For the first time in nearly a decade, the Buffalo Bills opened training camp without Sean McDermott leading the team. One of the biggest moves of the offseason came when Buffalo promoted Joe Brady to head coach, replacing McDermott after years of playoff disappointments. Now that Brady is in charge, the first-year head coach has drawn mixed reviews, and for understandable reasons.

Earlier this offseason, he earned a reputation as a “cool” head coach. However, Bills general manager Brandon Beane recently revealed another side of Brady’s personality, one that isn’t afraid to hold players accountable and call them out when necessary.

“He is a good guy, and he wants to see you well, but he will jump you if you need to be jumped, whether that’s a staff member, whether that’s a player,” Beane said during a recent appearance on the OverDrive podcast. “I think some of the people even saw that the last couple days in practice. Yesterday I think we had five or six offsides, and that’s inside of the ball, especially.

“He was not happy with that, and he let the offense know it: that’s not winning football. And he will do that. He’ll be able to do that. But he’ll also know when to pat these guys on the butt and when to kick them in the butt, and that’s what the good ones do.”

Brady spent four seasons in Buffalo on McDermott’s coaching staff, serving as quarterbacks coach and later as the Bills’ offensive coordinator. It’s fair to say the head coach knows this team’s offense inside out. In the 2026 season, however, things are not going to be the same for Brady as well as for the Bills.

This time, Brady is doing more than just calling plays. As the Bills’ new head coach, he is now responsible for leading the entire team, a role he spent the previous four seasons watching Sean McDermott handle from the sidelines. This is exactly why Beane emphasized Brady’s new role in Buffalo, as the general manager later admitted that the Bills will look not only to see how Brady runs the offense but also how he manages the game.

While there’s no denying that the new role comes with greater challenges, Brady already appears to have the support of his players. Earlier this offseason, in fact, The Athletic’s Tim Graham observed that Brady emerged as a “cool” head coach during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, earning praise for his approach and leadership.

“Now, high-ranking Bills staffers watch players whooping around the practice field and remark how Brady is ‘a breath of fresh air.’ Brady loves his fellas…More than football drills, field-day competitions like tug-of-war and obstacle courses took place at OTAs, where obscene music blared across the practice fields. Players rave about how cool Brady is,” Graham wrote.

That said, expectations have always been high in Buffalo, especially during Sean McDermott’s tenure. After all, the Bills moved on from McDermott despite multiple double-digit win seasons. Brady, meanwhile, has never served as a football head coach before. So while he has shown a willingness to support his players, he is also learning how to hold them accountable when the situation demands it.