Bills bring back a familiar face for the first major hire of the Joe Brady era
Things are heating up at One Bills Drive.
The Buffalo Bills are wasting no time building the staff around new head coach Joe Brady. Brady did phenomenal in his introductory press conference, talking about the vision for Buffalo moving forward. Well, that vision is coming to light much quicker than anticipated, as Brady has his first major hire.
It’s a familiar face returning home to Buffalo, as the Bills are bringing on former Steelers offensive line coach Pat Meyer as the team’s new offensive line coach. Both Meyer and Brady have history, with the two working together during Brady’s tenure with the Carolina Panthers.
Meyer has been around the league and around college football throughout his career
Meyer has had a decorated career across both college football and the NFL. He began his career in 1997 as a graduate assistant with the Memphis Tigers until 1999. He then joined the North Carolina State Wolfpack as their strength and conditioning coach until 2006, where he became the team’s offensive line coach.
He spent one season in 2007 with the Florida State Seminoles as their strength and conditioning coach before joining the Colorado State Rams from 2008 to 2011 as the offensive line coach.
His journey in the NFL has been well documented, spending 2013-2014 with the Chicago Bears as an assistant offensive line coach and then ultimately taking over the full-time responsibilities. That’s where his history with Buffalo comes in. In 2015 and 2016, Meyer was on staff in Buffalo as a football operations consultant before becoming the team’s offensive assistant coach.
Meyer then had stints with the Los Angeles Chargers (2017-2019), Carolina Panthers (2020-2021), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2022-2025) as the team’s offensive line coach.
A rough ending to his chapter with the Pittsburgh Steelers
I spoke with A to Z Sports Pittsburgh writer Rob Gregson on Meyer’s departure with the Steelers and the issues that arose during his tenure with the organization. Meyer is turning a new leaf in Buffalo and seems more than ready for the challenge ahead.
“The loss of Pat Meyer probably shouldn’t be deemed much of a loss. Despite investing a ton of capital in the line via both free agency and the NFL Draft in the last decade, the Steelers consistently underperformed in the run game. It took Arthur Smith deploying jumbo personnel for the Steelers to make waves in the ground game.
“In pass protection, you can look at the end of Big Ben’s tenure, Kenny Pickett, or even Aaron Rodgers under center, and they all have one thing in common: a fast time to throw. The protection simply wasn’t up to snuff.
“Perhaps that’s due to more personnel rather than coaching; however, the Steelers missed assignments and showed poor execution frequently.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports, Pittsburgh
Meyer will replace longtime offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who announced his retirement after the team’s loss to the Denver Broncos. Kromer was beloved in the locker room, and Meyer will have a task ahead of him to win the locker room over after Kromer’s departure.
Still, this hire feels less about nostalgia and more about alignment. Joe Brady wanted someone he trusts, someone who understands his offense and the standard inside the building.
Meyer won’t be asked to replace Kromer’s presence overnight, but he’ll be judged quickly by results. With a win-now roster and quarterback Josh Allen in his prime, the margin for error is thin, and the offensive line will be one of the first true measuring sticks of the Brady era in Buffalo.
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