Bills Promote Joe Brady To Head Coach On 5-year Deal Following Sean McDermott Firing

Bills Promote Joe Brady to Head Coach on Five-Year Contract

The Buffalo Bills have promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach on a five-year contract, the team confirmed Tuesday following Sean McDermott's dismissal after nine seasons . Brady's introductory press conference will take place Thursday, January 29 .

The Buffalo Bills announced that Sean McDermott has been relieved of his duties as head coach on Jan. 19, 2026 . "Sean has done an admirable job of leading our football team for the past 9 seasons," said Owner Terry Pegula. "But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level" .

Brady's Background and Experience

The Bills know the 36-year-old Brady well after bringing him on as quarterbacks coach in 2022 following his two seasons as the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator . In 2023, Brady would take over offensive coordinator duties on an interim basis following Ken Dorsey's dismissal. A season later, Brady was promoted into the full-time role and was voted a finalist for the Assistant Coach of the Year award .

Before his time with the Bills, Brady was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2020-21) and the passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at LSU during the team's 2019 national championship season .

Offensive Performance Under Brady

Since promoting Brady (Week 11, 2023), the Bills have ranked first in EPA per play (0.14) and second in points per game (29.1). The Bills had nine games with 30-plus points this season, tied with the Rams for the most in the NFL . Quarterback Josh Allen won his first MVP award in 2024, and running back James Cook III finished with the rushing title in 2025 .

Organizational Changes

Notably, while McDermott was shown the door, general manager Brandon Beane was allowed to stay. The Bills promoted Beane to team president and allowed him to lead the search for the Bills' next coach .

The promotion comes after Buffalo's recent playoff run ended with a 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in the divisional round on Jan. 17 . According to the verified team data, the Bills defeated Jacksonville 27-24 in the Wild Card round before falling to Denver 30-33 in the Divisional Round.

Under McDermott, the team reached the playoffs in eight of nine seasons. The Bills won at least one playoff game in six of those appearances, making it to the AFC championship twice, where they were defeated by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs both times .

Brady becomes the franchise's next head coach as the Bills prepare to enter their new $2.1 billion stadium and continue building around Josh Allen, who remains under contract through the 2030 season.