It’s been a wild year for Joe Brady. In just twelve months, he left a position with Sean Payton’s staff as an offensive assistant to serve as the LSU Tigers passing-game coordinator, and now he’s reportedly being considered for the offensive coordinator position with the Carolina Panthers. In just a year, Brady would have gone from assembling playbooks in the copyroom to designing and installing them himself.
The Panthers hired former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule to overhaul their coaching staff; Rhule is reportedly angling to carry over some of his Baylor coaches to the NFL, but there’s room for Brady on his staff. Brady was innovative for LSU, bringing their offense into the modern era with a mix of refined passing concepts and inspired play out of Joe Burrow, the top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft.
Brady taking over the reins in Carolina — in an offense centered around Christian McCaffrey, one of the NFL’s most dynamic weapons — would be troubling to say the least. However, his departure for the NFL is far from a certainty. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Saturday that while Brady is being considered for this role on Rhule’s staff, he has a contract extension in place with LSU, though he hasn’t signed it yet. Maybe the Tigers can bid against any NFL offers Brady receives.
For his part, Brady is keeping his cards close to his vest. When asked whether he’s been contacted about opportunities in the NFL, he denied any correspondence with NFL teams, and asserted that he’s more focused on winning Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship game with the Clemson Tigers than preparing for any future job interviews. Given these other reports, however, it’s possible his agent would answer differently. Keep an eye out on this developing stiuation.
