The Buffalo Bills set the franchise’s new era in motion on Thursday, officially introducing Joe Brady as the team’s head coach. Throughout the nearly hour-long press conference, Brady and general manager Brandon Beane explained much about what will and won’t change about the team in 2026 and beyond.
Of course, with the changes, Bills fans know the defense will look different, and not just because it isn’t Sean McDermott’s unit anymore, but because Brady has a plan in place that sounds much different than the previous regime.
As for what’s staying the same, there wasn’t much new information in that regard, save for one aspect of the offense that every Bills fan saw coming.
Bills HC Joe Brady confirms he’s keeping play-calling duties in new role
Brady confirmed he will call plays on Thursday, just as previous reports indicated would be the case. It’s no surprise, after all, the 36-year-old coach has been calling plays in Buffalo for the past two and a half seasons.
Still, the practice of calling plays does change for Brady in his new role, which he acknowledged.
“As an offensive playcaller, everything you’re going through is thinking situational football, right? You’re having the mindset of ‘I’m calling this play, this is what’s happening next,’ I’m trying to stay ahead of it all. When you’re an offensive play caller for a head coach, you have to be mindful of those things because you’re not in full control of handling all of those situations.
“But from my perspective, look, I was around Sean Payton. I’m from the Sean Payton tree. You know, his aggressiveness, his mindset, you know, and there are so many elements that I believe that we can continue to grow our offense with the pieces that we have, and I look forward to that.”
Expanding on Brady’s point, he’s worked with play-calling head coaches in the past, Payton being the most prominent. Brady isn’t the first to call plays as a first-time head coach, and he won’t be the last. Still, it’s clear the young, first-time head coach is aware of the challenge that is presented.
“I’ve never been a head coach before, right,” Brady said. “But I think the biggest thing is making sure that I’m surrounding myself with the right people. Hey, I can’t be in the offensive room every single second. I’m not the offensive coach, I’m the head coach.”
To that end, the insistence by Beane to refer to Brady as a CEO-type hire starts to become a bit confusing, because some fans tend not to think of play-callers as CEO-types. A CEO-type generally has his hands in so many other decisions, there’s little room left to call plays, too. But that doesn’t mean that Beane and Brady don’t mean to merge the two ideas successfully.
“So it’s important when I put together this staff that I put together guys that understand the vision that I’m looking for with different ideas and putting it together so that I don’t live, and do everything like I did, as the offensive coordinator, because I’m not the offensive coordinator anymore,” Brady said.
Brady’s responsibilities have shifted, but in the end, it’s a smart thing for Brady to continue calling the Bills’ offense. Bills fans know the accolades, having already called the plays that helped Josh Allen win his first MVP and James Cook secure his first league rushing title. Even with a bit more on his plate, though, Bills Mafia does indeed expect more of the same from the offense.