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Bills Promote OC Joe Brady to Head Coach
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The Bills' coaching search has come to an end.
Just over a week after firing longtime leader Sean McDermott, the team is promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to its open head coaching position. It will be a five-year deal and Brady has reportedly agreed to terms, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer weighed in on the hiring of Brady:
Brady, 36, has been working in the NFL since 2017. He began as an offensive assistant with the Saints before taking a brief break to return to the college sphere in 2019, per Stathead. In 2020, he was hired as an offensive coordinator for the Panthers and stayed with the team for two seasons.
He first joined the Bills as a quarterbacks coach in 2022, before serving as an interim OC/quarterbacks coach in 2024. He has been the full-time offensive coordinator since 2024.
Under his leadership, quarterback Josh Allen won an MVP award in 2024, and running back James Cook finished as the league's regular-season rushing leader with 1,621 yards in 2025.
Buffalo fired McDermott, who served as head coach for nine seasons and is largely credited with the franchise's recent turnaround, after the team's heartbreaking loss to the Broncos in the divisional round of the 2025 playoffs.
In a press conference following the dismissal, team owner Terry Pegula said that the team's reaction in the locker room pushed him to make the choice he did.
"I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall, year after year. ... I just sensed, in that locker room, where do we go from here with what we have? And that was the basis for my decision," Pegula said.
Now, the team has promoted a former member of McDermott's staff to take over for the ex-head coach.
In addition to the gig with the Bills, Brady also interviewed for the head coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Falcons, Ravens, Raiders and Dolphins; of those five, only the Raiders and the Cardinals are still without coaches. The Browns, with whom Brady did not interview, are also still looking for an HC.
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Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.