The Buffalo Bills have officially locked in their new leadership trio. With Joe Brady ascending to head coach and Jim Leonhard anchoring the defense, the franchise turned to veteran Pete Carmichael to serve as the new offensive coordinator. It’s a move designed to maximize Josh Allen, the quarterback, who played a central role in the process. It looks like he didn’t wait long to weigh in on his new play-caller.

“Pete Carmichael, who’s been in New Orleans for a long time, obviously has been around Sean Payton for a long time, knows Joe Brady,” Allen said in a conversation with Yahoo Sports. “But I think just having the experience of being around Drew Brees for so long and, you know, the play-action pass game, and maybe a little bit of the vertical passing game that he has familiarity with. So, very excited to have both of them (Leonhard and Carmichael) on board!”

That, really, was the entire point of the reshuffling. Buffalo believes the roster is close, but the missing piece is getting Josh Allen through that final barrier and into the Super Bowl. Buffalo valued experience at OC, and the front office brought in someone who has 17 years of it.

From 2009 through 2021, he worked under Payton, then stayed on for two more seasons after Payton left the team. Brady and Carmichael were actually both on the Saints’ staff from 2017 to 2018, when Brady worked as an offensive assistant. Brady’s path eventually led him to Buffalo, where he eventually became OC and then HC.

Carmichael stayed in New Orleans through 2023, spending the next season with the Broncos and reuniting with Sean Payton. This year, Brady and Carmichael are together again, but Joe Brady will be calling the plays, which probably won’t be an issue for the OC since he spent much of his time in New Orleans as an offensive coordinator without full play-calling authority while Payton handled that responsibility.

Play-calling or not, Carmichael had some good years in New Orleans. In his first season as offensive coordinator, the Saints led the league in points, yardage, and passing TDs and were again the highest-scoring offense in the NFL two years later. Over the course of his tenure, New Orleans finished in the top five in total yardage eight times and in the top five in scoring eight times.

As Josh Allen mentioned, the new Bills OC was right there during the Drew Brees era. From 2009 through 2017, Brees never had a season below 4,000 passing yards. In 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016, he cracked the 5,000-yard mark, which Allen hasn’t hit yet. But with Brady reshaping the staff and adding a new QB coach, that can change quickly.

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Joe Brady brings Bo Hardegree to the coaching staff

Joe Brady got his staff together rather quickly, and one of his more important moves was bringing in Bo Hardegree as the Bills’ new QBs coach. Over the last few seasons, he’s bounced between teams and responsibilities, often stepping in to handle play-calling duties.

Last year, Hardegree was asked to serve as an interim play caller after Brian Callahan was dismissed midway through the season. In 2024, he took over play-calling duties once Luke Getsy was let go at the Raiders. It’s not an ideal way to build continuity, but he has been in the middle of high-pressure situations.

He has also spent time as an offensive assistant with the Broncos, Bears, Dolphins, Jets, and Patriots, picking up different systems along the way. Here in Buffalo, he will replace Ronald Curry, who held the quarterbacks coach role for the past two seasons. Joe Brady wants a new culture in Buffalo, and this hire will play a big part in that.

This past year, Hardegree worked closely with the Titans’ quarterback, Cam Ward. It wasn’t a smooth ride from start to finish, and the season was quite unbalanced for the rookie. Still, some flashes suggested Ward could be the future there, finishing with 3,169 passing yards and 15 touchdowns.

There’s no question Brady has plenty on his plate as he steps into the head coaching role. But the speed with which he identified his coordinators and key assistants is promising. He knows what he wants this staff to look like, and he’s moving with a clear direction. After the way this season ended, the Bills Mafia could use that.