Right before the Buffalo Bills‘ first playoff game this year against the Denver Broncos, offensive coordinator Joe Brady made it clear what he wanted to accomplish with the Bills.
“My focus is strictly on trying to win a Super Bowl here,” Brady said. The 35-year-old offensive coordinator almost saw those dreams come true but fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game last weekend.
Brady was one of the hottest names for an NFL head coaching job this offseason —getting passed up except for the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints scheduled a second interview with Brady, which would take place after the Bills season ended.
New Orleans seemed like a good fit for Brady, as he spent two seasons as an assistant coach there in 2017 and 2018.
Brady became a Louisiana legend in 2019 when he was LSU’s passing game coordinator/quarterback coach.
The Tigers went 15-0, winning the National Championship, making Brady a household name.
The night before the AFC title game, the second-year Bills offensive coordinator dropped out of the running for the Saints job, meaning he will be back in Buffalo next season.
Turing down an NFL head coaching job is difficult since there are only 32 of them, but leaving is even more complicated when Josh Allen is your starting quarterback.
Brady Taking The Johnson Approach
Last season, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was in the same position Brady had just dealt with this offseason.
Johnson could have chosen the NFL head coaching job he wanted, but he didn’t like any of the opportunities and returned to the Lions.
Detroit’s offense was the best in the league this past season, and Johnson got the head coaching job he sought with the Chicago Bears.
Johnson’s return for another season as an offensive coordinator was a gamble when he could have had a head coaching job.
The Lions could’ve gone 3-14 and had one of the worst offenses in the league.
Luckily, that didn’t happen, and Johnson was again the best OC in the sport.
Bobby Slowik of the Houston Texans was another great offensive coordinator in 2023. Slowik made rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud one of the best in the league and led the team to the postseason Divisional round.
Slowik could have been hired as head coach last year but did the same thing as Johnson, returning with his team as the offensive coordinator.
Things were supposed to improve in Houston in Stroud’s second season; however, they only got worse, and Slowik was fired a few weeks ago.
Slowik took a risk like Johnson did by not accepting a head coaching job, and it backfired.
Brady is now going down the same path as both, not accepting a head coaching job this cycle.
Who knows if the Saints even wanted to hire him, but he took his name out of the running, so there was probably a lot of genuine interest from New Orleans.
Is Brady Taking a Risk Staying With The Bills
Brady is taking a giant risk because who knows what will happen this upcoming season. One lousy year could remove him from any team’s head coaching board.
The Bills have one of the best quarterbacks, Josh Allen, and a tremendous offensive line and running game.
I don’t expect Buffalo’s offense to fall apart anytime soon, and unlike Slowik, Brady isn’t dealing with a quarterback who only had one season under his belt.
Allen is entering his eighth season and has been a Top-Three quarterback in the league for five years.
The Bills are a lot closer to the Lions than the Texans, so Brady won’t have to worry about anything going wrong ending any chance at a head coaching job.
Brady means it when he says his focus is strictly on winning a Super Bowl in Buffalo.
Now that the Bills season is over and that dream couldn’t come true this year, Buffalo might only have one more chance to get Brady a Super Bowl ring before he leaves to be a head coach in 2026.
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