After firing Sean McDermott, the Buffalo Bills have found their next head coach. Officially, former Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady will be promoted to HC. Due to his success with star quarterback Josh Allen, this move made sense for all parties involved.
Does This Hire by the Bills Make Joe Brady the Youngest HC in the NFL?
Last year, when the New Orleans Saints hired former Philadelphia Eagles OC Kellen Moore, he became the youngest HC in the NFL at 36. Since the Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay in 2017, when he was 30, the NFL has trended toward hiring young offensive minds.
Finding the “next McVay” is something franchises have tried and very much failed at. Getting a hire correct in general is difficult, but trying to strike gold before anyone else can get to that coach makes it even harder. Yes, at times it works, but for the most part, it doesn’t.
With that in mind, the Bills have joined the race to find the next great young offensive-focused coach, and with Brady’s promotion, he became the youngest HC in the entire league.
At 36, Brady jumps one spot ahead of Moore on the list of the youngest HCs. Besides the three other coaches mentioned above, Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson (39) and Seattle Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald (38) are the only head coaches under 40.
When looking at all other coaches under 40 (besides Brady), they have all seen some success as HC. Moore had the Saints exceeding expectations this past season; Johnson completely turned the Bears team around and had them fighting in the playoffs; Macdonald may win coach of the year and has led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl; and McVay is one of, if not the, best coach in the league.
This is great news for the Bills, because if Brady can take over and improve this team, a Super Bowl should be in the near future. The issue is expectations. When each of these other coaches took over, besides Johnson, there were few expectations right away.
In Johnson’s case, it was still not a Super Bowl, just the playoffs. For Brady, there is immediate pressure to do what McDermott could not do, which is horrible for a first-time HC.
According to PFSN’s Offense Impact Metric, Buffalo’s offense was ranked third in the league this past season. The Bills’ offense should be more than fine next season, but making that next step this franchise has been hoping for will be what people focus on.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
