James Cook: There’s “a new energy in the building” with Joe Brady as head coach

Joe Brady has been in the Bills’ building since 2022, working his way up from quarterbacks coach, to offensive coordinator, and now to head coach in 2026.

Running back James Cook has been around for all of Brady’s rise over the past four seasons, with Brady calling the plays that helped Cook become the league’s rushing champion in 2025.

So what was the offseason program like with Brady as head coach?

“I mean, it’s just a new energy in the building,” Cook said in an interview with NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Tuesday. “It’s going to always be like that, I feel like, when you have a new head coach coming in — a young one, too, at that. I mean, Joe’s a young head coach coming in, his first year being a head coach. I mean, he’s got a new energy. That’s what I feel like.”

But just because there’s an energy shift doesn’t mean Brady is acting inauthentically.

“I mean, to me, nothing has changed,” Cook said. “Joe’s going to be Joe. And, you know, he’s going to be himself. He just wants you to play football and have fun.”

Bills rookies are set to report to training camp on July 21, with Cook and the veterans set to report on July 28.