How Joe Brady convinced Bills' brass it was 'not smart to wait' for Klint Kubiak

The Buffalo Bills determined that there was no need to go beyond the nine interviewees who auditioned for the team's head coaching vacancy.

After conversations with multiple impressive candidates, the Bills knew they had "their guy."

"There was a lot of brilliant football minds that we were able to spend a good amount of time with," said general manager Brandon Beane while introducing Joe Brady as the new head coach on January 29 in Orchard Park.

Notably, however, one of the hottest coaching candidates during this cycle was not amongst those "brilliant football minds."

Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has garnered significant interest from the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals, but the Bills' level of interest was seemingly not high enough to wait for the Seahawks to complete their Super Bowl run.

Being that the Bills weren't in a market for a new head coach until after the division round of the playoffs, NFL rules prohibit them from contacting Kubiak until after the Super Bowl.

"I just thought once we got to this point, it would be just not smart to wait any longer," said Beane. "We need our guy, as long as we find the right guy. Now listen, if we went through these nine [interviewees], and we said we're not gonna force it, but we had some very good options when we did this. Clearly, at the end, Joe was the man for the job."

New Bills head coach Joe Brady talks about some of his vision as coach at the Bills field house in Orchard Park on Jan. 29, 2026. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What made Brady 'the man for the job'

In addition to his 2.5 years as the Bills' offensive play caller, team brass was apparently impressed by Brady's vision for their entire operation moving forward.

"We wanted a highly intelligent, aggressive and excellent communicator. We wanted alignment. Joe Brady is all of that and more," said Beane.

Brandon Beane, president of football operations and general manager for the Buffalo BIlls, and head coach Joe Brady take turns answering questions during a press conference that introduced Brady as the new head coach in Orchard Park on Jan. 29, 2026. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brady earned it

Addressing reporters after Brady was introduced in Orchard Park, franchise quarterback Josh Allen explained his contributions as part of the official search committee.

"Again, I didn't make any decisions," said Allen. "I just allowed them to maybe ask questions into a player's lens that maybe they wouldn't have had if I wasn't there."

MORE: Former Bills' Pro Bowl player says Joe Brady hire worthy of a 'parade'

While Allen's productive working relationship with Brady couldn't have hurt the head coach's chances, the quarterback delivered the message that his former offensive coordinator earned the promotion based upon merit rather than association.

"I had an opportunity to talk to Josh the other day, and he let me know, he's like, I didn't help you get this job, you got this job. And that meant so much to me," said Brady.

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