ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — It’s not easy to win a press conference, but Joe Brady came pretty close.
On Thursday, the Buffalo Bills' newly named Head Coach spoke with reporters for the first time since being hired on Tuesday and said a lot of the right things.
But what he didn’t say was also notable. He didn’t make any empty promises, he didn’t shy away from being critical of himself, and he didn’t try to win everyone over.
“This city and this organization put so much life into me professionally, and I don't take that lightly,” Brady said during his opening remarks. “I wanna make the city proud every day, and I understand the pride, and I wanna do everything I can to earn wearing this logo.”
“I fully believe in who we hired. I fully believe in the direction that coach will take us,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “Our number one goal here, I think, from top to bottom, is we wanna win a Super Bowl. And whatever it takes to get it done is how we want it to look.”
WATCH: Joe Brady makes the most of his first impression as new Buffalo Bills head coach
Brady also did a nice job acknowledging his predecessor, Sean McDermott. I think that was important, especially after how many fans were disappointed by the decision to fire McDermott. Brady took time to thank his former boss for believing in him and said he steps into a much better situation because of the foundation laid by the former staff.
“I want to thank and recognize Sean McDermott,” Brady said. "In 2022, four years ago, Coach McDermott gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I had an opportunity to come here, coach for the Buffalo Bills, and coach Josh Allen. I took immense pride in that. Over the past four years, I've learned a tremendous amount of things from Coach McDermott. How to lead and resilience standards. The past nine years in this organization matter. I'm understanding of that. I'm appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of it. They matter deeply, and they deserve respect. I'm so grateful for Coach McDermott. I love Coach McDermott.”
Brady, understandably, was noncommittal about any coaching decisions that he’s about to make. He did say he will retain some coaches currently on the staff, but it’s been widely reported that several coaches are heading to other teams. Brady will need to find a new Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Special Teams Coordinator, Wide Receivers Coach, Defensive Backs Coach, Linebackers Coach, and Defensive Line Coach. And there are probably others that I’m forgetting.
When specifically asked if finding a new Defensive Coordinator was his biggest decision, Brady downplayed the idea and said every hire will matter. But he did tip his hand in explaining what kind of coach he is searching for.
“A key element of what I'm looking for on defense is making sure that we have the versatility to be able to change in personnel and get a lot of different people in different spots,” Brady said. “Similar to what we do offensively, I don't believe offensive football and defensive football should have different mindsets, but we can understand as we approach a game plan that there's a way to win every gameand as long as we have versatility and different types of pieces that we can find that way to win to put stress on both the offense and the defense.”
You only get one chance at a first impression. I know this wasn’t Brady’s first time speaking with reporters, but more people saw this press conference than all of his previous interviews combined. He started strong, but the work is just beginning.
“I didn't take this job to shy away from expectations. I sure as hell did not do that. I'm embracing it. I'm understanding it, and I'm meeting it full on.”
You can watch the full press conference below.
