If you weren't thrilled about the Brady hire as HC do you feel any better about it now?

[Mr. WEO]

what has happened since he was hired to prompt this question?  What are we judging in order to feel better/worse at this point?

[JustAnotherBillsFan]

14 hours ago, Victory Formation said:

I did not like the hire at first, but then I saw the staff that he put together and now I'm very impressed.

This is where I landed as well.  And then some of the draft pieces we picked up - IGB, Elarms-Orr, Bell have added to my enthusiasm. 

 

What can I say the kool-aid always tastes good this time of year.

[SoonerBillsFan]

2 hours ago, stuvian said:

I still see the hire as Beane's power move to deflect accountability for the team's shortcomings away from him.

 

As for Brady himself, I will keep an open mind. This does not represent genuine organizational change as we already had the benefit of Brady's intellectual capital as OC. 

Beane just had what may be one of, if not his best, offseason.  How about we let it play out without Napoleon here to dictate personnel?

[Kirby Jackson]

5 minutes ago, MJS said:

I meant more the process that they took in firing McDermott, because I felt at the time, and still feel, that if McDermott was fired, Beane should be as well. Clean house. Because I feel the failures of getting to the superbowl have been a personnel issue just as much, if not more, than a coaching issue. Exalting Beane and firing McDermott was nonsensical to me.

 

But let's see how it goes. The message was loud and clear: get to the superbowl or you will get fired. It just depends on how many swings they plan to give Brady at it.

I agree but it’s kind of the same. Beane should have went too but him not being fired doesn’t make firing McDermott wrong. Cleaning house was the right move. Deciding to only clean the kitchen isn’t ideal but it’s better than leaving the whole place messy.

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

He hasn't coached a game yet.

 

I think it would take at least half a season maybe a whole season to even give any kind of opinion whether you liked the hire or not? 

 

Time should tell.

Edited June 29 by DaBillsFanSince1973

[SoMAn]

No.

Seeing is believing. When Brady exceeds, or even matches McDermott's success, I can be convinced. As a decades-long Bills fan, I've been prey to the massive PR hype every time there's a new regime or 'elite' FA  who's come to rescue us. It's always the same Charlie Brown trying to kick the football ending.

I'm jaded from all the disappointment. Prove it. You're not getting me all exited just to be let down.

 

I read somewhere that of the four major sports in America, the Bills have the best winning percentage since 2020. And yet, the head coach is canned for not getting to the promised land? Could there have been some things done better? Sure. But at the risk of sounding like an apologist, the Bills defense has been bringing players from the practice squad and off the street just to have bodies available for the 47 active roster.  How much accountability for any failure needs to be pointed at Beane on misses on high round draft picks and having a defense absent of any game wrecker defender.

 

If Josh hadn't given the ball away 3 times against Denver, The Bills would've had a very good chance of playing against the Seahawks on Super Bowl Sunday.

 

Instead of thinking McDermott sucked for not getting to the Super Bowl, I'm in the camp that believes he did an incredible job with the less than great players he had to work with on the defensive side of the ball. It wasn't a star-studded defense before the injuries!  Count the Pro bowl players on no hands. 

 

They won 13 games against mostly very good teams in '26. Josh, Cook and the rest of the offense were great . With a better defensive roster, the super bowl was not out of reach.

 

So, we'll see. I wouldn't want to be in Joe Brady's shoes. Judging by the McDermott dismissal, a consistent playoff contender is not an acceptable level of accomplishment. If he fails to get the team into the Super Bowl within say 4 years, under the same metric standard he'll be considered a failure. Then we can suffer the revolving door of coaches but thrill with the excitement of top 10 draft picks. We may find ourselves longing for the days of Josh and McDermott.

 

No matter who is coaching, I'm rooting for the Bills. So show me replacing McDermott with Brady was the best move. 

 

Edited June 30 by SoMAn

[JP51]

15 hours ago, BillsFan130 said:

I think where Brady won me over was the hiring of the coaching staff.

 

Hired experienced offensive and special teams coordinators, and one of the most exciting young DCs in Leonhard.

 

If Leonhard hits and can fix the defence, this team will have a great chance to win a Super Bowl 

I think this is very true for me as well... I am not sure about won me over... but initial impression is positive. 

[hondo in seattle]

I am over grieving about the hire.  Emotionally, I'm in a different spot.   Call it 'calm acceptance.'  

But intellectually, I still harbor the same uncertainty.  We're in the prime of Josh's career and we're chasing a Super Bowl with an unproven HC and an unproven DC?  That doesn't seem wise.    

 

I didn't think Brady was a great OC.  Why should I believe he'll be a great HC?  But I wouldn't say I'm pessimistic exactly - I think curious would be a better word.  

 

Who knows?  Brady and Leonhard both might prove to be great in their new roles. 

[NewEra]

54 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

what has happened since he was hired to prompt this question?  What are we judging in order to feel better/worse at this point?

I feel better about it.  I was hoping for Kubiak and wasn’t happy about hiring Brady.  I thought it was the safe pick but understood the move.  It just wasn’t what  I had hoped for.

 

I felt a lot better about the hiring once Jim Leonhard was hired as our DC.  I think his addition will help improve the side of the ball that needed a makeover.  

[dpberr]

I feel better today about it than I did.  He built out his coaching staff with a mix of experience and football smarts, and the players the team drafted fit his concepts (as I understand them.)

[T.E.]

It was one of the more obvious cases of organizational stagnation in recent memory, and they ultimately just rearranged the deck chairs.

 

Allen is certainly good enough to overcome a lot, but not completely cleaning house and starting fresh will prove to be a mistake, in my opinion. I have not seen anything from Joe Brady that says to me "There's a guy you want coaching your team," and Beane is another whole story in itself.

 

I am not super-positive about this season, especially when you see the schedule.

[Captain Hindsight]

The defensive coordinator hire was the most important one 

[Kirby Jackson]

Nothing matters until the playoffs. McDermott was fired because of his failings in the playoffs. Brady isn’t being judged on the offseason or even the regular season. 
 

Great QBs make coaches. Here are the respective records of Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Mike McCarthy, Matt Lafleur, Jim Caldwell, Sean Payton, John Fox and Sean McDermott with and without Mahomes, Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers and Allen. 
 

Reid w/ Mahomes: 113-41 (73.4%)

Reid w/o Mahomes: 182-120-1 (60.2%)

 

Belichick w/ Brady: 249-75 (76.9%)

Belichick w/o Brady: 84-103 (44.9%)

 

Dungy w/ Manning: 92-33 (73.6%)

Dungy w/o Manning: 56-46 (54.9%)

 

McCarthy w/ Rodgers: 133-68-1 (66.1%)

McCarthy w/o Rodgers: 52-55-1 (48.6%)

 

Lafleur w/ Rodgers: 42-12 (77.8%)

LaFleur w/o Rodgers: 37-34-1 (52.1%)

 

Caldwell w/ Manning: 16-4 (80%)

Caldwell w/o Manning: 46-48 (48.9%)

 

Fox w/ Manning: 49-19 (72.1%)

Fox w/o Manning: 92-111 (45.3%)

 

Payton w/ Brees: 161-97 (62.4%)

Payton w/o Brees: 31-37 (45.6%)

 

McDermott w/ Allen: 97-48 (66.9%)

McDermott w/o Allen: 9-10 (47.4%)

 

The point is that if you have a great QB, you’ll be fine. Lots of people could win a bunch of games with Josh. Can Brady go further?? That’s the question. That’s what he was hired to do. We likely won’t know anything on him until January or February. 

[Jay_Fixit]

Didn't love it at first. May not even love it now. I don't know until I see the product.

 

I do know that I'm happy a change that desperately needed to happen, happened.

 

[Dillenger4]

18 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

The defensive coordinator hire was the most important one 

I tend to agree with this. Our D needed a change. A new DC, new players (Chubb, CJGJ, Alford, rookies and sophmores) and John Fox. This is what is keeping me excited. I think Josh, Brady, Cook and DJ will be fine. They will not falter. It's our D that has me excited. Looking forward to the season!

[SoCal Deek]

Did I love the choice of Brady? No. Has my opinion changed? Like many have said…based on what? But, the better question is to consider the alternative: heading into 2026 with the same coach, philosophy, etc. Between those two choices….I guess I’ll take the current approach. 

[Coach Tuesday]

Two huge unknowns:

 

1.  Overall attention to detail; and

 

2.  Ability to make good, but quick, decisions under pressure (“high leverage situations”).

 

A good HC needs both of the above.  McDermott was probably good enough at 1 but definitely not good enough at 2.  No idea if Brady can satisfy either criteria (and again, I posit that an elite HC needs both).

[Einstein's Dog]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

what has happened since he was hired to prompt this question?  What are we judging in order to feel better/worse at this point?

There has been the hiring of the coaches - Fantastic job.

 

Then there was the draft and FA.  Mixed review from me.  I would have liked to see an entire WR group retool.  They did get a good WR1 (IMO) but I would have liked to have seen a better WR2 in the process.  So now I'm a little concerned about the overall offensive philosophy.  I would like to see a change to more passing but don't know if that is in the cards.  I was hoping they were going to pin the lack of WRs and passing on McD (the whole collaboration thing).  But I now feel that it will be more of a minor offensive change -we will see.

 

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I agree but it’s kind of the same. Beane should have went too but him not being fired doesn’t make firing McDermott wrong. Cleaning house was the right move. Deciding to only clean the kitchen isn’t ideal but it’s better than leaving the whole place messy.

The Bills have had a good run, I can see not wanting to start from scratch. 

 

My only reservation about not firing Beane is what looks to be his reluctance to move on from the Palmer mistake (they shielded themselves from Coleman - who costs less anyway).  I do hope they move S Bell up to starter quickly.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

I think we were all nervous they would retain everyone but dumping mcd and promoting Brady let them bring in some fresh defensive minds and a veteran offensive coach for Brady to bounce ideas off of.  Feels like a great move now to me 

[26TrapDraw]

At he end of the day...

The days gotta end.

 Let you know after the season.