NEWSLETTER
If the Chicago Bears were eyeing Joe Brady for a job on Matt Eberflus’ coaching staff, they’ll need to look elsewhere.
Brady is reportedly headed to Buffalo:
The #Bills are expected to hire former #Panthers OC Joe Brady as their new QBs coach, sources say. He takes the place of recently promoted OC Ken Dorsey.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 2, 2022
Brady didn’t make it two full seasons as the Panthers offensive coordinator, but was still a hot commodity on the NFL coaching circuit. So much so, he was on the Bears radar and was reportedly interviewing with the team on Tuesday for an unspecified assistant’s role. Considering the job he is taking in Buffalo, I imagine Brady was interviewing for a similar position in Chicago.
Honestly, I can’t blame him for taking that spot over whatever he was being offered with the Bears. Don’t get me wrong. We’re totally digging Justin Fields around here. But the opportunity to rebuild your résumé after flaming out in Carolina by coaching Josh Allen in his prime is a sweet deal. Hard to blame anyone for turning down that opportunity.
It is as real now as it was when it happened, but the Joe Schoen hire in New York was the first domino to fall — and it was one that had a wide reach. The Giants hiring Schoen to be their GM led to him bringing on Bills OC Brian Daboll as their head coach. That move led to Buffalo promoting Ken Dorsey to offensive coordinator. Dorsey was previously the Bills’ quarterbacks coach. And with that position open, it allowed Buffalo to pivot and hire Brady to take over Dorsey’s role. In the end, it leaves the Bears looking for another option on their coaching staff.
On the one hand, it is disappointing to see the Bears whiff on hiring a high-profile coaching candidate. Even with his issues with the Panthers, Brady has had his hands in some quality offenses. We’re obviously familiar with his work with Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and the rest of the 2019 LSU Tigers. But Brady also had NFL experience working for Sean Payton and the Saints. Those are nice building blocks for a coach.
However, on the other hand, losing out on Brady might open doors for Chicago to hire in a different coach. One who might not have been on their radar. After all, Eberflus’ goal isn’t to build a coaching staff with the biggest names. Instead, it is to create a loaded staff best suited to get the most out of the players. And to be more specific, coaches on the offensive side of the ball. We’ll see where the Bears go from here.
