Buffalo Bills interim offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joe Brady was once seen as a hot coaching commodity around the NFL.
It was just seven years ago that Brady was a graduate assistant at Penn State, then hired by the New Orleans Saints in 2017 and worked two seasons with them as an offensive assistant before becoming a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at LSU in 2019.
Joe Brady’s Effect on Buffalo Bills’ Offensive Approach
That LSU job was considered to be high profile, and word around in coaching circles was that this young coach in his late 20s could be on the fast track soon up the coaching ranks in the NFL.
Brady, because he was seen as a protégé of then Saints head coach Sean Payton, was a highly coveted assistant coach, as teams wanted access or a better understanding of Payton’s high-powered offense. So Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule hired Brady as his offensive coordinator for the 2020 season.
Brady had limited play-calling at LSU, a coaching source said, and he wound up being fired by Rhule before the end of the 2021 season. It came as a big surprise around the league because Brady was seen as a potential head coaching candidate coming into that season — even though he was in his early 30s.
A source with knowledge of the situation told Pro Football Network that Rhule let Brady go because he “had trouble getting their playmakers the ball consistently, and scheming them open from week to week became an ongoing challenge.” The source added that Brady is very smart but was given too much responsibility too soon.
Brady was hired by the Bills as their QBs coach just two months after being let go by the Panthers. He replaced Ken Dorsey, who was promoted to offensive coordinator after Brian Daboll was hired to be the New York Giants head coach.
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But with head coach Sean McDermott deciding to part ways with Dorsey two weeks ago, it left some personnel evaluators from around the NFL to wonder what would be different with Brady calling the plays considering how it ended for him with his previous team.
However, through two games with Brady calling the shots, there have been some noticeable differences.
There’s much more of a commitment to run the ball (61 carries by running backs), which has resulted in a huge time of possession advantage (nearly by 27 minutes over the two games), more use of pre-snap motion, fewer turnovers (just two), and as a personnel source told us Sunday evening, QB Josh Allen looks really comfortable and much more decisive behind center.
While it has only been two games, Brady is off to a good start running the Bills’ offense and during his second go-around as an NFL offensive play-caller.
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