FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Atlanta Falcons have completed a virtual with Joe Brady for the vacant head coach position, the organization announced on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Brady is a respected offensive mind who has spent the last two seasons working with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills as the quarterbacks coach and, currently, the interim offensive coordinator. Brady made the jump back into the league – he was a Saints offensive assistant from 2017-18 – after helping lead LSU to a national championship as the passing game coordinator with Joe Burrow at quarterback in 2019.
Per NFL protocols, interviews with employees of other clubs must be conducted virtually prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games on Sunday, Jan. 21. If the employer club had a Wild Card bye, virtual interviews had to be conducted prior to the conclusion of Wild Card games.
If the employer club was a Wild Card participant, virtual interviews could begin three days after its Wild Card game and must be conducted prior to the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 22, clubs may conduct in-person or virtual interviews with candidates who are employed by other NFL clubs whose seasons have concluded and are prohibited from conducting initial interviews with candidates who are employed by clubs participating in the Conference Championship Games until the conclusion of the employer club's season.
Let's learn more about someone the Falcons are considering to become the 19th head coach in franchise history.
Interview date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Current job: Buffalo Bills interim offensive coordinator
Resume highlights:
- LSU, 2019: Brady spent a season at LSU as the passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach in the year the Tigers won a national title.
- Carolina Panthers, 2020-21: He returned to the NFL to work as the Panthers offensive coordinator for two seasons.
- Buffalo Bills, 2022-23: He joined the Bills as the quarterbacks coach and became the interim offensive coordinator in the current 2023 season, though he still coaches QBs.
Falcons connection: There are a few tangential connections from Brady to the Falcons. For starters, Brady spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons in New Orleans as an offensive assistant for the Saints. Current Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot was high up in the Saints front office at that time and defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen was coaching the defensive line in New Orleans at that point, too.
Brady has also faced the Falcons defense a handful of times as an offensive play caller with Panthers from 2020 to 2021. The Panthers went 2-2 against the Falcons in those two seasons.
Furthermore, as CBS correspondent Jonathan Jones said on Friday, Brady also interviewed for the head coaching job in Atlanta in 2021 prior to Arthur Smith being named head coach.
Why he's a candidate: There are very few men who have gained respect for his work at the pace Brady has in the last five years. Since landing in the national spotlight throughout the LSU Tigers run to the national championship in 2019, Brady's name has been tossed around in almost every coaching candidate pool. This offseason's coaching carousel is no different.
What sets Brady apart amongst some of the up-and-coming young minds of the next NFL era is the success he's seen quarterbacks have when working with him.
Most recently, in his first year with Josh Allen in Buffalo, Brady helped Allen to a Pro Bowl year as well as MVP consideration. Though it didn't work out for Brady in Carolina from 2020-21, Brady did lead an offensive unit that became the fifth unit in the Super Bowl era to produce four different players with over 1,000 scrimmage yards. Brady's lone year with LSU saw him work alongside Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy that season.
It's no secret the Falcons are in the quarterback market. Owner Arthur Blank and team CEO Rich McKay said after parting ways with Arthur Smith on Jan. 8 that the Falcons job was desirable because whoever is coming in as the next head coach has the chance to "pick their own partner" at the quarterback position. There are very few candidates with more success than Brady coaching top-tier quarterbacks. If the Falcons need a quarterback whisperer, perhaps that's Brady.
Strikes against: Like other men the Falcons have interviewed for the job of head coach, Brady has never been a head coach in his career. Unlike some of the other candidates, Brady has never been a head coach at any level, college or pros. At 34 years old, Brady is also one of the youngest candidates the Falcons have announced to this point.
