Jaguars 2025 head coach candidate profile: Payments OC Joe Brady

For the third time in 5 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to find a brand new head coach.

Large Cat Nation’s Jaguars head coach hiring course of tracker is consistently being up to date — however to supply extra data on the highest candidates being interviewed, we’ll be releasing in-depth profiles all through the search.

Subsequent up: Joe Brady – who has obtained a number of interview requests, together with the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints.

Expertise

A Florida native, Joe Brady performed broad receiver at William & Mary from 2009 to 2012 – however solely registered three catches for the Tribe throughout his 4 years there. With a professional profession clearly not one thing within the offing, Brady as an alternative turned his consideration to teaching, together with his first alternative coming beneath Sean Payton as an offensive assistant with the Saints. He solely spent two seasons in New Orleans, earlier than Ed Orgeron lured him to LSU to develop into passing recreation coordinator and broad receivers coach.

It was in Baton Rouge the place Brady actually made his mark. Working with a riches of expertise, he helped lead the Tigers to a Nationwide Championship in his one season there, growing stars resembling Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. The LSU offense had been primary within the nation in factors per recreation (48.4) and yards per recreation (568.4), taking down an unbelievable seven top-ten groups en path to profitable all of it. Brady’s star was shining so brightly he was attracting curiosity from NFL franchises in search of the subsequent huge offensive coordinator – and regardless of signing a 3-year extension to remain within the Bayou, left for the Carolina Panthers simply days later.

Below Matt Rhule, the Panthers struggled. And so did Brady’s offense, scoring greater than 30 factors simply as soon as in each the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He was fired by Carolina consequently, and within the first second of adversity in Brady’s younger profession, he needed to take a step again – becoming a member of the Buffalo Payments because the quarterbacks coach. He was credited together with his work with Josh Allen following the departure of Brian Daboll, and was elevated to offensive coordinator halfway by way of the 2023 season. Since then, Brady has managed to take care of the Invoice’s standing as one of the lethal offenses within the NFL, regardless of the lack of star broad receiver Stefon Diggs.

Efficiency

2024 Payments offense

Factors per recreation: 30.9 (2nd)

First downs per recreation: 21.4 (sixth)

Yards per recreation: 365.3 (ninth)

Yards per play: 6.0 (sixth)

EPA per play: 0.18 (2nd)

Success fee: 46.4 (ninth)

Passing offense

Complete touchdowns: 30 (eighth)

First downs per recreation: 10.65 (nineteenth)

Yards per recreation: 233.9 (sixteenth)

Yards per try: 7.7 (joint eighth)

EPA per play: 0.25 (third)

Success fee: 50.0 (joint eighth)

Speeding offense

Complete touchdowns: 32 (1st)

First downs per recreation: 140 (sixth)

Yards per recreation: 135.6 (ninth)

Yards per try: 4.6 (eleventh)

EPA per play: 0.10 (2nd)

Success fee: 44.8 (joint 4th)

Quotes

Josh Allen’s perception in Joe Brady

Josh Allen talking to Doug Farrar (Could 2024)

“It’s not the identical mundane issues we’ve been doing for the final six years. My eyes have gotten to be higher, my footwork needs to be higher, and in the end, the ball placement has received to be higher. So, it’s forcing me to be a greater quarterback.”

Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow praises Buffalo Payments coach Joe Brady

Joe Burrow (November 2023)

“Joe’s superior, Joe’s very artistic. He at all times has one thing for a sure look that you just’re seeing on tape to make the most of that. It’s a giant alternative for him, I’m excited for him. He helped me loads. He helped me develop into the participant I’m right now. Nothing however love for Joe.”

A have a look at why the Joe Brady experiment failed

Schuyler Callihan (December 2021)

“One of many greatest causes I consider the Brady/Panthers marriage didn’t final lengthy is due to Brady’s expertise calling performs. Lots of people overlook that he wasn’t the offensive coordinator at LSU, he was the passing recreation coordinator and broad receivers coach, thus that means he has by no means had full management of an offense earlier than. Trying again on it, you possibly can argue that these star gamers that he had at LSU had been the only motive he earned a possibility with Rhule and the Panthers within the first place.”

Obvious Pluses

• When Joe Brady has expertise to work with, the outcomes are unquestionable. Positive, your life is made simpler when you have got Joe Burrow or Josh Allen on the helm of your offense, however we solely must look introspectively to know {that a} franchise quarterback doesn’t assure success. Wherever Brady has been, he has put his QB able to succeed, and even elevated their recreation. Burrow got here to LSU having didn’t make the grade at Ohio State, and Brady turned him right into a Famous person worthy of the #1 total decide. Allen, regardless of being top-of-the-line within the NFL beneath Daboll, has additionally matured. If he was to finish up in Jacksonville, you’d have each proper to get enthusiastic about what he may obtain with Trevor Lawrence.
• Brady has a popularity as somebody who can create an explosive passing recreation. However this season in Buffalo, he has executed an incredible job in delivering a balanced offense. The Payments misplaced Stefon Diggs within the offseason – and regardless of buying Amari Cooper since, dedicated to establishing a dashing assault. James Prepare dinner has developed into top-of-the-line backs within the league, and had sixteen dashing touchdowns within the common season. If it’s one factor Lawrence seems to be crying out for, it’s a floor recreation to maintain defenses balanced. With Prepare dinner having the same profile to Travis Etienne, it’s not onerous to think about the Jaguars working the same offense.
• Brady has executed properly to outlive a tricky time in Carolina and bounce again. That reveals a degree of resilience that not each candidate can display, notably up and coming younger coordinators with no head coach expertise. Positive, there are questions on his time with the Panthers (extra on that beneath), however on the very least he is aware of what dysfunction seems like and has come by way of adversity.

Lingering Questions

• At 35 years previous, Brady is a younger teaching candidate. That doesn’t imply he’s not a superb one – we’ve seen Sean McVay be an unbelievable success on the Los Angeles Rams, and he was 4 years youthful than Brady when he first began in LA. In contrast to McVay although, Brady doesn’t hail from any particular ‘teaching tree’. His profession thus far has been nomadic, flipping from NFL to school and again, and dealing inside a handful of buildings. McVay’s extra linear growth allowed him to lean on a litany of coaches steeped within the Shanahan mantra when it got here to finalizing his teaching workers, which in flip meant he was capable of hit the bottom operating in LA. Does Brady have the same rolodex of names he’s capable of go to ought to he land in Jacksonville?
• Regardless of Trevor Lawrence, I believe it’s cheap to counsel that the present iteration of the Jaguars is nearer to the 2020/21 Carolina Panthers than it’s the 2024 Buffalo Payments – and even the 2019 LSU Tigers for that matter. That must be a priority for Jags followers, as a result of he actually struggled to make his mark in Carolina and assist flip the ship round. Perhaps much more problematic is the state of Jacksonville’s protection, a unit that Brady has zero expertise in teaching or dealing with. The Payments OC will seemingly should be paired with an skilled defensive coordinator in his first few seasons.
• As talked about, Joe Brady has each expertise in a franchise the place the entrance workplace and training workers are completely aligned, in addition to a state of affairs the place they weren’t. Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott’s relationship is likely one of the greatest causes the Payments have develop into an NFL heavyweight in latest seasons, whereas the Matt Rhule – Scott Fitterer marriage was strained and undermined the Panthers’ begin to life beneath David Tepper. With Shad Khan retaining Trent Baalke, how will Brady work with an under-fire GM that appears to at all times outlast head coaches? If he desires a shot as a head coach, he could also be keen to just accept the present state of affairs in Jacksonville, for higher or worse. Conversely, with different groups wanting to talk to him, maybe there are extra interesting entrance places of work on the market to select from.