The Chargers fired both Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, and Quarterbacks Coach Shane Day. Losing both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach most certainly means an entire scheme change for the Charger's offense. Here is a potential candidate to lead the Charger's offensive playcalling next season.
Joe Brady History
Joe Brady played wide receiver and studied at William & Mary. He finished his college career with just three receptions for 34 yards. After graduation, Brady became the Linebackers coach for William & Mary during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In 2015, Brady began studying for his Masters Degree in Education at Penn State and was a graduate assistant on the Penn State coaching staff.
In 2017, Brady was hired by the New Orleans Saints as an Offensive Assistant under Sean Payton’s coaching staff. He remained on the coaching staff through the 2018 season before joining Ed Orgeron’s coaching staff at LSU. Under his tutelage, LSU became one of the most dynamic offenses in college football history during the 2019 season. For his success, Brady was awarded the Broyles award that goes to college footballs Assistance Coach of the Year.
After LSU’s memorable championship season, Brady was quickly hired by the Panther’s Head Coach Matt Rhule as the Panthers Offensive Coordinator. Unfortunately, the Panthers lacked the offensive talent to succeed, and Brady was fired after just one season. Brady then joined the Bills coaching staff under Sean McDermott as Quarterbacks Coach during the 2022 season.
Case For Joe Brady
Joe Brady took passing concepts from Sean Payton’s offense, and brought them to LSU. Those concepts led to numerous records for the LSU offense, including turning Joe Burrow into a Ohio State transfer after thought to Heisman Trophy Winner. Through Brady, Burrow put up literal video game numbers with 5,671 yards passing and 60 touchdowns while completing 76% of his passes. Burrow averaged a ridiculous 378 yards passing per game.
As great of a season as Burrow had, it’s also noteworthy how great players from that offense were as well. Justin Jefferson was the No. 2 wide receiver at LSU and nearly became the Rookie of the Year after a 1,400 yard season with the Vikings the following year. If you would have compared Jefferson’s rookie season to the offensive rookie seasons of other players during the last 20 years, Jefferson would have taken the award in 19/20 years, but Justin Herbert did something special in his own right. Ja’Marr Chase had 1,780 yards receiving in that LSU offense, and broke Justin Jefferson’s Rookie Receiving Yards Record with 1,455 yards, while actually taking home the Rookie of the Year Award.
Other notable names from that LSU offense included RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (2020 1st-Round Draft Pick by Kansas City Chiefs), WR Terrence Marshall Jr. (2021 2nd-Round Draft Pick by the Carolina Panthers), C Lloyd Cushionberry III (2020 3rd-Round Draft Pick by Denver Broncos), OT Saahdiq Charles (2020 4th-Round Draft Pick by Washington Football Team), OG Damien Lewis (2020 3rd-Round Draft Pick by Seattle Seahawks), and RB Tyrion Davis-Price (2022 3rd-Round Draft Pick by San Francisco 49ers). Joe Brady helped develop all these players, many of which are now capable starters in the NFL.
Case Against Joe Brady
As great of a year Brady was with with LSU, he could not find the same success when he was hired as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers finished 5-12 in both seasons Brady held play-calling duties under Matt Rhule. Teddy Bridgewater lasted a season before the Panthers traded multiple picks for Sam Darnold. The risk wouldn’t pay off as Brady could not develop Darnold into being a capable starter.
When the Panthers lost Christian McCaffrey in both seasons, the entire offense suffered and Brady struggled to game-plan the offense around the other offensive weapons. While both DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson had over 1,000 yards receiving in 2020, Teddy Bridgewater failed to elevate the rest of the team and score touchdowns. The run game suffered and the red offense was scoring touchdowns at a 50% rate when they entered that part of the field.
The whole tenure under Matt Rhule was a mess in Carolina. The inability to get Christian McCaffrey on the field led to Mike Davis and Chubba Hubbard leading the backfield in alternate years. Both players averaged under 4.0 yards per carry. The offense regressed with Darnold under center, especially while missing Curtis Samuel who left for the Washington Football Team. It wasn’t all the fault of Brady, but the issues under center were too much for Brady to overcome.
Bottom Line
Joe Brady comes from an excellent coaching tree. First, he was mentored by Sean Payton, and Pete Carmichael in New Orleans. Then he coached under Ed Orgeron whose experience spans nearly 40 years. This last season, Brady coached under Sean McDermott and Ken Dorsey under a high powered Bills offense. His one blip on his resume can be attributed to Matt Rhule who was just recently fired.
Brady has experience as a play-caller and might just need a better fit with better weapons, which the Chargers roster would likely provide. He would be an excellent choice to take over the Chargers play-calling duties with a scheme the might not be so different then what was already in place under Joe Lombardi. He would also bring over concepts from the Bills offense such as RPO’s that have made the Bills so successful.
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