The Buffalo Bills have officially promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady as their HC to replace Sean McDermott. While the head coaching situation is resolved, the move creates a domino effect of complex roster and staffing decisions. First, Buffalo will need to rebuild its coaching staff. New coordinators on both sides of the ball are now a priority. Beyond that, the roster itself needs attention.

Things seem to be getting murkier for Josh Allen, with the possibility of losing some important contributors heading into the 2026 season. Buffalo currently has 23 players set to hit free agency. Out of those, 21 are unrestricted free agents, while only two fall under the restricted category.

And out of those 21 unrestricted free agents, 12 are on the defensive side of the ball. This means the Bills risk losing most of that group once free agency opens in March, unless they move quickly to retain them. While Brady focuses on identifying his new offensive and defensive coordinators, roster decisions will fall to the front office, led by the team’s general manager and the newly promoted President of Football Operations, Brandon Beane.

As it stands, the only restricted free agents are offensive tackle Alec Anderson and Ryan Van Demark, both of whom previously played on contracts with an average annual value of $103,000. Everyone else remains unrestricted as free agency approaches. Take a look:

That said, free agency begins as soon as the new league year opens. The Bills are expected to strike a balance, retaining certain players while allowing a few key contributors to walk. On the coaching front, Brady’s focus now shifts to finalizing his coordinator hires.

Joe Brady will have to search for a new defensive coordinator as well

After a round of interviews, the Bills ultimately chose continuity, promoting Joe Brady to head coach ahead of the 2026 season. With that decision made, Brady’s responsibilities immediately expand. For one, he now needs to fill the offensive coordinator role he just vacated. And on top of that, Buffalo is also in the market for a new defensive coordinator. The reason is fairly straightforward.

The search is now urgent, as Bobby Babich departed Buffalo to join the Green Bay Packers as their defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach just hours after Brady was elevated to HC. Babich had been with the Bills since 2017.

After working his way through multiple assistant roles, Buffalo promoted Babich to defensive coordinator a couple of years ago. He spent two seasons in that role. And in 2025, his unit produced a mixed set of results. On one hand, the Bills allowed the 12th-fewest points in the league (365 total). On the other hand, they gave up the fifth-most yards per game (136.2), highlighting some clear inconsistencies.

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All of that leaves Buffalo in the middle of a broader coaching reset. The most important decision, the head coach, is now locked in. How the remaining pieces fall into place should become clearer over the next few days.