The Buffalo Bills decided on Tuesday to promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady as the franchise’s next head coach. After Sean McDermott was fired after nine seasons, in which he put together a run of nine seasons that marked him as one of the greatest head coaches in franchise history, the pressure that was once on McDermott’s back is now on Brady’s.
McDermott was fired because the team kept falling short in the playoffs. With Josh Allen on the roster, it’s an unacceptable trend for the franchise to endure any longer.
Still, Brady is now the youngest active head coach in the NFL, so surely his expectations have to be tempered in Year 1 to some degree. That’s the argument Stephen A. Smith made on First Take in the aftermath of the Bills announcement.
Stephen A. Smith urges Buffalo Bills to practice patience Bills Mafia isn't sure it can afford
“It’s not like it has to happen next year,” Smith said on Tuesday. “You know, Sean McDermott had eight or nine years. You can’t be like that with Joe Brady in Year 1.”
Smith acknowledged that the Bills have more work to do to make sure that Brady has everything he needs to get farther than McDermott did. That means finding more impactful receivers and making the necessary adjustments on defense.
After all, as Stephen A. pointed out, Brady’s unit did its part in 2025, leading the NFL in rushing with Allen willing the team in clutch moments despite his lackluster receiving group.
“I think there’s more pressure on Beane than there is on Joe Brady,” Smith said.
To Bills Mafia, everyone has to bear the weight of the pressure. Fans have lost a lot of goodwill in the front office’s decision-making over the past couple of weeks, and Brady’s promotion isn’t totally absolved from joining those frustrations.
There’s only one real way to get out of Bills Mafia’s crosshairs for Terry Pegula, Beane and Brady, and it’s winning a Super Bowl. But just how unreasonable is it to expect a 36-year-old first-time head coach to pull that off in his first season? It’s totally unreasonable, but Brady’s promotion feels like an extension of the McDermott era, so how much patience should Brady truly be afforded?
Allen is entering his ninth season next year. The clock is ticking to get the man to a Super Bowl, and with Brady agreeing to a five-year contract, he's the man who has to get it done. The 'Now or Never' window may not be simply contained to 2026, but it's not as though it extends well beyond that. And it's not as though Bills fans are already willing to concede that 2026 might not be their year because they have a young, first-year head coach instead of a seasoned veteran.
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Bills fans have already experienced all the heartbreak imaginable over the past nine years with McDermott. Brady can't be an extension of that feeling for long, otherwise the fanbase will grow even more impatient than it already is.
The Bills have a lot of work to do between now and next season, and plenty of time to do it. Brady may not be the hire that the bulk of the fanbase was most comfortable with, but the Mafia has no choice but to take it in stride and hope for the best.
Unfortunately, that does little to help the fanbase contextualize how to gauge that hope. Until fans see how Brady and Beane construct the roster and the defensive coaching staff, it’s difficult for Bills Mafia to properly weigh their 2026 expectations as the new era of Bills football begins.