By my unofficial count, new Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady mentioned starting quarterback Josh Allen eleven times in his introductory press conference. Packing that many mentions into a 50-minute press conference is remarkable.
He said Allen’s name more times than he mentioned general manager Brandon Beane, owner Terry Pegula, and his former head coach mentors Sean McDermott and Sean Payton.
It’s very clear now that Josh Allen is the center of the Bills universe, and that is ultimately the main reason Sean McDermott was out AND the reason Joe Brady is in.
“Every decision this organization makes is with the thought of Josh Allen and the players in mind. I’d be crazy not to,” said Brady during his press conference. “I was a part of incredible organizations in New Orleans with surrounding around Drew Brees and there wasn’t a decision that was made without Drew Brees being thought about, talked about. Making sure you understood.”
Brady made sure to clarify that Brees wasn’t making the decisions or driving the organization, but he was part of the process.
“It doesn’t mean it was always the decision. But it was important that he was involved in it because he is the leader of this organization. The weight he has on his shoulders is something I can’t ever imagine. Everything I think about is trying to find ways to put him in a position to have success. Because that’s all I care about with him. Josh Allen is the best player in the NFL, and I have to grow. Part of me growing is that’s going to allow him to be a better version of himself. I’m so excited to be able to continue this journey with him. I have so much love for that man right there. All I want is for him to get everything he deserves.”
Effusive praise for Allen as a player and a human. When did Sean McDermott ever say anything even close to that statement? Yeah, he obviously praised Allen as a human and a football player, but literally handing the keys of the organization to their star QB was never on the table with the previous head coach.
The shift from McDermott to Allen was never clearer than with owner Terry Pegula after the most recent loss, who mentioned multiple times that seeing Josh Allen crying at his locker and in the press conference after the loss to the Denver Broncos crystalized that he needed to fire McDermott. It may have even made Allen feel responsible for the coaching change, something the QB didn’t shy away from Thursday. Allen fell on the sword saying if he played better, the Bills would probably be getting ready for the Super Bowl.
With great power comes great responsibility, and McDermott never shifted to Allen as the centerpiece — or when he did, it was too late.
“Only recently did McDermott embrace the reality that Allen is the engine of year-in, year-out success,” sources told Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD.com when McDermott was fired. “One exec believes the coach did such an excellent coaching job early on — slaying The Drought, pre-Allen — that it took him too long to realize the quarterback is the one who makes things go at One Bills Drive.”
It is true that Sean McDermott turned around the culture of the franchise, but after Allen’s assent to MVP status, it still felt like McDermott wanted the team culture to be his team culture. McDermott’s vision was still the vision the team would be viewed through. Brady clearly established that won’t be the case moving forward in a recurring theme.
“The culture starts with [the players],” said Brady, looking over at Josh Allen sitting next to Spencer Brown, Dalton Kincaid, and Max Hairston. “17 sets the tone of the culture. The men in the locker room set the culture, regardless of who the head coach is. And it’s my job to make sure that I’m allowing them to be their personality, allowing them to play to their personality because that’s what the culture is. Like I said, I understand the expectations that come with this job.”
Bills offensive lineman Alec Anderson and tight end Dalton Kincaid both echoed those comments about letting players be themselves after Brady’s press conference. Josh Allen agreed.
Josh Allen has always owned the spotlight. Now we’re going to see what happens when the head coach lets him lead the way he wants as the sun of the Bills’ solar system.
