The Buffalo Bills shocked the NFL when they fired head coach Sean McDermott following the Divisional Round. Buffalo then went on an exhaustive head coaching search, interviewing several candidates for the position. Ultimately, the Bills decided to promote one of their own to fill their head coaching vacancy.

The Bills are finalizing a deal to make offensive coordinator Joe Brady their next head coach, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. He will sign a five-year deal with Buffalo.

Brady joined the Bills back in 2022 as a quarterbacks coach. He took over as interim offensive coordinator in 2023 after Ken Dorsey was fired. He was then promoted to offensive coordinator in 2024.

Now he is promoted once again to head coach.

Brady has a very close relationship with Bills QB Josh Allen. It is safe to assume that Allen's familiarity with Brady played a factor in Buffalo's decision to hire him.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini noted last week that Allen will have “significant say” over the team's head coaching hire.

“Buffalo is making sure their best player, team leader, and face of the franchise is part of the hiring process,” Russini wrote on Friday. “Josh Allen will have significant say on the next coach of the Buffalo Bills.”

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Buffalo cast a wide net while searching for McDermott's replacement. The Bills interviewed a wide variety of candidates, including QB Philip Rivers. However, Rivers eliminated himself from consideration on Monday.

Former Bills OC Brian Daboll, Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, and Broncos QBs coach Davis Webb also appeared to be in the running.

The Bills also seemed interested in Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. But they would have had to wait until after Super Bowl 60 to hire him.

Now the next step for Brady is to begin assembling his assistant coaching staff. It will be fascinating to see if Brady retains many of his colleagues who are already on Buffalo's coaching staff.

It will also be telling who Brady hires as his offensive coordinator, as it remains to be seen if he will keep play-calling duties as head coach.