PITTSFORD, N.Y. — When Josh Allen was a kid, he was a notoriously poor loser.“Oh, I mean, bat throws — I got benched a couple of times for throwing helmets after a strikeout in Little League,” Allen recalled Monday after a Buffalo Bills training camp practice at St. John Fisher University. “I always wanted it so bad as a kid; like, it drove me. I wanted to win at everything. Over the years, I feel like I’ve gotten better at (handling defeats).”In adulthood, anger has gradually given way to devastating sorrow. Last January, after falling short of the Super Bowl for the seventh consecutive postseason, the Bills’ superstar quarterback was a puddle of tears while blaming himself for a divisional-round playoff defeat to the Denver Broncos in overtime.The scene was so jolting to Buffalo owner Terry Pegula that, at a news conference four days later, he cited it prominently while explaining his decision to fire coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons.Seven months have passed, but Allen told me he still harbors guilt for McDermott’s dismissal, saying, “I think about that all the time. There are certain plays throughout the game — and that’s going to be every game — where you’re like, ‘I could have done more.’ And I always feel like I can do more.’”Did Buffalo Bills do enough this offseason?Robert MaysAllen arguably shoulders more of a burden than any football player on the planet. In the wake of McDermott’s firing, and the hiring of former Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady as his successor, that psychic load has only grown.Now 30, the 2024 league MVP is facing a heightened level of scrutiny. The optics of the Bills’ playoff defeat in Denver, where Allen was responsible for four of the team’s five turnovers, and the firing of McDermott (who went 98-50 and 8-8 in the postseason) two days later have not been kind to him.Part of that stems from the elevation of Brady, who during his four seasons as a Buffalo assistant had developed a close relationship with Allen. The fact that Allen sat in on Brady’s interview, and those of other candidates during the Bills’ coaching search, added to the collective cynicism.None of this is especially fair to Allen. For one thing, his guilt often is misplaced. While his turnovers against the Broncos were legitimately harmful to the Bills’ cause, they were an aberration. He’d played well in most of Buffalo’s previous six playoff defeats, including a pair of AFC Championship Game losses to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.As for Brady’s ascent, sources familiar with the coaching search insist that while Allen asked questions of candidates and provided input after the interviews, he was never included in discussions about who to hire.“I can honestly say, Joe went out there and he earned it,” Allen said. “The way that he interviewed, how hard he works as a coach, and the success that we’ve had as an offense over the last few years — he earned it.”As a reward, Brady has been greeted by some of the highest expectations ever faced by a first-time NFL head coach. He essentially has no grace period. If the Bills don’t reach the Super Bowl — where they haven’t been since the 1994 game — let alone win it, it won’t just be the new coach who faces potentially negative consequences.“This is what it is, and we know it,” said Dion Dawkins, the Bills’ five-time Pro Bowl left tackle and proud protector of Allen’s blind side. “And I know it — I’ve been here for 10 years and know that if we don’t win, guys are not just gonna be around forever. That is on the top of my mind, like, bro I want to win because I want stay in Buffalo. I don’t want to move.“So yes, it’s do or die. Welcome Joe Brady, and get all the missiles flying. We need to hit all targets.”Allen, of course, will be anchoring the aerial assault on gamedays, as well as charging into the defensive backfield and throwing his massive frame into the fray. His commitment, on and off the field, resonates in a locker room that feeds off his competitive energy.“What I love about Josh Allen is he has high expectations for himself,” Brady said. “I just want him to be himself. And I think our guys respect him for who he is. He gives everything he’s got.”Brady is embracing the pressure he’ll face as a first-time coach, saying, “I don’t think a coach in this profession is wired to want a grace period or to be about a grace period. I can’t speak for everybody, but I have high expectations of myself. There’s a standard and I embrace it.”McDermott, who quickly created a winning culture upon his hiring in 2017, was known in the building for being intense, exacting and sometimes rigid. Brady has attempted to create a lighter, more player-friendly atmosphere. Granted, he has yet to coach a game, but Allen and his teammates are hopeful that Brady’s approach can help them elevate.“I’ve really enjoyed the new vibe,” veteran tight end Dawson Knox said. “Joe’s done an incredible job creating energy, getting the guys to hype each other up, creating the culture — kind of building off what we’ve already had here, but also adding his little twist on things. The guys are feeling the energy. It’s easy to get the juices flowing.”Less easy, for Allen and his offensive teammates, has been adjusting to the Bills’ new defense. While McDermott ran a 4-3 scheme derived from longtime Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson’s blueprint, rookie defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard (most recently the Denver Broncos’ defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator) is employing a 3-4 alignment designed to exploit one-on-one matchups on the line of scrimmage.“It’s an SOB for a quarterback,” Allen said. “Just the movement, the fronts that you get, the rotation stuff, the pressures from different looks — it throws a lot at you. I’m very excited to see what our defense can do this year.”Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady, left, and quarterback Josh Allen, right, are under pressure to make their pairing work quickly. (Adrian Kraus / AP)Change is in the air in Western New York, as the Bills will open the newly constructed Highmark Stadium on Aug. 15, hosting the Carolina Panthers in their preseason opener. That aligns with the current theme in Allen’s personal life. Four months ago, he and his wife, actress Hailee Steinfeld, welcomed a daughter, Harper, a life-altering development that provoked more public tears as the quarterback spoke at a charity event last month.“New coach, new stadium, new child — there’s so much new going on,” Allen said. “And it really does feel like a complete reset.”One carryover is that Allen will put everything he has into trying to avoid another shattering postseason exit — and carry the pressure of providing a long-awaited moment of euphoria to the Bills Mafia.And if the quarterback falls short, it will all come crashing down on him, like a fat, drunk pregame tailgater diving onto an overmatched folding table.“He carries the weight of a whole fan base, of a whole city, on his shoulders — gracefully,” Knox said. “If there’s anyone who’s built for it, it’s him. But that guy puts on the cape, man, and no one else can wear it like he does.“We’re not afraid to talk about it: We want to win this Super Bowl for this fan base, for this city, for the whole state — but we also want to win the Super Bowl for ‘17.’”Unless and until Allen sheds the tears of joy that would accompany that accomplishment, he’ll keep hauling football’s heaviest load.