How the Bills Hiring Joe Brady Impacts Joe Burrow and the Bengals

Bengals fans wanting to see Brady reunite with Burrow won't get their wish.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and head coach Zac Taylor head for the locker room after the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 3 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Washington Commanders at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. The Bengals remain winless after a 38-33 loss to Washington. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — The Bills are promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach. They fired Sean McDermott earlier this month. Brady is signing a 5-year deal with Buffalo according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

How does this impact the Bengals?

Well, it means fans hoping for a Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase reunion with Brady aren't going to get their wish.

Brady is a big reason why Burrow's career took off in his second season at LSU. He was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Tigers during their 15-0 season in 2019. Both Burrow and Chase became stars that season.

"Joe and I go way back, way back at this point," Burrow said last month. "He was great for my career. We did some fun things together. We’ve got  a great relationship. I look forward to seeing him and talking to him."

Brady helped prepare Burrow for life in the NFL, which not only helped him win the Heisman Trophy at LSU, but prepared him for life with the Bengals.

"Bringing in all of the NFL concepts to what we were doing at LSU, fortunately my strength is being able to read and react and get the ball out quickly and find the right guys," Burrow said. "That’s what that offense was about. That’s what this offense is about. It’s what a lot of offenses are about in this league. We did some special things together. We went through a lot of problems and solved a lot of problems. That’s what great players and coaches do. That was a special time."

Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns in his final season at LSU. Chase accounted for 1,780 of those yards and 20 of those touchdowns. The duo ultimately reunited in Cincinnati after the Bengals picked Chase with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

"He taught me a lot, if I'm being honest," Chase said of Brady. "Taught me a lot about offense, concepts, defenses. He really broke the game down for me in a way that I could really understand and it helped."

Banking on Zac

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor points down field in the second quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Given Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's struggles in recent years, including a 24-27 record and missing the playoffs for a third-straight season in 2025, some fans wondered if a reunion would make sense.

A reunion isn't happening. Brady is locked in with Josh Allen and the Bengals will compete with the Bills in 2026 and beyond with hopes of winning the AFC and getting back to the Super Bowl.

Sign UP For Our DAILY Newsletter for MORE FREE Coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals Delivered to YOU Directly

 For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and Amazon. 

Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals!

-----

Join the 63,000+ Bengals fans that subscribe to us on YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter/X: @BengalsTalkSI

Join the 115,000+ Bengals Fans That Have Liked Our Facebook Page

Subscribe and follow the Locked On Bengals Podcast: the ONLY Daily Bengals Podcast

Join the 49,000+ Bengals Fans That Follow Us on TikTok