If they're unhappy with their middling offense in Happy Valley, Penn State may be able to call one of its own home to fix it in due time.
Building his offensive staff after being promoted last winter, Buffalo Bills' first-year head coach Joe Brady tabbed a former Nittany Lions' quarterback for an offensive assistant role.
It isn't just any former Penn State field general by the way. Trace McSorley graduated as the program record holder in wins (31), completions (720), passing yards (9,899) and TD passes (77).
"The biggest thing I was looking for was people who weren't exactly like me," said Brady on his approach.
The 36-year-old Brady knows McSorley from their shared time in State College.
"Trace, I was a GA when Trace was the quarterback and one of the greatest leaders I've been around, incredible human, incredible football player," said Brady last week with the Bills preparing to visit the Las Vegas Raiders.
Brady served as a graduate assistant for Penn State during the 2015 and 2016 seasons before moving on to spend two years as a New Orleans Saints' offensive assistant.
McSorley became the Nittany Lions' full-time starter for the 2016 season, and Brady was impressed.
"When you coach guys, you just know that, hey, whenever that guy's done playing ball, as soon as I can have an opportunity to hire him, I'm going to," said Brady.
Trace McSorley on coaching fast track with Bills
McSorley, a 2019 sixth-round draft pick, last suited up in the 2024 NFL Preseason. He spent the 2025 season as an assistant quarterbacks coach at his alma mater.
With the Bills, he's been working primarily with the wide receivers. We wrote about Buffalo putting his arm to use during player tryouts at training camp.
"He's been outstanding with us," said Brady. "It's been great getting him in the wide receiver room and just being able to open up his eyes. Again, he's from a quarterback perspective. He's outstanding for us. I'm so glad he's here."
Brady, a former William & Mary wide receiver who went from Penn State GA to Saints offensive assistant to LSU pass game coordinator to Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, explained how McSorley benefits from working with another position group.
"When you're coaching positions that are different than what you're used to, I think it only improves your football IQ and your understanding," said Brady.
As someone who has climbed the ladder, Brady sees serious potential for McSorley to carve out a similar career path.
"He's going to be an outstanding QB coach, someday an OC [offensive coordinator]. He's going to be, you know, Trace is an absolute stud. But I think this will be a huge time for him just doing something different right now," said Brady.
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