Why Bengals fans should not clamor for a Joe Brady-Joe Burrow reunion

Once upon a time in 2019, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was the field general for the LSU Tigers, and one of his star receivers was Ja’Marr Chase. That eventual national title-winning team had probably the best college offense we have ever seen.

Understandably, the players received most of the praise for that impressive championship run. However, the architect of that historic offense, LSU’s offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, also received his fair share of praise.

This Sunday, Cincinnati's defense and defensive coordinator, Al Golden, will face off against the Buffalo Bills, for whom Brady is the offensive coordinator.

And what could be an interesting congruence of timelines, there exists a scenario in which the Bengals could be searching for a head coach and, for whatever reason, Joe Brady is available. However, while it would make a good story, it shouldn't happen.

Joe Brady was a big key to Joe Burrow & Ja'Marr Chase thriving at LSU

Bengals fans were high on life when they drafted Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. 

For those of us who were scouting players, one of those guys who just kept flashing was a wide receiver by the name of Ja'Marr Chase. Unfortunately, at that time, there was no scenario in which we could have imagined Chase being available for the Bengals to select in the subsequent draft. Funny how that worked out.

Furthermore, Brady was a young, hotshot offensive coordinator making his way up the coaching ranks at LSU. 

Concurrently, New Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had a worse winning percentage than the Bengals' all-time worst head coach, Dave Shula. Some wondered at the time whether the Bengals should move on from Taylor and, if so, who would take his place.

The Cincinnati Bengals would then represent the AFC in the Super Bowl in 2022. As a result, anyone who had doubts about Taylor's ability to coach tabled the conversation until recently.

Brady’s Bills offense has been great (on paper)

Brady started with the Bills as their quarterbacks coach in 2022. Halfway through the 2023 season, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after a 5-5 start. Once Brady took over as OC, Buffalo went six and one down the stretch, including five consecutive victories. 

They defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round, only to lose the following week against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round.

In 2023, Brady became the Buffalo Bills' permanent offensive coordinator, leaving the interim tag behind. In the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, the Bills were second, sixth, and second in points scored, respectively. They ranked second, fourth, and 10th in yards, too.

Zac Taylor is not going anywhere…probably

We doubt that Cincinnati's front office would move on from head coach Zack Taylor this offseason, no matter how the rest of this season plays out. However, the chances of it happening are greater than zero, especially if the Bengals fail to make the playoffs and end up with a losing record.

While there are several names that we have batted about as possible replacements, one of the more tantalizing, storyboard-wise, would be reuniting Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Joe Brady.

However, the way Bills fans are reacting to Brady’s offense and play-calling suggests that might not be the most prudent decision even if it becomes a possibility.

Bills fans turning on Brady's play-calling

Despite being 37-13 in the regular season and three-time division champs during Brady's run as offensive coordinator, they've reached the conference championship game once and lost in the divisional round on the other two trips to the postseason.

Also, despite their success, some fans in Buffalo would like to take the materials from all of those broken tables over the years, from fans jumping through them and adorable newborns baptised with them, and help build a bridge for Brady to get out of town.

After their loss two weeks ago against the Houston Texans, fans and media members were highly critical of Brady's playcalling.

One of the most concerning criticisms of Brady's playcalling is how often Josh Allen gets hit and how little the offensive coordinator does to help prevent it.

The only thing worse than fans and media members complaining about the starting quarterback getting hit is opposing coaches being surprised by how little the offensive coordinator protects the quarterback in the whiny moments of a game. 

That's precisely what happened when Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans talked about pass-rushing against the Bills' offense and ultimately getting to Josh Allen.

Taking too many hits was something we saw a lot during his time at LSU. It is also something that we have all criticized Zac Taylor for in his time as play caller here in Cincinnati. 

Whoever and whenever a new head coach comes to the Queen City, getting the quarterback hit a lot cannot be a critique of whoever the next play caller is.

Besides questioning pass protection, Bills fans have gotten creative in mocking the predictability and repetitive nature of Brady's offensive scheme.

Joe Brady buries Bengals' AFC North rival in the reeling Steelers

On the other hand, last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady orchestrated a beatdown of the Steelers' defense en route to a 26–7 victory.

Defeating the hated Steelers is a plus in our minds. Especially when the starting running back carries the ball for 144 yards on 32 carries. 

As a team, the Bills rushed for 249 yards against Pittsburgh. And that they did so without the service of their two starting offensive tackles.

All of a sudden, the repetitive nature of Brady's play calling doesn't seem so irresponsible.

Burrow-Brady reunion doesn't fit in Cincinnati

As we pointed out earlier, Brady's track record as offensive coordinator with Buffalo has been impressive. Even this season, the Bills lead the NFL in rushing yards and rank third in total yards and second in yards per game. 

Most importantly, they rank fifth in the NFL in points per game.

Nevertheless, no matter how good a story it would be, and how many ways we can talk about chemistry, feel-good story, and getting the band back together again maxims, a Burrow, Brady, and Chase reunion probably won't be in the works for that trio.

We should not expect Zack Taylor to go anywhere. And even if the Bengals were to move on, we should not anticipate them to bring in an offensive-minded head coach or an offensive coordinator with a history of getting his quarterback hit a lot.

Hopefully, the defense will continue to improve and embarrass Brady and the Bills' offense on Sunday, thereby eliminating any chance Brady comes to Cincinnati.

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