Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady in pregame prior to playing the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
Previous Coordinating experience.
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Joe Brady was the Offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in the years 2020 and 2021. He led a Panthers offense with QB Teddy Bridgewater running the show, firing the ball to weapons such as All-Pro RB Christian Mccaffery, DJ Moore, and new Buffalo Bill Curtis Samuel. The 2020 Panthers ended up with a 5-11 record and the 21st ranked offense in the league. The 2021 Panthers ended with a 5-12 record and the 30th ranked offense in the league.
This may alarm you as the team was struggling heavily with Brady at the Offensive Coordinator position. There are many factors that played into these failed seasons that were far from Brady’s control. The first fault can be handed to the weak head coach of the Panthers, Matt Rhule, who proved for 2 years straight that he is unable to lead an NFL football team and coaching staff. The other issue in Carolina was the lack of stable and consistent quarterback play.
In 2020, Teddy Bridgewater provided a lackluster performance at the QB position, posting 3,733 passing yards and a 15/11 Touchdown/Interception ratio. The 2020 season also saw the Panthers lose RB Christian Mccaffery to an injury that kept him out most of the season. The 2021 season was no better, showing a 5-12 record, continuing sub-par QB play with 3 different quarterbacks at the helm, and another season ending Christian Mccaffery injury. Brady was then relieved of his duties after 2021.
Brady’s time in Carolina was nothing short of bad, the offense could never really find its footing to get up and score points for a variety of reasons. It could be blamed on the lack of consistent QB play or the injuries to core players in Carolina, or even the head coach, but it wouldn’t do any good to point fingers now.
Brady went on to be the Bills quarterbacks coach for the 2022 season and in the 2023 season was promoted to interim offensive coordinator following the departure of Ken Dorsey. Following his performance in the tail end of 2023, it seems that the sky’s the limit for Brady and the Bills.
Joe Brady – Philosophy
Joe Brady said that his offensive philosophy is to force the defense into defending every blade of grass and to get speed into space. This is exactly what he did with Carolina. During his days in Carolina he had players of high speed, including DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Curtis Samuel who recently signed a 3 year deal with Buffalo, reuniting with Brady. Brady brought the absolute best out of Curtis Samuel, providing Samuel with the best statistical year of his career in 2020 before he signed with the Commanders. Samuel finished the 2020 season with 851 receiving yards, 200 rushing yards, and 5 touchdowns (3 passing, 2 rushing). Samuel flourished with Brady at the helm, this was because Brady had the perfect offense for Samuels talents.
Teddy Bridgewater was not a perfect quarterback. He could not push the field vertically and drive it as a one man army. Teddy was quite accurate however. What did Brady do when he recognized the speed and talent of his receivers, and the strengths and weaknesses of his QB? He stretched the field as far as he could horizontally, giving his receivers a fighting chance to get the ball.
Brady loved to put his own spin on things like the stick concept. Where typically, this would just be someone vertical, someone in the flats, and a stick from the 3rd receiver. Brady put his own spin on this, he would have a slot hook from the 1, a slot fade from the 2, and a stick from the 3. This would all happen on one side of the field, which would cause the corners and linebackers to be stretched too thin, and reveal a gap for an easy completion.
Brady really loves to run the football, evidenced by the utilization of James Cook and Ty Johnson late in the 2023 season. The offense in Carolina was fairly run centric featuring outside stretch plays and pitches to stretch the defense. He also was a fan of RPO plays as he showed in the 2023 season. Brady loves to get the RBs out of the backfield and down the sideline, to open up trips routes in the middle of the field, to keep the DBs and linebackers stretched out. Expect a big season from James Cook and the running back room.
In 2024, with a full offseason of planning, a mean looking defense at his back, speedy skill players, and the most versatile QB in the league, the sky’s the limit for Brady. His offense should allow a good mix for Josh Allen to hit the deep bombs, throw it over the middle short and just hand the ball off for good yards. Just remember that we have Josh Allen, not Teddy Bridgewater. Brady and Allen are about to put the league on notice.
