{"id":286511,"date":"2026-06-10T13:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=286511"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:18:26","slug":"bradys-bunch-leads-26-afc-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/06\/10\/bradys-bunch-leads-26-afc-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Brady’s Bunch Leads ’26 AFC East Head Coach Power Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL is fully ensconced in its June slumber, aside from a much-anticipated trade<\/a> and a shocker with league-wide ramifications<\/a>. Brady’s Bunch leads 26 AFC East into a competitive fight. Who are the best head coaches in the NFL? Which coaching staffs need improvement or risk their job security? We will begin the exercise by looking at the toughened AFC East. Have the Patriots done enough to repeat as conference champions? The overall coaching staff, record, and team will all play a factor in these rankings as we go forward.<\/p>\n

Note: All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference<\/a> and Gridiron Experts<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Brady’s Bunch Lead 2026 AFC East Head Coach Power Rankings<\/h2>\n

1. Buffalo Bills<\/h3>\n

Head Coach: Joe Brady<\/h5>\n

Brady ascended to the head coaching role for the Bills after they relieved former head coach Sean McDermott of his duties. McDermott led Buffalo to tremendous success during his tenure, but couldn’t lead the Bills over the playoff hump. He was fired in large part for his inability to maximize the window of contention<\/a> for perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen. The Bills possessed a golden opportunity to chase down a Lombardi Trophy last season, with Mahomes and Lamar Jackson both hurt or inconsistent. They failed to do so and lost their chokehold on the AFC East as a result. Brady entered the picture after having served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator for several seasons after bouncing around the league.<\/p>\n

His most successful season to date was in 2019, when he led LSU’s high-powered offense under Joe Burrow to a national championship. He is the top coach in the division after assembling a star-studded coaching staff. OC Pete Carmichael is a familiar name to Brady as both served on Sean Payton’s staff in New Orleans for many seasons. Carmichael assisted Payton in leading gaudy offenses under Drew Brees’ guidance. DC Jim Leonhard returns to the league as a highly sought-after head-coaching candidate. Leonhard is a defensive savant who can elevate a struggling defense and is a former Bill, so he knows what it takes to win there. The coaching troika helps Brady’s Bunch lead 26 AFC East coach rankings.<\/p>\n

2. New England Patriots<\/h3>\n
Head Coach: Mike Vrabel<\/h5>\n

Yes, the first-year head coach of New England just guided the AFC champions to the Super Bowl after a brief sojourn into the Cleveland hinterlands. And yes, his offense just landed a premier receiver<\/a> to change its fortunes offensively. All that’s well and good, but the Super Bowl champions exposed fatal flaws<\/a> in the Patriots that raise concerns. In addition to the on-field issues, there could be a problematic controversy that could sink the Vrabel regime before his third year ends. Can the reigning AFC champions catch the Bills Mafia as Brady’s Bunch leads 26 AFC East supremacy?<\/p>\n

Vrabel is under the microscope for carrying on with an interlude he shouldn’t have had with a former nationally acclaimed reporter. It remains to be seen whether the scandalous behavior affects his professional career beyond what it already has. For an organization that prided itself on minimizing distractions, this one carries the potential to amplify one that could derail the 2026 season. As the Patriots battle for AFC East supremacy, it won’t help their cause as Brady’s Bunch leads ’26 AFC East coaches rankings. It’s still a great coaching staff, but they must navigate a stronger schedule with a bigger target on their backs. Are they capable of living up to the standard once again?<\/p>\n

3. Miami Dolphins<\/h3>\n
Head Coach: Jeff Hafley<\/h5>\n

Miami entered the offseason head coaching derby with a less-than-shocking hire after it hired a lead executive from the Packers. In addition to hiring a head coach from the Packers, they imported a quarterback<\/a> from the organization as well. Hafley is a well-renowned defensive mind who led the resurgent Packers defense for several seasons. Many will expect the same<\/a> on South Beach.<\/p>\n

While Brady’s Bunch leads 26 AFC East, Miami’s coaching staff shows immense promise. OC Bobby Slowik recently led CJ Stroud’s best season as a rookie before being relieved of duties. ST coordinator Chris Tabor is one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL. The coaching staff possesses the potential to surpass the Patriots with some good fortune. Hafley possesses the head-coaching experience to make quick work of the roster challenges and remain competitive.<\/p>\n

4. New York Jets<\/h3>\n
Head Coach: Aaron Glenn<\/h5>\n

Well, the reunion<\/a> with a prodigal son didn’t go as planned for head coach Aaron Glenn and company. He barely escaped with his job intact after a 3-14 season. The 2026 season should be better with a revamped team with a new offensive coordinator. GM Darren Mougey’s panache for reunions continued during the 2026 offseason with the return of former Jets Geno Smith and Demario Davis. Even with the rebuilt roster<\/a>, it’s a grim picture for the Jets and coaching staff. Brady’s Bunch leads the 2026 AFC East by a landslide over the hapless Jets franchise for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Gregory Fisher] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Which coaching staff is the best in the AFC East? Brady’s Bunch leads ’26 AFC East division or did the reigning AFC champ hold them off?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4788,"featured_media":287061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,36],"tags":[682,7705,9602],"class_list":["post-286511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bills","category-nfl-news","tag-afc-east","tag-buffalo-bills-news","tag-joe-brady"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286511"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287059,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286511\/revisions\/287059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}