The Buffalo Bills are officially underway in the Joe Brady era. After firing Sean McDermott two days after their divisional round loss to Denver, the Bills named Brady their next head coach. Brady has been the offensive coordinator since the middle of the 2023 season, elevating the offense from what Ken Dorsey put together.
The Bills officially announced Brady as their head coach on Thursday at his opening press conference, and there were a ton of people that Brady thanked. He thanked his family, the Pegula’s, and Brandon Beane. He also took the time to thank former Bills head coach Sean McDermott, and talked about the opportunity that McDermott gave him back in 2022.
Brady was hired by McDermott as the quarterbacks coach, and he worked his way up to now the head coach to take over for McDermott. During Brady’s speech, he talked about how much love he had for McDermott. “I’m going to do everything I can to continue to build the foundation that he laid” said Brady, per Sal Capaccio.
"I love Coach McDermott. I'm going to do everything I can to continue to build upon the foundation that he laid." -- Joe Brady
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) January 29, 2026
Joe Brady praises the culture that Sean McDermott built in Buffalo
There is no denying that McDermott turned the Bills around. Before he came to Buffalo, the Bills were a mess. Under McDermott, the Bills went to the postseason 8 out of 9 seasons which included 5 consecutive AFC East titles, and 2 conference championship appearances. Buffalo just couldn’t get over the hump, and that’s what eventually led to McDermott being let go.
With the Bills now going with Brady in hopes that he can do what McDermott couldn’t, fans are hoping that the Bills made the right decision to hire someone that was already in the building. There is no doubt that Brady is a great playcaller, but now his job is to manage everything, not just one aspect of the team.
Brady has some big shoes to fill for McDermott. When McDermott came in, the Bills were near the bottom of the league. Now with Brady taking over, he has some high expectations to fulfill to prove that he was the right hire.
The first thing that Brady has to do is hit a home run with the hiring of a solid defensive coordinator. While McDermott is a defensive mind, the defense for Buffalo was the biggest problem. Now it’s up to Brady to fix it and the start is to hire someone who will fix this defense.