When the Buffalo Bills decided to promote Joe Brady to head coach back in January, there were a ton of mixed reactions. Some fans were excited, some were furious, and some thought that the Bills made the wrong move to move on from Sean McDermott overall.
However, in a short amount of time after he was hired, Brady put together a solid coaching staff that included landing Jim Leonhard as the defensive coordinator. Now they have their final 53-man roster and they will be taking the field a week from today against the Houston Texans.
While Leonhard will be fully in charge of the defense, Brady is still going to be calling the offense despite Pete Carmichael Jr. being the offensive coordinator. Brady did a great job as the team's offensive coordinator since taking over in the middle of 2023 season, with limited talent the last two seasons. Now, Brady has a major challenge he will have to overcome in addition to him calling plays.
Bills fans are looking for Joe Brady to answer one major challenge in the correct way
Everett Rothe of NFL Spin Zone highlighted one key storyline for each team going into the season and for the BIlls, Rothe focused on how Brady will be closely watched to see if he can "lead an entire locker room", which is a very fair point to make about a first time head coach.
"Entering 2026, Brady's responsibilities extend beyond the offense, as he takes on the challenge of overseeing the entire team while remaining its play-caller." said Rathe.
"Unlike most coaching hires, Brady provides continuity, having been with Buffalo for the previous 4 years. He has an excellent relationship with 2024 MVP Josh Allen and knows Buffalo's personnel well. But given that Brady has never been a head coach, questions remain about whether he can lead an entire locker room." Rathe added.
No one can deny that Brady is a great playcaller, even if sometimes he makes some calls that seem questionable. Since taking over the offense, the unit has been near the top of the league and he helped bring back the rushing attack to where James Cook led the league in rushing yards last season.
However, being a head coach is a totally different game that Brady is going to be tested both publicly and privately.
Joe Brady must pass the test of leading the locker room (through good and bad)
If a head coach loses control of the locker room, it’s pretty much a lost cause as to whether or not there will be a bounce back. Teams are bound to have rough patches. Sean McDermott definitely did, but he always found a way to get the team back on track.
There is going to be a time, whether it’s during a game, losing-streak, etc., where Brady is going to have to make a call that could affect the team either good or bad. He may have an unexpected situation come up within the locker room and it will be his job to manage it to keep it from being a distraction.
That’s always the biggest challenge for any head coach, whether they have experience or are a rookie head coach. The first priority is to lead the locker room and we have seen over the history of the NFL where head coaches lose a locker room and then they don’t last much longer in that position.
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