The Buffalo Bills are entering the 2026 NFL season with the need to get back in to Super Bowl contention. As they have a new coaching staff, more moves are coming and the team is targetting a former Kansas City Chiefs coach that worked with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes back in the day.
According to Adams Schefter, the Bills are set to hire Jay Valai as the new cornerbacks coach. Valai was the co-defensive coordinator at Oklahoma and worked with Andy Reid in 2018 in the first year of Patrick Mahomes as QB1 of the team as the defensive quality control coach. Now, he is set for an NFL return.
After his Chiefs span under Reid, he went to Rutgers, then Texas and Alabama, all as CB coach, until in 2022, he got the CB coach/ co-DC of Oklahoma. Valai is considered a student of the game.
What will Valai bring to the table?
Valai’s Oklahoma pass defenses ranked among the very top in interceptions. His unit had 46 picks over the last three seasons and ranked first in INTs per game in 2023. However, his experience goes beyond just a position coach, he already helped design coverages and disguise packages.
Valai focuses on leverage, and pattern-matching against bunch/stack looks. He is considered an aggressive, turnover-looking coach, yet cautious enough to not have blown coverages on a consistent basis. Valai is also a very good developer. In fact, at Oklahoma he consistently used underclassmen and overachieved.
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Bills confirm return of former coach, but Josh Allen won’t work with him in 2026
The Bills already had a great secondary
The Bills ranked first in passing defense in 2025. They allowed a mere 156.9 passing yards per game. What Valai will do is help them on the turnovers side. The Bills only had 13 interceptions, which ranked 11th in the NFL. Still, this unit was already pretty good in 2025.
Now, the corners are likely to get more aggressive. Still, the Bills allowed the seventh-lowest passer rating to opposing quarterbacks. This is a good hire, but it wasn’t a priority, it’s just the cherry on top of an excellent unit.
