By Paul Lane

Repeatedly Thursday, the word that came up when people talked about new Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady was “energy.”

That energy had to be reined in a bit during his introductory press conference at the Bills Fieldhouse, during which he had to self-censor before a curse word came out or lower his speaking volume.

But that’s just what attracted Brady to Bills brass during the weeklong interview process, according to Brandon Beane, the team’s general manager and president of football operations. Beane and owner Terry Pegula took a big risk in letting go of coach Sean McDermott, who won nearly two-thirds of his games from 2017-25 but never reached a Super Bowl. But they felt that risk was calculated.

“It wasn’t like there was a finger pointed at coaching,” Beane said of McDermott’s dismissal. “This is a collective thing. We do this together. I feel guilt for that, as well. There are things that I could do, and Joe and I will work together to get this thing over the top.”

Also presenting risk was the timing of the move. The NFL bans teams from interviewing candidates whose teams remain active. The Bills were able to interview assistants from Denver and the L.A. Rams after those teams lost Sunday, but a prime candidate in Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak remained off-limits because of the Seahawks’ victory.

The team considered waiting, but didn’t want to miss out on assistants who might get hired prior to next weekend’s Super Bowl.

“You hate to rule it out, but I think you would unfairly hurt (the new coach) because the (other teams’) staffs would all be filled up,” Beane said. “My job is to make sure I’m always doing what’s best for the Buffalo Bills. It was not smart to wait any longer, as long as we found the right guy.”

The Bills feel Brady is just that. They hope to combine his experience with lessons learned during the hiring process, Beane’s first in Buffalo (McDermott was hired months before Beane in 2017). Brady was the first of nine candidates interviewed, with extensive debriefings and consultations conducted after each session. 

“It’s great to peel back the onion of how different teams do things,” Beane said. “There were some smart, smart people. I learned way more than I ever thought I would, and maybe now I know what I was missing.”

Brady ultimately stood out due to how he saw things could move forward, Beane said. Brady, who called plays as offensive coordinator from the coaches’ booth, was often seen as a fiery contrast to McDermott’s stoic nature. But he hadn’t, until last week, been seen by Beane in quite the same way he is now. Brady and other candidates had to, among other tasks, present a detailed vision for how they’d conduct business from their first day through the draft, preseason and mid-week late in the season.

“Talking to Joe as offensive coordinator is not a holistic view of how he sees things,” Beane said. “We didn’t need to talk long about his offense. It was really about everything else. What are we doing to do on a Monday after we win a game? On Tuesday? When are we eating lunch?”

Brady feels his passion will carry over to his players, but not at the expense of losing themselves. He gestured multiple times to quarterback Josh Allen, who was at Thursday’s event and took part in coach interviews, as the example.

“The culture starts with them. No. 17 sets the tone of the culture,” he said. "My job is to make sure I’m allowing them to be true to their personalities and play to their personalities.”

Brady said he’s learned a lot from former bosses, including Sean Payton, who helped craft a similar player-first mindset in New Orleans around quarterback Drew Brees. Having people around you who aren’t afraid to dissent will also help as Brady looks to take the team he inherited to the top of the mountain.

“The biggest thing is, when you put together a staff, understand the personalities and make sure you have a bunch of different perspectives,” he said “I only get one chance to be a head coach. I’m not just going to hire my friends. We have to go back to evaluate our systems to start, and that’s at every level of the organization.”

••••••••

See also >> Buffalo Bills introduce new head coach Joe Brady; Beane says team believes in former OC's plan

See also >> Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen on new coach Joe Brady: 'He's going to hold me to a very high standard, and I welcome that'