The Buffalo Bills named offensive coordinator Joe Brady as their choice to replace former head coach Sean McDermott, opting to promote from within instead of going with an outside name.
While Brady has been the Bills' offensive coordinator for over two seasons, helping Josh Allen reach MVP heights, Buffalo's decision to go with an internal hire for this job does not have favorable historical comparisons. For the most part, every time an NFL team promoted an assistant to head coach in recent memory didn't end with success.
Of course, those teams didn't have Josh Allen, so Brady already has an advantage over most new head coaches. But that doesn't mean that Brady will be able to successfully transition from offensive coordinator to head coach.
Here's a look breakdown of how internal head coach hires haven't been successful.
MORE: Why did the Bills hire Joe Brady?
Why recent history of promoting coordinators is bad news for Bills
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys (2025)
The most recent example of a team promoting a coordinator to head coach is also, for now, one of the more successful attempts. The Dallas Cowboys named offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach to replace Mike McCarthy, and Schottenheimer led Dallas to a 7-9-1 record in 2025.
Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots (2024)
When the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick finally parted ways, New England promoted Jerod Mayo to be Belichick's replacement. However, Mayo struggled in his only season as head coach, going 4-13, which led to the Patriots firing him to hire Mike Vrabel instead.
Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders (2024)
Pierce was the Las Vegas Raiders linebackers coach when he was named interim head coach in 2023 to replace a fired Josh McDaniels. Pierce led the team to a 5-4 record, which was good enough for him to get the full-time job in 2024, but he couldn't keep the success. The Raiders went 4-13 in 2024, and with Tom Brady joining the team as a minority owner that year, Las Vegas chose to clean house after the season.
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints (2022-2024)
Sean Payton stepped away from his role as the New Orleans Saints head coach after the 2021 season, so the team promoted the defensive coordinator to the position. While Allen won 16 games in his first two seasons and appeared on the right track, he started 2024 with a 2-7 record, so the Saints fired him midseason. Allen ended his Saints' stint with an 18-25 total record.
MORE: What Joe Brady promotion means for Josh Allen
Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-2020)
Doug Marrone was in his second season as the Jacksonville Jaguars assistant head coach and offensive line coach when he was named interim head coach, replacing a fired Gus Bradley. Marrone got the full-time job in the offseason and immediately led the Jaguars to a 10-6 season and an AFC championship game appearance, but his 12-36 record over his final three seasons never built off that success.
Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns (2019)
The Freddie Kitchens era with the Cleveland Browns was a wild ride. Kitchens was named interim offensive coordinator in 2018 after Hue Jackson was fired midseason, and he did such a good job that the team named him head coach in 2019. That season went haywire, though, as the Browns disappointed with a 6-10 record while Kitchens was clearly in over his head as a head coach.
Dirk Koetter, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2016-2018)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Lovie Smith in 2016 just to promote offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to head coach, largely because the team didn't want to lose Koetter to another team. While the Buccaneers went 9-7 in Koetter's first year as head coach, they followed that up with two-straight 5-11 seasons as Jameis Winston failed to develop at the quarterback position.
Ben McAdoo, New York Giants (2016-2017)
Another instance of a coordinator replacing a legendary head coach, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo was tasked with succeeding Tom Coughlin as the New York Giants head coach. McAdoo had a successful first season, leading the Giants to a 11-5 season and a playoff berth, but his 2017 year was a disaster as he went 2-10 and fired midseason when he benched Eli Manning for Geno Smith.
Mike Mularkey, Tennessee Titans (2016-2017)
Mike Mularkey was the Tennessee Titans assistant head coach in 2015 when he was named interim head coach to replace a fired Ken Whisenhunt, and although, Mularkey went 2-7 down the stretch, he was still given the full-time job in the offseason. Mularkey was actually pretty successful, as he went 9-7 in back-to-back years and won a playoff game in 2017, but the Titans still decided to move on from him after two seasons.