PHOENIX — Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady joined the AFC coaches breakfast and media availability Tuesday from the NFL Meetings in Arizona.
Brady spoke at length about how the vision for the 2026 Bills is taking shape as players are set to return soon for voluntary workouts.
Here's what we learned.
"I want to know what they need' | How Brady plans to set the tone when players return
NFL clubs that hired a new head coach may start their offseason workout programs two full weeks earlier than the rest of the league. For the Bills, they begin their voluntary workout program on April 7, the Tuesday after Easter.
When Brady gathers all the players and coaches into the team meeting room for the first time, he wants the experience to be much like the first day of school. In Brady's mind, the best first days are the ones spent laying the foundation for what will make a successful year. Then each day after is spent honing in on those details with intention.
"The message I want to give day one — without it being 'what the heck did he just give us too much information?'— is spreading it out where they understand what's important from the jump."
Part of that message is how to create a new foundation. While many of the players return from last year's team, Brady wants to create a fresh, invigorating environment. There's no resting on past success.
"We've got to start this from ground zero, from the jump," he said. "I want the guys to understand this is all new — and they're going to build it. I have values I believe in but if I'm the only one that believes in it, then there's not going to be that buy-in. You hope the guys buy-in so that what they value is what I value. And that's when I believe the culture takes care of itself."
One of the highest values Brady holds is the belief in the power of strong relationships.
"I believe in relationships, communicating with the guys. I want to know what they need. And if we can have that openness and that conversation, then we can build it," he said.
Evolving relationship with Josh Allen | "We're in this together"
The day Brady was hired by the Bills as their next head coach, quarterback Josh Allen stopped by his office to congratulate him, and also sit down and map out their vision for the team — and each other.
"We both made agreements on the accountability that we're going to hold each other to, what our expectations are for one another," Brady shared. "We're in this together, and we got to hold each other accountable."
Part of that conversation was acknowledging that there will be times when they don't see eye to eye and how they will handle that adversity when it inevitably strikes.
"There's going to be issues that are going to come up. You're going to see me on the sideline pissed at him. You're going to see him on the sideline like 'what the heck are we doing.' That's football, that's human nature. But we've got to always be able to go back to the beginning when there was no emotion in it … as long as we hold that rope and that vision, we're going to be good," Brady detailed.
Going from Allen's QB coach, to his offensive coordinator and now his head coach, Brady explained that his goals with the 2024 NFL MVP haven't changed.
"I've said this 100 times, and you're gonna hear me another 100 times saying it. I want Josh Allen to get everything he deserves in this life, in this career. He puts so much into this game, and that all I want is for him to be holding what he deserves," Brady said.
Brady also shared that throughout their time together, he has prioritized an offense that can keep Allen as healthy as he can and extend his prime. It will be no different now that he's the head coach.
"My goal as the QB coach, as the OC and now the head coach is I want Josh Allen to play as long as Josh Allen physically can play," Brady said. "The game of football is better off with Josh Allen playing.
"There's gonna come a time in his career where his legs aren't gonna be able to do what he can do now, and he's going to have to become a true pocket passer. We're not there yet, right? But I have to be mindful of that when I'm calling plays."
Why the DJ Moore trade makes sense and how he elevates the Bills offense
It's no secret that new Bills wide receiver DJ Moore is an explosive, dynamic player. He's one of only five players with over 50 catches on throws of 20-plus air yards over the last five seasons.
"DJ has a unique skill set," Brady said. "He can play inside, he can play outside, he can run-block. He makes dynamic plays down the field."
But one of Moore's greatest assets that Brady admires is his availability and how that translates into seeing a high percentage of snaps on game day. In 2025, Moore logged 13 out of 17 regular season games with over an 80 percent snap count, including five games with over 90 percent of snaps played.
"Knock on wood, he plays, he practices. He's out there every day," Brady said. "He's playing every game, and he is playing and he's not coming off the field. That's unique at the wide receiver position … I've been wanting to coach him for the last few years, and so having that opportunity to kind of do it again excites me."
The addition of Moore allows a threat to be on the field on almost every offensive snap. With defenses constantly accounting for him, particularly on the outside, Brady believes it will open up the middle of the field for players like tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
"Having a guy like DJ it's going to help both of them," Brady said. "[Defenses] can't just focus on one particular person. It gives us another layer of somebody on the outside. Khalil and Dalton have attacked a lot of the middle of the field, a lot of the inside zones … It was important to get a skill set like DJ, a guy that can stretch it, can win one-on-one, can get the ball in his hands, and he can win on a slant."
Building the defense one name at a time
When Brady first joined the NFL as an offensive assistant in 2017, he made a habit of writing down the names of players and coaches who stood out to him. Brady recalled one particular instance watching film and writing down the name Harrison Smith, a safety for the Vikings who went on to be a First Team All-Pro selection that season.
"Ever since then, I've kept a list of players and coaches," Brady said.
Prior to Buffalo's 2024 NFL Wild Card game hosting the Broncos, Brady wrote down another name: Jim Leonhard, the Broncos defensive backs coach.
"I remember going 'Man these DBs are coached extremely hard,'" the then-Bills OC recalled. "How they all played on the back end, I wrote [Leonhard's] name down. And as we were going through the process again this year of playing them again, it was just this guy is outstanding. I want to get on the phone with him and talk with him."
Brady added that it's been "refreshing" to hear Leonhard's thoughts and vision for building a defense. Known for a 3-4 scheme, Brady is confident that Leonhard is capable of being much more than just a '3-4 defensive' coach.
"Everybody talks about the 3-4 defense, but we're not living in 3-4 every single down," he said.
The Bills have been diligent and selective when constructing the defensive side of their roster. Names like edge rusher Bradley Chubb and safety C.J. Gardner Johnson among others stood out through the first wave of free agency.
There are plenty of names still to be written down and sorted through, though, Brady assured. Free agency was just step one of equipping Leonhard with viable pieces.
"The perk of Jim Leonhard is he's not like 'this is all I can do'... I do think we have a clear vision for the guys on the inside, the draft picks. I know a lot of times we get to this point and free agency is over but we got the draft, we got after the draft to clear some things up. There's guys in all positions that we still have in our mind. Our roster is still not done being built."
