Buffalo received a nice morale booster roughly 24 hours before the AFC Championship Game.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady has pulled himself out of the Saints' head coaching search and elected to remain with the team, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Saturday.
Brady, just 35, has been a pivotal figure in Buffalo's explosive offense this season, his first as the club's full-time OC. Under his guidance, the Bills finished the regular season as the top team in the NFL in giveaways (eight) and sacks allowed (14), as well as with the second-best offensive unit in scoring (30.9 points per game) and red-zone touchdown percentage (71.6).
Buffalo also notably scored 30-plus points in 12 contests this season, the most in the NFL and the second-most ever behind only the 2013 Denver Broncos.
And while much of the credit belongs to Josh Allen, who has quarterbacked the Bills to a top-three scoring offense or better in four of the past five years, Brady deserves recognition for righting a stagnating ship during the 2023 season.
In November of that campaign, Buffalo was struggling to find both momentum and points, leading to the firing of Ken Dorsey and promotion of Brady to interim OC.
Brady earned the full-time gig by overhauling the offense to transform it from a pass-heavy attack into a run-focused bully with tremendous results, which have carried all the way to the current postseason as the Bills are averaging 29 points across their two playoff games.
His decision leaves New Orleans, the only team still without a head coach, short one of its more attractive candidates, but the Saints recently completed second interviews with other notable names such as Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. They also plan to speak with former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and have a second interview scheduled with Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
While New Orleans sorts through that, the Bills can head into their biggest game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs knowing Brady is staying on to build -- whatever the result might be.