The New York Jets are on the hunt for their next head coach. Could their choice be a young offensive mastermind?
When the New York Jets brought in Adam Gase they believed they were getting an offensive genius. Chris Johnson even went so far as to publicly call Gase a genius earlier this season. That didn’t turn out to be the case. However, Joe Brady may be a different story.
Brady is one of the fastest rising head coach candidates the NFL has ever seen. He’s gone from an entry-level football job to an NFL head coach candidate in just five seasons. That has to do with his offensive mind.
Brady is credited with developing Burrow and the LSU offensive in 2019. He is often compared to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay, who was another young offensive mind.
McVay has found success in LA, but will Brady find success at his first stop?
History
Joe Brady began his career as a wide receiver at William & Mary. Immediately after graduating Brady entered the coaching ranks joining William & Mary’s coaching staff as their linebackers coach.
In 2015 he jumped to Penn State as a graduate assistant, a position he held for two seasons.
Brady landed his first NFL job in 2017 as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints. He held that position for two years before joining LSU as their passing game coordinator and wide receiver coach.
Brady was put in charge of developing the WRs at LSU, those included Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, and Terrace Marshall. Quite the lineup. He also orchestrated Joe Burrow’s passing attack, which became one of the greatest offenses the NCAA has ever seen.
His development of Joe Burrow and the LSU WRs put Brady on everyone’s radar. He ended up landing his first offensive coordinator job with the Carolina Panthers as part of Matt Rhule’s staff.
In his first year as a coordinator, Brady struggled a bit. The Panthers’ offense was 24th in scoring. Many will argue that was expected with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback and Christian McCaffrey only playing three games.
Others will argue he still had enough weapons to make a splash. They’ll point to Robby Anderson, Curtis Samuel, and D.J. Moore.
Now Brady is interviewing for head coach openings. He’s already completed interviews with the New York Jets, Houston Texans, and Atlanta Falcons.
Scheme
Joe Brady’s offense scheme is high and low. Like many college offenses, Brady relies heavily on yards after the catch and deep passes.
In a perfect world, Brady would run a number of wide receiver screens or short passes to get his playmakers the ball in space. That would cause the defense to collapse, and that’s when he’d beat them deep.
The system calls for an accurate quarterback who is able to make strong decisions. The reason it worked with Joe Burrow is because he was able to identify when and when not to take a shot, when to throw the screen versus taking off on the ground, etc.
It’s hard to know whether Brady would prefer Justin Fields or Zach Wilson with the New York Jets for his offense. Both have their own struggles that make it an awkward fit. Wilson struggles mightily to put his receivers in position for YAC, while Fields is slow to get the ball out at times.
What is clear though is that the Jets would need to improve at the wide receiver position in a major way to make Brady’s offense work.
Is he the next New York Jets head coach?
Joe Brady is an excellent candidate who reportedly interviews very well. However, I don’t think he’ll be the next head coach of the New York Jets.
The main reason being that Brady doesn’t fit the CEO-type head coach the Jets are reportedly looking for. Brady would likely take over the offense and need a strong veteran defensive mind to take care of that side of the ball.
That sort of staff can work. It worked for Sean McVay in LA. It’s the setup that the Cardinals use with Kliff Kingsbury. The Packers use it with Matt LaFleur. It’s just not what the Jets are looking for right now.
Joe Brady may be a brilliant offensive mind, but the New York Jets are looking for a well-rounded head coach. That makes Brady an underdog to land the job.
