After losing out on John Harbaugh, the Atlanta Falcons' head coaching search has been all over the place. The first round of interviews is finally coming to a close, but not everyone is on board with Matt Ryan's vision, as a seemingly easy path forward has become far more complicated than anticipated.
With Harbaugh off the board, there are conflicting reports on who the new frontrunner is in Atlanta, because there isn't one. However, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported that the Falcons are interviewing Bills' offensive coordinator Joe Brady for their head coaching vacancy on Sunday
The Falcons are interviewing Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady for their head coaching job on Sunday, sources said. First round for Atlanta winding down, with second round likely to get going early next week.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 16, 2026
The only weird part about this is the timing, since the Bills play this afternoon, and it's no guarantee they'll lose to the Broncos, so this could provide a distraction to a team who doesn't need it. Buffalo already has their hands full traveling to Denver against that defense, so Brady can't be distracted.
As a first-time executive, Ryan's search has been all over the place, which is a good and bad thing. But after a few days where there was more bad than good, this is a pretty encouraging update for a fanbase who was running out of hope for this front office to make the correct decision this offseason.
Joe Brady would be a quietly fantastic head coaching hire for the Falcons
In the 36-year-old's first season calling plays in Buffalo, it resulted in the Bills going 13-4 and Josh Allen being named the NFL MVP for the first time in his career. In his two seasons as OC in Buffalo, the Bills finished with the league's No. 2 and No. 4 scoring offense, which is a credit to his play-calling.
Additionally, the Buffalo offense ranked third in the NFL in EPA per play this season despite having incredibly lackluster weapons for Allen aside from James Cook. The offense still prevails, and while a lot of that can be attributed to a generational QB, Brady deserves his flowers for what he's done too.
While Brady was the QBs coach and interim OC before being promoted full-time, his pedigree for success goes back years. During his time as an assistant with 2019 LSU, he won the Broyles Award as the passing game coordinator and WRs coach for his role in one of the best college teams ever.
He coached Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja'Marr Chase (among others) in college, and was briefly considered one of the brightest young coaches in league circles, but most of his success has come when he's equipped with elite quarterbacks, which is the main red flag regarding his candidacy.
Brady would be an interesting hire, especially since he comes from an offensive background, but it would be a surprise if he was the guy.