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

[colin]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I mean we were I think the 5th best opening drive offense in the league last year and we were 2nd in 2024. So the bit that is heavily skewed to coaching - the opening script - we have been pretty good under Brady. 

 

Honestly our issues in first halves - second quarters in particular - last year were very largely player execution ones. The playcalling or formation usage wasn't radically different to 2024 when we didn't have the same number of 2nd quarter dips. It was player error by and large. You can point at coaching and ask how locked in etc they were but there was just a lot of basic execution failure.

 

the opening drive was great, but the other 25 minutes in the first half left something to be desired.

 

we were the first team since 2016 to win 12+ games while only leading at half time in 7 (or fewer) of them.  

 

since brady is now the HC, and not just calling offensive plays, the performance of the team in the first half (in all 3 phases) will be assessed as his grade.  while there are of course elements of players not playing well, in spite of good coaching, the fact that that bills were so dominant in the second halves, and so successful scoring on the opening drive tells me it is not simply and fundamentally a player quality issue.  if the players are capable of being as great as they were in the second halves and especially the 4th quarter, then there is room for them to be better in the first halves.  this is especially critical because the game script so so often worked against the bills.  new england and houston lead and won in like 10+ games each.  the game script allowed those teams to punch above their weight, and did the opposite for the bills.

[Captain Hindsight]

Brady’s resume was more than sufficient for a promotion. I’d argue he has a better resume that Daboll did when he got the Giants job. 
 

If the Bills had hired the OC from a team that had in back to back years produced an MVP and the rushing champion, had 79 total TDs from the QB in two years and had been top 5 in scoring, I think we’d all be pretty happy with that. 
 

I wanted a whole different philosophy, j wanted new ideas, I wanted them to go outside the organization, but Brady had done enough to earn an opportunity, whether here or elsewhere. As I said earlier, the bigger hire was DC. I’m optimistic, and I think a different mindset on that side of the ball would be enough to win those playoff games we’ve lost in the past

 

The real test in the divisional round of the playoffs. Can Brady coach a game to win under the brightest lights? The AFC was pretty meh last year and McDermott couldn’t do it

[Kirby Jackson]

26 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

Hitching your wagon to a Superstar QB has some potential drawbacks for your career (ask McDermott).  The problem with the Bills job for a coach is that if you don't take them to the Superbowl, you're considered to have done an averaage job.  If god forbid, you don't make the playoffs you're on a really hot seat. 

 

Many (like you for instance) claim the floor for an average coach, with Josh Allen, is the playoffs.  That's rough. (ask the coaches that had Mahomes, L Jackson, J Burrow, Dak, Goff - it is a possibility).

 

With the Raiders you get 2-3 years before being evaluated..  a winning record two years from now has you looking good.  The playoffs - in year 3, makes you the toast of the town.  If you fail with the Raiders, it shouldn't be a career killer, you could probably claim Fernando was a bust - not much you could do -and that you learned from the experience.

 

With that being said, I believe the Bills were staying on their previously stated belief of getting many bites of the apple.  You don't do a total tear down when you're this close.  The key personnel knew it was Superbowl or bust - that's why there was the uncharacteristic McD chiding of not getting the WR.  Also helps explain the emotional aftermath by Josh at the end of the Denver game - he knew the consequences of the loss.

Look at the lifespan, and record, of a coach with an elite QB vs. one without. Those guys have WAY longer tenures. He will get 2 or 3 years at least with Mendoza. He would have gotten that here too. The difference is you might be a decade and win Super Bowls here. You’re not doing that there unless Mendoza is a different guy than he appears to be. 

Edited June 30 by Kirby Jackson

[Jauronimo]

17 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

I can't forget that play last year when it was third and two and Coach Brady called a tight end sweep to Dawson Knox who unsurprisingly was stopped short of the first down.  So, no, I wasn't thrilled, though I didn't hate it like I did the Rex Ryan hiring from ten years back.  

What about the other 1,081 plays in 2025?  What makes that jet sweep to Knox so impactful in your assessment?

[Got 2 Billieve]

I mean look, Joe Brady does have some play calling ability Right.  He does seem to get respect from his players Right.  Like, we will see where it goes Right.  Not too optimistic about him being a "CEO" type guy though Right.  But I do like who he hired staff wise Right.  Like, I believe Josh pushed for him because of their relationship and continuity Right.  Like, I mean look, we shall see Right.  

[Lost]

11 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

What about the other 1,081 plays in 2025?  What makes that jet sweep to Knox so impactful in your assessment?

 

There's a lot of other stuff in Brady's pattern of play calling to be weary of.   The sheer amount of bubble screens they ran.   Predictably running up the gut on majority of 1st downs.   Absolutely never taking a shot downfield on 2nd and short.   One of the worst 2pt conversion rates for an offense the last few season.   Not hating on Brady but I would like to see less of a vanilla offense in general.   

[GunnerBill]

29 minutes ago, colin said:

 

the opening drive was great, but the other 25 minutes in the first half left something to be desired.

 

we were the first team since 2016 to win 12+ games while only leading at half time in 7 (or fewer) of them.  

 

since brady is now the HC, and not just calling offensive plays, the performance of the team in the first half (in all 3 phases) will be assessed as his grade.  while there are of course elements of players not playing well, in spite of good coaching, the fact that that bills were so dominant in the second halves, and so successful scoring on the opening drive tells me it is not simply and fundamentally a player quality issue.  if the players are capable of being as great as they were in the second halves and especially the 4th quarter, then there is room for them to be better in the first halves.  this is especially critical because the game script so so often worked against the bills.  new england and houston lead and won in like 10+ games each.  the game script allowed those teams to punch above their weight, and did the opposite for the bills.

 

I'm not sure I agree. They haven't had that issue previously with the same coaching. We just had some really dumb execution errors last year particularly in 2nd quarters. Dropped balls, whiffed blocks, badly run routes. I think there was an element of the Bills sleepwalking through bits of last season in the regular season. It used to happen at times with the Brady Patriots too. They quite regularly ended up needing to pull out games late they could have won much earlier. It's just hard when you sort of know in September that the season is about January. Definitely possible that new voices in the coaching staff make that less of a thing this year and freshen the feel up. But the offensive struggles in first halves last year were much more player execution than coaching. 

[GunnerBill]

9 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

There's a lot of other stuff in Brady's pattern of play calling to be weary of.   The sheer amount of bubble screens they ran.   Predictably running up the gut on majority of 1st downs.   Absolutely never taking a shot downfield on 2nd and short.   One of the worst 2pt conversion rates for an offense the last few season.   Not hating on Brady but I would like to see less of a vanilla offense in general.   

 

On the second and short point - I agree they can definitely be more aggressive there but there were also more called than were ever attempted. Especially in the first half of the 2025 season Josh was checking into runs a ton in 2nd and short. Now that doesn't mean they were all bombs he checked out of but there were also plenty throughout the year of called deep shots that were clearly the first read when you watch the film where Josh comes off them and goes underneath. I think he had lost confidence in his receiver corps to win deep. I hope Moore can change that dynamic because it is more than just playcalling in those 2nd and short type situations that we need to fix to be more aggressive. 

[Einstein's Dog]

6 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Look at the lifespan of a coach with an elite QB vs. one without. Those guys have WAY longer tenures. He will get 2 or 3 years at least with Mendoza. He would have gotten that here too. The difference is you might be a decade and win Super Bowls here. You’re not doing that there unless Mendoza is a different guy than he appears to be. 

For a first time coach, I think the safer career move is taking the rebuilding team. 

 

I think the coaches with the way longer tenures are the coaches that drafted the elite QB - a stiuation not available w the Bills.

 

And the Bills offered the far bigger downside.  If Kubiak missed the playoffs, went out in the wild card round 2 out of 3 years and was fired, his prospects for future employment would take a far greater hit than fizzling out in Las Vegas.

[Coach Tuesday]

20 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I'm not sure I agree. They haven't had that issue previously with the same coaching. We just had some really dumb execution errors last year particularly in 2nd quarters. Dropped balls, whiffed blocks, badly run routes. I think there was an element of the Bills sleepwalking through bits of last season in the regular season. It used to happen at times with the Brady Patriots too. They quite regularly ended up needing to pull out games late they could have won much earlier. It's just hard when you sort of know in September that the season is about January. Definitely possible that new voices in the coaching staff make that less of a thing this year and freshen the feel up. But the offensive struggles in first halves last year were much more player execution than coaching. 

 

My un-evidenced theory is that many of the "execution errors" were attributable to play calls coming in late...

[colin]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I'm not sure I agree. They haven't had that issue previously with the same coaching. We just had some really dumb execution errors last year particularly in 2nd quarters. Dropped balls, whiffed blocks, badly run routes. I think there was an element of the Bills sleepwalking through bits of last season in the regular season. It used to happen at times with the Brady Patriots too. They quite regularly ended up needing to pull out games late they could have won much earlier. It's just hard when you sort of know in September that the season is about January. Definitely possible that new voices in the coaching staff make that less of a thing this year and freshen the feel up. But the offensive struggles in first halves last year were much more player execution than coaching. 

 

i think they had these issues last year for the same reason they fired the head coach.  the players are going through the same old song and dance and have just accepted that this is the way it is.  shakir telling palmer "we turn it up late in the second half" is evidence of that.

 

houston and new england were teams who were very well coached and ended up the last two meaningful teams in the afc in the face of the bo nix injury.  clearly they are strong defensive teams, but to me their coaching focus gave them positive game scripts and kept them in games and helped them win when they weren't playing as well overall as they could.  

 

now the offense was very good to start, and decent in first halves, and great in second halves, but the d and special teams were just balls in the first half.  i think the offense was aware of this, and just accepted that this is how the team plays.  imo, having a better control of our game scripts would lead to less dumb losses like first NE, ATL (perhaps most of all), second miami, and at houston.  a couple extra wins and we get a bye and home field.  that might mean dorrian and harriston don't get dinged up, that might give bosa more rest to not be a turnstyle, maybe josh gets to get his broken foot under control, and to me also have less games in the post season and then a 2 week break to prepare for the superbowl is where the would be best set up to shine.  having consistently great O stats, and in the regular season consistently decent defensive stats isn't worth much if it all gets undone by bad special teams, poor game scripts, and the inability to adjust for special situations in big games (i.e. playoffs).  as far as i am concerned, the coach sets that tone and implements that plan, which is why vrable got his squad to greatly over perform, and mcd is the only coach in nfl history to have 8 playoff wins with a team and no championship appearances.

[Jalan81]

6 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

You really think Kubiak would want to coach Mendoza over Allen?

You don’t think he was asked if he would come here? He’s got a long leash in Vegas, not so much here.

[somnus00]

I'm nervously optimistic. We have no idea how Brady will do on game day with split second decision making.

 

And we are told that McDermott had his hands on the offense. But I don't think McDermott was designing the bad mesh-concept plays that saw multiple receivers going to the same part of the field. McD wasn't calling badly timed trick plays and bubble screens.

 

I'm hoping for the best from Brady. I'll be supporting him this season. I love the staff he put together. But there are things to be nervous about.

Edited July 1 by somnus00

[Gregg]

If he loses the 1st preseason game, then he is dead to me:)

[Jalan81]

2 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

Look at the lifespan, and record, of a coach with an elite QB vs. one without. Those guys have WAY longer tenures. He will get 2 or 3 years at least with Mendoza. He would have gotten that here too. The difference is you might be a decade and win Super Bowls here. You’re not doing that there unless Mendoza is a different guy than he appears to be. 

I don’t know enough about Mendoza to make an educated opinion on how his career will go. Who would have thought Darnold would win a superbowl?

[The Frankish Reich]

My take has always been that Beane saw the need for a new defensive approach, and you could never get that with McD - a defensive coordinator at heart - at the helm. Bringing in a new D coordinator just wouldn't work. Besides, no innovative D coordinator would take a job where he was under McD's thumb.

 

So you had to fire McD to try to fix the defense. I reserve judgement until we actually see Leonhard's new defense in at least a few games that count. 

[machine gun kelly]

22 minutes ago, Gregg said:

If he loses the 1st preseason game, then he is dead to me:)

Don’t forget Marv went 0-4 almost every pre-season.  He just didn’t care.  I liked that about him.  Him being too loose not ok.

[Kirby Jackson]

16 minutes ago, Jalan81 said:

I don’t know enough about Mendoza to make an educated opinion on how his career will go. Who would have thought Darnold would win a superbowl?

No. It took him 8 years and 4 teams to do it. It’s a little “Nick Foles-ish” although Darnold is better. The last 34 Super Bowl victories have been won by 25 HOF locks or current HOFers (Warner, Brady x7, Peyton x2, Big Ben x2, Aikman x3 Young, Favre, Rodgers, Stafford, Mahomes x3, Brees, Elway x2), 4 fringe HOFers (Eli x2, Wilson, Flacco), 4 game managers (Johnson, Dilfer, Foles, Darnold), and Jalen Hurts who if he wins another moves into fringe territory. Exactly 2 now of the last 23 Super Bowls (excluding Hurts) has been won by a guy that doesn’t have a HOF case or is in the HOF. That is the Nick Foles year and Darnold. 
 

So while I think Mendoza could be that level of QB (somewhere between the 10th & 20th best in a given year) his Super Bowl chances aren’t great there. Kubiak’s chances would have been much higher here obviously. I think that the Bills couldn’t wait though. It’s just too long once he went to the Super Bowl. 

[JerseyBills]

With Carmichael Fox and Leonard additions , I like it , I was disappointed in general at first about McD being fired but after a few months I've grown to like this new energy and agree a change had to be made , especially with the defense being more aggressive in big spots 

 

My main concern is him not being strict enough 

Edited June 30 by JerseyBills

[GerstAusGosheim]

I was so excited that McDermott was gone, they could have hired Rich Kotite and I would have been happy.

 

Wasn't expecting Joe at all but it was the obvious choice for an owner that doesn't want to blow the whole thing up. 

 

Back-to-back MVP/Leading rusher is a good enough resume to at least get a chance.

 

And he seems to have hired good coaches and decided on a different defensive philosophy. 

 

That all seems positive.