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The Cardinals interviewed Joe Brady for their head coach position, but he’ll remain with the Bills.
As the Arizona Cardinals appear to be zeroing in on their next head coach, another vacancy was filled. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Buffalo Bills will promote offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach.
BREAKING: The Buffalo Bills are promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to be the franchise’s next head coach, a source tells The Athletic.
Brady, who has received head coaching interest in recent cycles, stays in Buffalo, where he will continue to work with Josh Allen.
Brady, 36, was speculated to take the Bills’ job after they fired Sean McDermott after nine seasons. The Cardinals brought him in for an interview following Buffalo’s heartbreaking, overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round.
The Bills have struggled to get over the hump in the playoffs, failing to reach a Super Bowl in Josh Allen’s first eight seasons. With Allen the centerpiece of that franchise, Buffalo decided to go with a head coach who already had a strong rapport with him.
Brady had also interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, and Las Vegas Raiders in this hiring cycle. The Raiders are still the only team he interviewed with that hasn’t found a new head coach. That indicates their preferred choice could be from either the New England Patriots (Thomas Brown) or Seattle Seahawks (Klint Kubiak).
Cardinals Coaching Search Update
As for the Cardinals’ coaching search, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur has emerged as the clear frontrunner. Following the Rams’ loss in the NFC Championship Game, Arizona will conduct a second interview with LaFleur on Tuesday.
If he is their preferred target, it’s just a matter of closing the deal. The only reason for the Cardinals to wait on their head coach search is if they prefer Kubiak or Brown instead. But that seems unlikely, given that he wasn’t one of the three coaches that Russini reported as the lead candidates for the job on January 24.
LaFleur didn’t call plays for the Rams as their offensive coordinator, as head coach Sean McVay took that responsibility. However, McVay’s offensive coordinators have gone on to major success in the NFL in recent seasons.
Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic notes the success that the previous Rams offensive coordinators have had in the NFL. Matt LaFleur (Packers), Kevin O’Connell (Vikings), and Liam Coen (Jaguars) are 132-69-1 with nine playoff appearances in 12 combined seasons. None of the three coaches called plays under McVay, although LaFleur was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets in 2021-22.
The Cardinals also conducted second interviews with Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile and former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. Morris is a candidate to take on a defensive coordinator and assistant head coach role should the Cardinals hire an offensive-minded coach like LaFleur. It’s a similar setup to when Arizona went with Kliff Kingsbury (HC) and Vance Joseph (DC) from 2019-22.
How the Head Coach Hire Will Impact the QB Position
Whoever the Cardinals choose as their next head coach will likely have a downstream impact on the quarterback position. They’re almost certain to trade Kyler Murray this offseason, which starts a massive change at the quarterback position.
With the need to fill in quickly, the next head coach will want someone familiar with their offensive system. In LaFleur’s case, they could look at Jimmy Garoppolo as a short-term solution. Garoppolo has worked with LaFleur in both San Francisco as the starter and Los Angeles as the backup.
The more important decision will be deciding the long-term future of the quarterback position. With Dante Moore electing to stay in school and Ty Simpson declaring for the draft, the Cardinals face some tough decisions in the draft. If the next coach believes that Simpson fits what they want to do at the position, then it makes sense to draft him with their highest pick (No. 3).
Michael McDermott Michael McDermott is a writer at Heavy Sports covering the Arizona Diamondbacks and Major League Baseball. Michael has 10 years experience writing about the D-backs and their farm system for AZ Snake Pit, Burn City Sports, and Diamondbacks On SI. More about Michael McDermott
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