Joe Brady
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New Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady will call his own plays in 2026.
The Bills‘ decision to hire Joe Brady as their next head coach has stirred mixed reactions from people around the NFL, but Brady may not have actually been Buffalo’s first choice after all.
Bills Had Interest in Klint Kubiak
On Monday, Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breerreported that the Bills showed interest in interviewing Klint Kubiak, the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. However, they decided not to wait until after the Super Bowl to bring him on board.
“The Bills also had an interest in Kubiak, but figured it’d be unfair to everyone to wait until after the Super Bowl to interview him—by rule, because the Bills missed the first window to interview him, they couldn’t talk to him until after the Seahawks’ season ended,” Breer wrote.
Since the Bills didn’t fire head coach Sean McDermott until Jan. 19, it left Buffalo in a difficult position to interview candidates who were still coaching.
Since the Seahawks had a bye in the first round of the playoffs, Kubiak had the opportunity to explore his first set of head coaching interviews with teams that had already parted ways with their head coaches during the first week of the playoffs. However, since the Bills were still playing and McDermott was still coaching, there was no chance for Kubiak to interview with Buffalo.
The Bills would have had to wait until after the Super Bowl to begin their interview process with Kubiak, which wouldn’t have started until Feb. 9. That’s a long time to wait to interview a head coach for the first time, and it could have taken them out of the running for other candidates. If Buffalo was waiting on Kubiak to become its head coach and he ultimately declined, the Bills might also have lost out on Brady, as he could have taken another job instead of waiting to see if he would fit into Buffalo’s head coach role.
Kubiak ultimately accepted the head coaching position with the Las Vegas Raiders following the Super Bowl.
Brady has to Perform Now
When the Bills let go of McDermott, it felt like a clear sign that Buffalo was ready to pursue an offensive-minded head coach to work alongside Josh Allen. Given that Brady has performed admirably as the Bills’ offensive coordinator over the past two and a half seasons and has developed a solid rapport with Allen, promoting Brady to head coach seemed like the logical step forward.
Brady is about to face a lot of pressure as he steps into his first head coaching job. If he had landed a position with a team like the Cleveland Browns, who aren’t expected to win much this upcoming season, he might have had the time to adjust. However, Buffalo is the complete opposite. The Bills are aiming for a Super Bowl victory right away, which may not allow Brady the opportunity to settle into his role.
It will be interesting to see how the Bills and Brady perform this season and whether they can finally reach the Super Bowl.