RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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ROCHESTER, NEW YORK - JULY 29: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills and head coach Joe Brady talk during training camp at St. John Fisher University on July 29, 2026 in Rochester, New York. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Buffalo Bills are who they are because of Josh Allen.
He’s rightfully become an NFL superstar over the past six seasons with immaculate quarterback play and overpowering tenacity on the football field.
And now there’s a report he’s causing an internal rift within the Bills coaching staff.
Let’s address aid report.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando went on Damon Amendolara’s show “D.A. Live” and said the following:
“They’re going to be good. Josh Allen’s going to make them good. But within that, like the greatness or is it too much of a good thing when your play-caller goes from kind of being your confidante and maybe a little more of a friend than the head coach could be, to now going into that head coaching job. I think that is an interesting transition to make, when clearly before with (Bills ex-coach) Sean McDermott, he was in charge, also a defensive pedigree.”
I’m sure he went along with a lot of stuff Josh Allen wanted to do, but there was a little bit more of a check and balance there, I think. And so now: What does it mean? Is Josh Allen more empowered?
I’ve heard whispers and people complaining a little bit in the league about the fact Josh Allen gets to kind of do the pass protections how he wants them, I think that’s been a little bit of a source of frustration on the staff, at times, in the past. Is that a good or a bad thing, if that’s enabled more? Those would be the concerns. Not so much Josh Allen, I think we know he’s going to be a star. Just as you try to get over the top, are these fine-tune changes good? Maybe not quite as good.”
Here’s the video:
The Athletic’s Mike Sando @SandoNFL reveals the Josh Allen power dynamic causing frustration inside the Bills coaching staff. #BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/iM4Ns33RWH
— Damon Amendolara (@DamonAmendo) August 10, 2026
First things first — I respect Sando and his reporting. He’s been covering the NFL since 1998 and spent a long time at ESPN before joining The Athletic in 2019. I’m certainly not insinuating Sando is fabricating anything here.
We’re almost assured to never know who “league sources” might be — and notice the term “league” used instead of “team” — and listening to, then re-reading Sando’s quote did not not compute for me.
The gist of it reads like grasping at straws to the nth degree.
There’s no more vital dynamic in the NFL than the head coach and quarterback relationship — particularly when a team is good. From that, to insinuate a coordinator labeled as a “confidant” of the superstar quarterback moving into a head-coaching role is a bad idea feels silly.
Now, that is also not to suggest I’m guaranteeing and know for a fact right now that Brady will become a tremendous head coach in Buffalo. And I understand the checks and balances idea the beginning of Sando’s quote is referencing. But when it’s deemed that the past head coach simply wasn’t good enough — beyond a checks and balance dynamic provided — it makes perfect sense to elevate a coordinator with a strong relationship with your MVP caliber quarterback.
The second part of Sando’s quote is distinctly more forced, in my opinion.
Allen has absolutely earned the right to be as “empowered” within his organization as any quarterback in the NFL.
It would be a much bigger — and more sensible — story if, entering Year 9, Allen did not have final say on offensive-line protections in front of him.
Nick Sabato of the Niagara Gazette and Lockport Union-Sun Journal tweeted the following on this topic:
This was after the Texans loss. #Bills https://t.co/Sq9I568AFe pic.twitter.com/fPTZiLgwJq
— Nick Sabato (@NickSabatoGNN) August 10, 2026
Obviously every report has to start somewhere, but there was not one whisper about this from local beat reporters or national insiders during the 2025 season, a year Allen took a career high in sacks.
Sabato confirms that now in August 2026. Plus, the offensive staff has hardly changed from a season ago. How and why would this “source of frustration” be manifesting now?
In fairness to him and as a sign of his integrity as an analyst, Sando did eventually send another tweet on his Allen report for clarity sake:
I can phrase this better. Bills have been very high in five-man protection rate. Staff held back coaching protections as much as one might imagine, with a "just let him play" philosophy. Let the QB handle the free rusher. Not everyone would have done it that way. https://t.co/rwjb7xM3qr
— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) August 11, 2026
As mentioned, Allen’s sacks were a bit of an issue last year, so regularly letting the quarterback deal with the free rusher could be problematic.
Then again, before 2025, Allen had become one of the most challenging quarterbacks to sack in all of football over multiple seasons. Again, he deserves the right to do whatever he wants at the line regarding his protections, and, yes, can handle a free rusher better than any quarterback in football.
We’ll see how everything transpires this season regarding Allen’s protection, Buffalo’s offense under Brady, and the Bills overall performance.
But to suggest the team used a faulty process to come to its decision on a head coach because of his strong connection to the quarterback is flimsy at best. And it’s absurd to imply Allen having control over his protections is a negative.
Overall, this felt more like distant speculation relayed to Sando than certifiable fact, and it’s gotten zero corroboration from any other NFL media members.
To me, trying to push Allen as a source of frustration inside the Bills organization is a total nonstarter.
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