Bills

Following a tough playoff loss in another season, the Bills decided to move on from HC Sean McDermott in favor of OC Joe Brady after eight seasons. Buffalo QB Josh Allen was open with his feelings on the decision, feeling a bit guilty because of how different outcomes could have been had they won that Divisional Round game in Denver. 

“I’m sitting in my house, I wake up to a call from Mr. Pegula, telling me what had transpired,” Allen said, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “And I called Coach McDermott immediately, and I’ve got nothing but love and respect for Coach McDermott. The last eight seasons, eight years of my life, he’s been through ups and downs of me as a player, as a person. He’s seen me grow up in a sense. And to know that, again, we’ve had a lot of success here, and I’d be lying to you if — I’m sitting here saying that, you know, I feel like I had part in it, because if we made — if I make one more play [during] that game in Denver, we’re probably not having this press conference right now. We’re probably not making a change, and honestly, we’re probably getting ready to play another game. And that’s the hard part to take in from my perspective. But that’s reality; it is what it is now. And I am very, again, very fortunate and thankful for Coach McDermott and everything that he’s done and the trajectory that he set here for our players.”

Despite the emotions towards McDermott’s departure, Allen is excited to keep working with Brady because of who he is as a person. 

“I’m very looking forward to Joe and everything that entails with him becoming the head coach, and guys getting behind him and rallying behind him and understanding his vision, because I do believe in it,” Allen said. “I do believe in what he had talked about in his meetings, what he’s talked about really the last few years that he’s been in the quarterback room with just the mindset that he has, the togetherness being ‘you with us.’ I can go on and on about how good of a coach I think Joe is, but he’s also a great human being. He’s a family man, he’s a leader. And I think that our guys will respond positively to this.”

Bills

Before the hiring of new Bills HC Joe Brady was announced, Buffalo owner Terry Pegula went viral for his comments on the coaching staff pushing to draft WR Keon Coleman. Brady was clear about his support for the young receiver and doubled down that he was a driving voice in that decision.

“I told Keon when I got hired, the best thing that happened to Keon Coleman was me being his head coach,” Brady said, via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg. “I was one of the ones that stood on the table for Keon Coleman, and I believe in Keon Coleman.”

“He’s going to continue to grow, but the elements that we saw in the draft process — the confidence that I have in him and his ability — and as long as he’s handling what he needs to do off the field, I have no doubt that he’s going to be successful on the field.”

Ultimately, Brady said Coleman will be on the team next year and assured that the young wideout knows how the coaches feel about him. 

“… Keon Coleman is going to be on our football team, and I have no issues with, if there [are] elements that need to be cleaned up from that, those are conversations that we can have. But Keon knows how I feel about him; how much I love him and the faith that I still have in him.”

Jets

Former HC Jon Gruden denied any rumors floating around that the Jets offered him an opportunity to join HC Aaron Glenn‘s staff for the 2026 season.

“There’s a lot of reports we’re not going to get into. There’s a lot of stupid rumors out there. Some of these reports are ridiculous,” Gruden said, via WDAE. “Let’s just say that there was never anything from the Jets and I wish them well in their search for a new offensive coordinator.”

• According to Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic, Jets HC Aaron Glenn had an initial conversation before their season-ending loss to the Bills game with veteran coach Wink Martindale about the topic of being their defensive coordinator in 2026.
• After the season, Glenn individually met with each member of his coaching staff and told some that they are free to explore other opportunities, but didn’t say they were outright fired. 
• Multiple coaches told Rosenblatt they felt safe about a week ago, but that changed this week after Glenn began informing assistants that he was letting them go. The Jets then parted with passing game coordinator Scott Turner, QBs coach Charles London, DL coach Eric Washington, LBs coach Aaron Curry, assistant DBs coach Dre’ Bly, nickel coach Alonso Escalante, and defensive assistant Roosevelt Williams.
• Rosenblatt reports that Martindale was still viewed as the favorite after interviewing for a second time, but that seems to have changed with the recent development that Glenn may be planning to call their defense’s plays in 2026.
• According to Rosenblatt, Lions defensive assistant Jim O’Neil was viewed as the fallback option if Glenn decided to call plays, but O’Neil has since signed an extension with Detroit. 
• Rosenblatt indicates that Glenn told various members of his coaching staff and coaching candidates that he is “leaning toward” calling their defense.