The Buffalo Bills are about to run out onto a football field with a head coach not named Sean McDermott for the first time in almost a decade.
Joe Brady is the man in charge. Dion Dawkins summed up the vibe in Buffalo perfectly this week. The veteran left tackle told reporters he has been in the NFL since 2017, which means he has never played a regular season game under any other head coach. That changes in Week 1 against the Houston Texans.
“It feels like we’re getting to the climax,” Dawkins said. That was not just about the coaching change. That was about the entire trajectory of the Bills franchise.
Why the Bills Made the Switch
Sean McDermott delivered a lot of regular season success in Buffalo. He also could not get the Bills past the AFC divisional round. Josh Allen was in his prime. The window was open. Every offseason came with a “this is the year” storyline that never quite happened.
General manager Brandon Beane and ownership finally decided a fresh voice was needed. Brady, who had been running the offense as offensive coordinator, got promoted.
Brady’s offense has been effective. He has a relationship with Josh Allen. He understands what makes Buffalo tick. But he is also unproven as a head coach, which makes 2026 a make-or-break season for both him and the franchise.
Josh Allen Is the Whole Story
Everything in Buffalo starts and ends with Allen. He turned 30 this offseason. He is at the peak of his physical powers. He has won an MVP. He has never won a Super Bowl.
The Bills spent the offseason trying to give him more weapons. They added Keon Coleman depth around the receiver room. They rebuilt an offensive line piece. They also lost some pieces defensively that will make the margin for error tighter this year.
Brady’s job is to unlock the version of Allen that dominates in January instead of the version that has broken down in the biggest moments.
The Dawkins Comment Is Loaded
“Climax” is an interesting word. Dawkins picked it on purpose. He has watched this Bills team come close, again and again, without breaking through. He knows every season starts with pressure. This one comes with more.
The Bills have a legitimate Super Bowl window still open. But that window is closing faster than anyone in Western New York wants to admit. Josh Allen is 30. Some of the key contributors are past their primes. If Buffalo does not go deep in 2026, the roster gets harder to build every year after.
The AFC East Picture
The Bills should still be the class of the division. Miami is transitioning. The Patriots are rebuilding. The Jets are the Jets.
Getting the AFC East is not the goal though. Buffalo needs to break through in January. They need to beat Kansas City. They need to beat Baltimore. That is the actual test.
The regular season will be easy. The postseason is where Brady earns his salary.
The Defensive Question
Buffalo lost some defensive talent this offseason. Tre’Davious White is gone. Some pieces in the front seven turned over. The Bills are counting on internal development and coaching to hold that side of the ball together.
That is a lot to ask. If the defense slips, no amount of Josh Allen brilliance is going to carry this team all the way in January.
What Brady Needs to Do
The first job is confidence. His players need to believe in his message. That starts in training camp, which opens this week. Brady needs to establish tone.
The second job is strategy. Playoff games in Buffalo often come down to a handful of key decisions. Brady is a first-year head coach, and he will make some rookie mistakes. He needs to keep those mistakes off the resume in December and January.
The Verdict
Buffalo has one of the best rosters in the AFC. They have a franchise quarterback in his prime. They also have a first-year head coach and a defense that has questions.
Dion Dawkins called it the climax. He is right. This is where the Bills either finally break through or start over.
The Joe Brady era begins now.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
