Joe Brady will start his first stint as a head coach in the NFL. The former offensive coordinator was promoted after the firing of Sean McDermott, and he’ll have a difficult task right out the gate: taking Josh Allen’s team to the Super Bowl, something that McDermott failed to do during his stint.
Ryan Clark Sets Super Bowl Target for Joe Brady and Josh Allen
Brady’s promotion happened after an overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round. McDermott’s teams were always consistent during the regular season, but they failed to go one or two steps further in the playoffs.
Super Bowl 43 champion safety and current analyst Ryan Clark believes that Brady starts his career in a difficult position. In his view, the pressure for making the playoffs in his first year will be huge, and he wants to see the Bills make the next step and finally reach the Super Bowl with Allen as their quarterback:
“It’s Super Bowl or bust. He wins a Super Bowl, there’s nothing else for him to do, nothing else for him to prove. Since he’s been in the league, he has more touchdowns than 12 different organizations. What Josh Allen needs to do is win a Super Bowl. And for Joe Brady, he has to go and win a Super Bowl because that’s the thing Sean McDermott hasn’t done. He’s done everything else,” Clark explained.
“It is absolutely Super Bowl or bust for Coach Brady, Josh Allen and this team.”@Realrclark25 weighs in on the Bills ahead of next season 👀 pic.twitter.com/BnXm09KzM3
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 30, 2026
Brady joined the franchise as a quarterback coach in 2022. He was promoted to offensive coordinator midway through the 2023 season, when Buffalo fired Ken Dorsey after a string of poor offensive performances. He also worked as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 2021.
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Brady’s most famous work happened in 2019. He was the mastermind behind LSU’s historic offense that year, winning the national championship with ease. Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ja’Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson were all part of that group, and they all ended as first-round picks.
The problem for Buffalo in recent years had nothing to do with the offense. The group ranked No. 3 in our PFSN Offense Impact Metric, behind only the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. The Bills scored 30 points during their AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos.
McDermott arguably had a successful tenure with the team. During his period as the head coach, the Bills made the playoffs in eight of nine seasons. The only problem was their lack of a Super Bowl appearance; Patrick Mahomes has won all his postseason contests against Josh Allen so far.
Brady’s mission will be to bring new ideas to the team as they navigate the trickiest parts of their season. Time and time again, the Bills proved they’re capable of competing in the AFC East. Their goal is to go further than that.
