For the first time in his career, quarterback Josh Allen is heading into a season with a head coach other than Sean McDermott. Still, that transition shouldn’t feel too unfamiliar for Allen, considering the Buffalo Bills quarterback has already developed a strong working relationship with his former offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, who is now the team’s head coach. And while The Athletic’s Mike Sando believes Allen will continue to do great things for the Bills in 2026, he also raised a potential concern about Brady’s transition from Allen’s OC to his head coach.

“They’re going to be good,” Sando said about the Bills. “Josh Allen’s going to make them good. But within that, like the greatness or is it too much of a good thing when your play caller goes from kind of being your confidant and maybe a little bit more of a friend than the head coach could be to now going into that head coaching job.

“I think that is an interesting transition to make when, clearly, before with Sean McDermott, he was in charge, also a defensive pedigree. I’m sure he went along with a lot of stuff that Josh Allen wanted to do, but there was a little bit more of a check and balance there, I think.”

Brady served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator in the past couple of seasons, and it won’t be wrong to say that the Bills orchestrated one of the strongest offenses in the league. The Bills averaged 30.6 points per game in 2024 (second in the NFL) and 28.3 in 2025 (tied for third).

So Sando’s concern isn’t coming from a quarterback and coach who barely know each other suddenly becoming too close. They already had a very successful working relationship before Brady became head coach. What Sando is concerned about, however, is that Allen has substantial control over the protections.

“So now, what does it mean? Is Josh Allen more empowered? I’ve heard whispers and people complaining a little bit in the league about the fact that Josh Allen gets to kind of do the pass protections, how he wants them,” Sando added. “I think that’s been a little bit of a source of frustration on the staff at times in the past. Is that a good or a bad thing if that’s enabled more? Those would be the concerns.”

Sando’s assessment of Allen and his habit of making pre-snap protection may raise some eyebrows. After all, the Bills’ quarterback’s development in making pre-snap protection calls is evident. Back in 2019, when Allen was still in his second NFL season, he recognized an overload blitz against the Miami Dolphins, changed the protection to slide left, identified the linebacker, and kept the running back into account for another rusher. The play resulted in a 23-yard completion.

At that time, then-Bills OC Brian Daboll praised Allen for recognizing the pressure and putting the offense into the correct protection. Sando, meanwhile, believes that the Bills’ staff is a little bit frustrated with Allen’s habit. At the same time, however, Buffalo has never shied away from showing that the team’s offensive decisions are increasingly built around Allen’s preferences.

This offseason, the Bills re-signed Connor McGovern to a four-year, $52 million deal, and the center later revealed that Josh Allen played a key role in his decision to remain in Buffalo. So, while Sando’s argument about Allen’s involvement in team decisions and Brady’s hiring as head coach carries some weight, it can also raise a strong counterargument to his concern.