Joe Brady would not have been my first choice. In fact, based on the nine men interviewed for the job of Bills head coach, Brady was fifth on my list. He would have dropped to sixth if the Bills waited to speak with Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The Bills were not doomed to fail the moment Terry Pegula decided to fire Sean McDermott after nine seasons and 98 wins but the decision to promote Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach is, in a word, uninspiring.
I, like many Bills fans, feel the offense took a step back this season. The Bills became too reliant on the run and the passing game lost its explosiveness. That passing game that used to strike fear in opponents became rather predictable and at times downright boring. Now, the man who was in charge of that is in charge of the whole team.
I can only hope that Brady designed that offense out of necessity as a result of the significant talent drop off at the wide receiver position. Hopefully one of the things the new head coach told the general manager and new president of football operations during the interview process was to add play makers to the wide receiver room.
Only time will tell but the selection of Brady feels like the safe choice and not the best choice. I do feel that the relationship between the franchise quarterback, the head coach and the offensive play caller is extremely important. My guess is the Bills had concerns about having a fourth different coordinator for Josh Allen and starting all over again with that critical relationship was a big factor in this decision.
Having said that, I would have preferred the Bills bring in someone from outside the organization with fresh and creative ideas. Hopefully Brady turns out to be the Bills equivalent of Sean McVay, who does have a Super Bowl title to his credit.
I think another part of the problem with this hire is that Brandon Beane has lost the benefit of the doubt. The Bills GM had that on his side for most of his tenure but it has gradually eroded over the last couple of seasons as the talent level on the roster dropped.
Beane has had too many misses on day one and day two draft picks. A number of free agent signings have not panned out. His biggest mistake has been how he handled the wide receiver position, going back to the decision to trade away Stefon Diggs. That began a series of missteps from which the Bills have yet to recover. Getting the new head coach a game changer or two at wide receiver will really help his chances of getting over the "proverbial playoff wall".
Keep in mind the one thing we had yet to see from Beane was whether or not he could hire a good head coach. This is his first since coming to the Bills in 2017. McDermott was hired first by Pegula and Beane followed.
Say what you want about the Bills playoff failures, which is a valid criticism of the McDermott era, but the now former Bills head coach took a dysfunctional franchise and turned it around almost overnight. McDermott made players accountable which was something many Bills coaches prior to his arrival were unable or unwilling to do. Hopefully Brady can continue to do that among other things as he embarks on his new job.