super Bowl and Terry Pegula decided to make the franchise changing decision by firing McDermott. Now, it will be Joe Brady leading the charge after taking over the offensive coordinator position in the middle of the 2023 season.
There are many obstacles that the Bills will have to navigate, both internally and against opponents. When it comes to opponents, most of the focus goes towards the opposing players that Buffalo will face. However, there are tough head coaching matchups that Brady will have to go up against. It involves making the right call in crucial situations and keeping the composure of a team in high-tension moments.
There are six head coaches that the Bills will see this upcoming season, with five of them being in primetime which puts the spotlight on Brady to outcoach them.
Top head coaches Bills will go up against in 2026
6.) Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings - Week 9 (Monday Night Football)
Since becoming the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, Kevin O’Connell has become one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the game. A big factor that helped him was spending time on Sean McVay’s staff in LA prior to his arrival in Minnesota. He was the Coach of the Year in 2024, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record with Sam Darnold under center, but the Vikings fell apart at the end and were ultimately eliminated from the playoffs.
Even though the Vikings don’t have the greatest stability at quarterback, Bills fans can expect O’Connell to still get the maximum effort from his players to cause trouble for Buffalo.
5.) Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears - Week 15 (Saturday Night Football)
Whoever got Ben Johnson as their head coach when he made a name for himself as the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, they were going to get potentially the next Sean McVay. That team ended up being right in the NFC North; the Chicago Bears.
The Bears getting Johnson was the start of their turnaround for the organization. He led the Bears to a division title and he even led the team to a win over the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the playoffs. There is no doubt that the Bears hit a home run with the hiring of Johnson last year, and now the Bills will see him in late December when the Bears come to Buffalo.
4.) Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers - Week 3
Whether he is in the NFL or in college, Jim Harbaugh always finds ways to win. When the Los Angeles Chargers hired him in 2024, the biggest winner from it was Justin Herbert. Even though the Chargers haven’t had the most success under Harbaugh yet, he had already established a culture that was wrecked by Brandon Staley.
Harbaugh is all about running the ball and with the second year coming for Omarion Hampton, to go along with the hiring of Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator, the Chargers could be a sneaky tough opponent early in the season for the Bills.
3.) Sean Payton, Denver Broncos - Week 16 (Christmas Day)
Sean Payton is still one of the best head coaches in the game, and it’s part of the reason why Bo Nix has played well early on in his career. Payton didn’t just clean up the mess that Nathaniel Hackett created, he has helped the Broncos become an immediate Super Bowl contender with Nix on a rookie deal.
Payton saw two of his assistants leave this offseason to join the Bills (Pete Carmichael Jr. and Jim Leonhard). Not to mention, it looks like his new offensive coordinator in Davis Webb will get more playcalling responsibility. Still though, Payton is one of the best coaches the Bills will see and the two are set to meet on Christmas Day.
2.) Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs - Week 12 (Thanksgiving Day)
You can’t have a list like this and not include Andy Reid on it. I get it, having someone like Patrick Mahomes does help, but Mahomes also needed Reid as well. Bills fans are very familiar with Reid and the Chiefs and Bills square off basically every year. Last season was an outlier for Reid as the Chiefs had multiple things go wrong for them. Look for Reid to get back on track and part of his path is coming to Buffalo on Thanksgiving.
1.) Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams - Week 5 (Monday Night Football)
Being the best offensive mind in the game right now, Sean McVay is the standard for what teams should want out of their head coach. He is extremely motivated, knows how to lead, and always gets the best out of his players on both sides of the ball. The Bills will travel to LA early in the season for a Monday night battle against McVay and the Rams, and it certainly won’t be easy whatsoever.
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