Albert Breer’s Notes: Why the Bills Are Betting on Joe Brady

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Buffalo Bills
Cleveland Browns
New York Jets
New York Giants
Las Vegas Raiders
Senior Bowl workouts

MOBILE, Ala.—The NFL draft process is off and running from the ground at Senior Bowl practices …

Buffalo Bills

The Bills knew what Joe Brady was as an offensive coach. What they didn’t realize was a big part of why he’s their new head coach.

Brady’s vision for the CEO-as-head-coach part of the job ended up winning over the team’s search committee, with the Pegulas, GM Brandon Beane, top personnel men Terrance Gray and Brian Gaine, and quarterback Josh Allen in that room. It was a key piece of the interview for all candidates, and Brady’s detailed and precise plan made the decision, ultimately made by Beane, about more than continuity.

That said, continuity is a piece of the puzzle. The Bills were top five in scoring the past two years, Josh Allen won the MVP in 2024 and the team scored 30 points despite five turnovers in the team’s playoff ouster. So the same offensive scheme is a plus for Allen. Then, there’s the alignment with Beane and his group—you don’t have to project what that relationship is going to be like when you already know the guy on the other end of it.

Of course, this is a gamble. Going away from Sean McDermott alone was one, and if this doesn’t work, then making an internal hire will look really bad.

But there is sound logic to it. And with that, it’s fair to say the honeymoon is already over.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns, too, chose to go with someone familiar, tabbing Todd Monken, who was their offensive coordinator in 2019 on Freddie Kitchens’s staff, to be their head coach. That year, interestingly enough, he came very close to landing a Jets job that ultimately went to Adam Gase. Then, he was part of that one-and-done staff in Cleveland, reset as OC at the University of Georgia, where he won two national titles, before spending the past three years in Baltimore.

In the team’s statement, Browns GM Andrew Berry specifically cited Monken’s ability to work with a variety of different types of quarterbacks (Jameis Winston, Baker Mayfield, Stetson Bennett and Lamar Jackson are on that list) to create “maximum flexibility” for the team as it builds toward the 2026 season.

The quarterback will be a focus this offseason. Obviously, being a head coach is about a whole lot more than that. We’ll see how all of that looks with Monken in charge.

• The next piece to the puzzle in Cleveland is DC Jim Schwartz, who remains under contract, but wasn’t pleased after being passed over for the head job. Schwartz can be strong-willed and march to the beat of his own drummer. He’ll be in demand if he’s available. And I wouldn’t rule out the idea that he sits the year out, if he gets dug in on not coaching on Monken’s staff in 2026. For now, my feeling would be the Browns let things cool off, then try to get him back.

New York Jets

The Jets’ timing with their staff shuffling was funky, to put it nicely. The week after the season, coaches were on edge there, expecting the hammer to fall, with ownership wanting some changes around the quarterback position. They made it out of that week, then were given time off by Aaron Glenn. As they filtered back into the office last week, pass-game coordinator Scott Turner and QBs coach Charles London were let go. And OC Tanner Engstrand, who had some ups and downs with players, was retained. Less than a week later, Engstrand is gone, too, after they couldn’t figure out a reworked role for him.

So these coaches were put behind so many others in the hiring cycle because they got fired more than two or, in Engstrand’s case, three weeks after the season ended. And the Jets are behind all these teams out there making changes, as they look to make a hire that could very well impact whether Glenn makes it to a third year.

That’s a challenging circumstance to be in, for sure, and one of the Jets’ own creation.

New York Giants

The Giants’ OC job, presumed to be going to Monken, is now wide open. One name to watch would be Broncos QBs coach Davis Webb, who’s been linked to several coordinator jobs. There are a few options out there for new coach John Harbaugh, and it’ll be interesting to see how much finding a fit for Jaxson Dart is part of the process.

Las Vegas Raiders

Webb also remains in the running for the Raiders’ job, along with Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, and the potential that he’s leaving Denver is relevant, given that Sean Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Rising young assistant Declan Doyle left last year. And Pete Carmichael, Payton’s long-time offensive coordinator from New Orleans, is the most proven assistant he has left on that side of the ball. So the head coach has work to do.

Senior Bowl workouts

Finally, from here on the ground in Mobile, the early returns on this year’s class are meh. At quarterback, it’s Fernando Mendoza and then a chasm to the next guy. Elsewhere, it looks like you don’t have enough prototype guys at premium positions atop the draft, with a safety (Ohio State’s Caleb Downs), a couple tackles who may be NFL guards (Miami’s Francis Mauigoa and Utah’s Spencer Fano), a linebacker who can move down and rush from the edge (Ohio State’s Arvell Reese) and a boxy-built rusher (Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr.).

Expect to hear a lot about the star-studded 2027 class over the next few months (and perhaps teams looking to move picks into next year) as a result.