Bills Energized by Influx of Young, New Staff Members

Buffalo Bills' first-time head coach Joe Brady has facilitated quite the shift in Orchard Park this offseason in a rather short amount of time.

University of Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kip Lewis (10) celebrates with Sooners co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach Jay Valai during a collegiate football game between the Oklahoma and the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, on Friday, November 24, 2023. Oklahoma won the game in a blowout, 69-45. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

“Connect, compete, condition,” Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen said in a recent interview following a practice at the team's training facilities earlier in June.

“And, then come out here and just have a lot of fun, and play some football . . . still working on our (chemistry). Still working on it with everybody, you know?”

Those three little words—along with the having fun portion—were some of the staples from Coach Brady’s offseason program this year: his first as a head coach at any level, let alone the National Football League.

The young 36-year-old is entering one of the most pivotal seasons of his football career, and it’s because he now has the entire weight of an NFL franchise on his shoulders.

Sure, his quarterback will always want to take credit for some of the blame if things go wrong this season—it’s simply how he’s wired—but Buffalo’s new man in charge at head coach is also built in a similar manner.

Grinding since the days of being an under-recruited wide receiver at Everglades High School in Miramar, Florida, to eventually rising up the coaching ranks as a passing-game coordinator with the LSU Tigers before ultimately settling into the professional level with the Bills following a failed stint in Carolina, Brady feels better prepared than ever for the opportunity that has been granted to him.

He doesn’t take it lightly.

Buffalo Bills rookie head coach Joe Brady calls out instructions to his players during drills while he was the offensive coordinator of the team on the opening day of Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York, back in July 2024. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Buffalo's rookie head coach surrounding himself with quality people

But, he’s also not trying to take on all of the pressure of the job at once. He’s been around the field—both literally and figuratively—long enough to know coaches, who try to do it all on their own, rarely succeed.

Just as it takes a village to raise a family, as they say, it also takes more than one man—or woman—to make an NFL franchise function.

So, with that in mind, Brady took it upon himself since his hiring to fill the building with as many stand-up people as possible.

It wasn’t an easy task. He surely had to work the phones a little.

However, in the end, the rookie head coach believes he’s surrounded himself with the right blend of personalities in order to accomplish the goals he has for his team this season and beyond.

Buffalo Bills tight ends coach Rob Boras and offensive coordinator Joe Brady talk at the start of a past training camp practice in Pittsford, New York, at St. John Fisher University. Both Brady and Boras remain with the team, but in new positions. Brady is now the team's head coach, while Boras has the added title of running-game coordinator for the team following the retirement of longtime offensive line coach Aaron Kromer this offseason. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I’d be lying if (I said) I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about (the upcoming season), right? I just kind of wake up and see what I’ve got to do to attack the day, but I like the direction that our team is going right now, and the way that they’re competing,” head coach Joe Brady said prior to his team’s first mandatory veteran minicamp practice earlier this month.

“We have a six-week break, right? It’s a long break. But, I’m not focused on that right now. I want the guys to make sure that we’ve got the right makeup of the team that we have . . . training camp will take care of itself.

“I feel like I’m in a good place — as good as I can (be) — but, I have nothing to really judge it on, right? So, (I’ve tried to) surround myself with good people, good players, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady takes questions from reporters at a press conference held prior to the start of mandatory veteran minicamp practice at One Bills Drive in Orchard Park, New York, on June 9, 2026. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Training camp will be first big test for Brady and Co. in Buffalo

With that said, at the top of list of those “good people” who Brady was referring to is new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who spent 10 years in the NFL as a defensive back—some of which came with the Bills—and who also spent the past two seasons as the Denver Broncos’ defensive passing-game coordinator following a seven-year stay from 2016 to 2022 at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, as the team’s defensive coordinator and—at one point—the Badgers’ interim head coach.

Leonhard, who was a coveted man on the market this offseason by NFL franchises, ultimately chose to team up with Brady in Buffalo, which is where his professional playing career began after going undrafted in 2005.

And, like his new boss, Leonhard wanted to insulate himself in his first professional coordinator gig by carefully choosing his initial staff.

Switching from Buffalo’s previous 4-3 scheme to his preferred 3-4 base system was going to be hard enough, especially if he didn’t have the right coaches to help connect things from the classroom to the field for his players.

So, just as Brady did, Leonhard went through his rolodex of past acquaintances in order to reach the required teachers that he needed: the ones with the right mentality that he was looking for.

Former Buffalo Bills free safety Jim Leonhard (35) runs out of the tunnel onto the field before the start of an NFL football game between the Bills and the Miami Dolphins at the venue formerly known as Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on December 22, 2013. | Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

“(I’m) just trying to take a lot of stuff in as far as the questions (and) the reactions. I love to read a room, right? Just go sit in some of those rooms and just (see) how the guys are taking the coaching and where they kind of start turning their head to the side and feel confused. 

“And, then at the end of the day, we’ve got to create what’s best for them, you know?” Buffalo’s defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said while talking on the Centered on Buffalo podcast with former Bills center Eric Wood back on June 4.

“And, in Year Two and Year Three—and as the season goes on (this year)—it might look a little bit different. But, we’re going to have to play things to our talent as any good teams do.

“It’s my job—I feel like—to expose them to a lot of, you know, what I see as the vision: what could it be, right? And, then let’s fit these pieces where they need to be as the season gets closer.”

Former University of Wisconsin Badgers interim head coach Jim Leonhard congratulates wide receiver Skyler Bell (11) after Bell caught a touchdown in the first quarter in a Big Ten Conference collegiate football game between Wisconsin and the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Being a teacher is equally as important as being a leader for Leonhard

One such person who wound up being the perfect fit to help orchestrate Leonhard’s idyllic plan as a first-time professional coordinator?

New Bills cornerbacks coach Jay Valai, who signed on to join Leonhard on Brady’s staff this winter after previously coaching under University of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, a person known throughout the college football landscape for having a hard-to-decipher defensive blitz package and overall scheme.

Valai had been Venables’ co-defensive coordinator since January 11, 2022.

"When the thing with Jim came up . . . it was a godsend," Jay Valai said in a recent interview with The Buffalo News.

Former University of Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai works with players as the Sooners college football team holds a spring practice outside of Gaylord Family/Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on March 21, 2023, in Norman, Oklahoma. | STEVE SISNEY / USA TODAY NETWORK

"To get to come to this level, to this town, to these people in Buffalo who are passionate beyond belief—which I can’t wait to see—who wear their heart on their sleeve and have two chips on their shoulders: it’s the right place, right time, and right situation."

And, although he has also made many other stops along his 10-year coaching journey since starting out under head coach Kirby Smart at the University of Georgia in 2016 as a defensive quality control coach—after previously starting Grindhouse Sports Training with retired NFL cornerback Kevin Mathis following his own playing career—it was the connection made with Leonhard during Valai’s playing days at the University of Wisconsin that paved the way for his current position in Western New York.

Valai, a former two-time All-Big Ten selection at safety who appeared in 48 games and tallied 153 total tackles, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions while with the Badgers from 2006 to 2010, originally met his new defensive boss in Buffalo while the two were in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2007 while Leonhard was back visiting the campus. 

Former University of Wisconsin Badgers defensive back Jay Valai (2) intercepts a pass after it was tipped away from former Northwestern University Wildcats wide receiver Jeremy Ebert (11) during the first quarter of a Big Ten Conference collegiate football game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 27, 2010. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

And, the conversation between the two during that interaction seemingly never ended, as the pair of former Badgers bonded for many years to come and ultimately formed a lasting friendship that has led them to where they are today.

Now, Valai’s new supervisor is relying on his younger counterpart to help keep things running smoothly in the secondary while Leonhard devises a plan to stop the bleeding, so to speak, in the running game for Buffalo, who finished the 2025 campaign ranked 28th in the league in rushing yards allowed with a cringeworthy average of 136.2 yards per game on the ground. 

It was never pretty against the run under former head coach Sean McDermott, regardless of who his defensive coordinator was.

So, if Leonhard is able to right that ship this offseason while Valai keeps the sails operating smoothly in the secondary, then the defensive unit just might become a “Boat of Destruction” in Buffalo in 2026.

Nov 14, 2009; Madison, WI, USA; Former Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Culmer St. Jean (15) and former defensive back Jay Valai (2) combine to make a tackle on former Michigan Wolverines running back Vincent Smith (2) during the second quarter of a Big Ten Conference collegiate football game between the Badgers and Wolverines at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 14, 2009. Wisconsin defeated Michigan 45-24. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Connection from classroom to field is key to success on defense in 2026

And, as far as his players are concerned, things appear to be on the up-and-up with Valai at the helm.

“He’s a good dude. He’s definitely energetic: it’s good though,” Bills cornerback Christian Benford said when speaking about Valai in a recent interview with local reporters at One Bills Drive back on June 2.

“(I’ll) be chilling (sometimes), so it’s something that’s good to have—sometimes—you know what I’m saying? I don’t really be needing it, but it’s good to have because some days (your vibe is) off, and somebody with a lot of juice and energy (can help you get out of that funk).

“He is (really) talkative. It’s good, though. It’s needed. I’m not (very) talkative at all, honestly. I’ll call a spade a spade: I’m not (a big talker).”

Former University of Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai speaks during a media day for the Sooners football team in Norman, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

With that said, although there may be a lack of volume coming from his top player in the secondary, it’s not as if Valai is working with any sort of lack of talent amongst his batch of players in Buffalo.

Benford is becoming a shutdown cornerback in his own right entering his fifth season after being drafted in the sixth round by the Bills out of Villanova University in 2022, and the team also just spent a first-round pick and a second-round pick at the position in the draft in back-to-back years with the selections of Maxwell Hairston and Davison Igbinosun in 2025 and 2026, respectively. 

The team also just drafted University of Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. in the seventh round this spring, as well as brought in veteran Dee Alford via free agency from the Atlanta Falcons in order to solidify the nickel cornerback spot following the trade of Taron Johson in March.

New Buffalo Bills veteran nickel cornerback Dee Alford (23) performs a drill during Buffalo's recent mandatory minicamp at One Bills Drive in Orchard Park, New York, on June 9, 2026 | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Putting the pieces together from pad and paper to players on the field

Yeah—things are taking a new shape in the secondary in Western New York this summer—and, with training camp just around the corner, it’s Valai’s job to get the most out of the pieces that he’s been given.

But, each stop that he’s gone through along the way up until this point has all seemingly been a blessing in disguise, and it’s afforded the soon-to-be 40-year-old coach his biggest professional chance yet.

And, Valai is ready to help Leonhard’s secondary soar to new heights in the pair’s first season together in the NFL.

Buffalo Bills veteran cornerback Christian Benford (47) runs out of the tunnel onto the field prior to the start of an NFL regular season game between the Bills and the New York Jets at the old Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on December 29, 2024. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

"I’m passionately intense with everything I do," Valai added in his interview with The Buffalo News. 

"I want to see these guys make it. The energy is just me being me. These are opportunities—you don’t want to waste them—(and) making a big impact on these guys means everything to me.

"You need to understand where guys are at: being surgical in your approach. Destroying the paradox of choice. Sometimes too much (of) this or that (can be counterproductive), and really understanding my responsibility. Connecting with them and understanding them where they’re at. Teaching them from their level. Guys learn differently, whether it’s on or off the field, on XOS, animation, through PowerPoint. Showing good reps and bad reps. A lot of guys don’t teach from that perspective. 

“Everybody shows good reps, but you can learn a lot more from what you don’t want to be. Those are big things I’ve really preached and walked. Connecting it to their why. You get to their soul, you get to the player.”

University of Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables (left) and Sooners co-defensive coordinator Jay Valai (center) talk with Oklahoma defensive back Reggie Pearson (21) on Friday, November 24, 2023. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

As Brady said to his cast and crew at the beginning of the spring: connect, compete, condition . . . and the rest will fall into place.

Valai appears to be taking those words to heart as he’s on the cusp of his greatest coaching endeavor yet heading into July.

Training camp should be fun for everyone involved.

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