The Buffalo Bills officially ushered in a new chapter on Thursday, introducing their revamped coordinator staff and giving fans a clearer picture of how things will run under newly minted head coach Joe Brady. With Brady now wearing the dual hats of head coach and offensive playcaller, all eyes were on how his partnership with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael will function - and what it means for the future of Buffalo’s offense.
Let’s be clear: just because Carmichael won’t be calling plays doesn’t mean he’ll be taking a backseat. Brady made that much known right out of the gate.
“Pete gameplans to call the game,” Brady said. “Sometimes people think a non-playcalling OC is just kind of an assistant, but that’s not what I was looking for, and that’s not what Pete is.”
That’s a strong statement - and an important one. Brady’s drawing a direct line between Carmichael’s role and the way top-tier backup quarterbacks prepare like starters.
The expectation is clear: Carmichael won’t just be in the room; he’ll be a driving force in shaping the offense week to week, ready to step in at a moment’s notice if Brady needs to pivot during a game. It’s a collaborative setup, but with a real sense of shared responsibility.
And Carmichael? He’s been here before. Years of working alongside Sean Payton gave him a front-row seat to how this kind of dynamic can work - and work well.
“I did this a lot of years with Sean Payton where he was the playcaller,” Carmichael said. “But the main thing is, if something comes up and the head coach has to step away, I’m making sure the message is exactly what he’d want the players and staff to hear.”
That kind of continuity matters, especially when you’re trying to build something sustainable. Carmichael’s resume speaks for itself - helping guide the Saints’ offense during the Drew Brees era and more recently working with Sean Payton again in Denver, where he helped bring along rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Now, he brings that wealth of experience to Buffalo, where the goal is clear: keep the offensive machine humming with Josh Allen at the controls.
Bills fans shouldn’t expect a dramatic overhaul of the offense - and that’s probably a good thing. This isn’t about reinventing the wheel; it’s about refining it. Brady’s already proven he can craft gameplans that highlight Allen’s strengths, and now he’s got a seasoned partner in Carmichael to help build on that foundation.
There’s no sugarcoating it: the offense had its ups and downs last season. The wide receiver corps and offensive line both took steps back, and those are areas the front office will need to address as free agency and the draft approach. But the coaching infrastructure now in place gives Buffalo a solid platform to make those improvements stick.
At the end of the day, what matters most is that Brady and Carmichael are aligned - philosophically and practically. That kind of synergy is rare, and it’s exactly what Buffalo needs as they look to stay among the AFC’s elite.
The pieces are in place. Now it’s about execution.