The Buffalo Bills will not be running it back for a 10th time with Sean McDermott.
Monday, the team fired its head coach of the past nine seasons following its latest playoff failure, Buffalo losing in overtime Saturday to the Denver Broncos 33-30.
An announcement made on X, presumably filtered through owner and team president Terry Pegula, claimed the franchise is ‘in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level. We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.’
General manager Brandon Beane was retained and will also now serve as the president of football operations. His first order of business will be identifying Buffalo’s next head coach.
As for McDermott, he finishes his tenure with a 106-58 record (including postseason). However his team, despite the presence of 2024 league MVP Josh Allen, never reached the Super Bowl. Saturday’s defeat in Denver followed a pattern of heartbreaking playoff losses that included two AFC championship game defeats to the Kansas City Chiefs.
A tearful Allen, who committed an uncharacteristic four turnovers in Saturday’s loss, took the blame for the Bills’ latest playoff failure, but McDermott was quick to come to his defense.
‘It’s not on (Allen),’ said McDermott, whose team trailed 20-10 at halftime before Allen brought it back and nearly won the game in regulation.
‘We had opportunities, all of us. And I’m extremely proud of him. He’s a tremendous person, tremendous leader, tremendous quarterback.’
Yet McDermott also bemoaned the officiating in the game, including Allen’s controversial interception in overtime, a play that launched the Broncos’ drive for a game-winning field goal.
‘I’m standing up for Buffalo, dammit,’ McDermott said after the game. ‘I’m standing up for us.
‘Because what went on is not how it should go down. These guys spent three hours out there playing football, pouring their guts out. To not even say, ‘Hey, let’s just slow this thing down.’ That’s why I’m bothered.’
Allen, who enjoyed his eighth postseason victory in this year’s wild-card round, when the Bills narrowly defeated the Jaguars in Jacksonville − Buffalo’s first playoff win on the road since 1992 − now has the most postseason wins by a quarterback who’s never appeared in the Super Bowl. He was certainly hoping to come off that list this year.
“It’s extremely difficult. I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” Allen said at his postgame news conference Saturday, while unsuccessfully suppressing his feelings.
“Missed opportunities throughout the game. It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended, and it’s gonna stick with me for a long time.”
Continued playoff heartbreak defined McDermott-Allen era in Buffalo
A wild-card team this season, the New England Patriots ended Buffalo’s five-year run atop the AFC East. The Bills qualified for the playoffs in eight of McDermott’s nine seasons at the helm, the franchise’s longest sustained period of success since it famously lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s. The Bills have never won a Lombardi Trophy, their two championships coming in 1964 and ’65 when they competed solely in the AFL. The Super Bowl wasn’t played until the end of the 1966 season.
Aside from McDermott’s estimable regular-season success in Western New York, another chapter from his stay should be remembered with appreciation. Buffalo’s Week 17 game of the 2022 season was canceled after safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium in front of a nationally televised Monday night audience.
Despite the team’s shock as it awaited news that Hamlin was going to survive, McDermott navigated his players though a highly emotional and uncertainty period before ultimately having it ready to play six days later, when the Bills beat the Patriots 35-23 to conclude a 13-3 regular season.
Ironically, McDermott was fired just a week after his college teammate from William & Mary, Mike Tomlin, stepped down from the Pittsburgh Steelers after seven consecutive playoff losses … and 19 straight non-losing seasons.
Buffalo becomes the 10th team to change coaches during the current hiring cycle. Only the New York Giants (John Harbaugh) and Atlanta Falcons (Kevin Stefanski) have filled their openings so far.
‘Sickening’: Bills’ Jordan Phillips reacts to McDermott’s firing
Buffalo’s decision to move on from McDermott did not sit well with one of their veteran defensive players, Jordan Phillips.
Phillips – a 33-year-old defensive tackle – posted to his Instagram story to express displeasure with the team’s decision.
‘This (expletive) here is so stupid,’ Phillips wrote, posting a caption over a breaking news graphic regarding McDermott’s firing. ‘Honestly sickening. The best coach I’ve ever been around.’
Read more of Phillips’ reaction to McDermott’s firing here.
Sean McDermott’s record with Buffalo Bills
McDermott’s regular-season record in Buffalo? An impressive 98-50 (.662) over nine seasons leading the Bills.
Even his playoff record, 8-8 with six consecutive seasons winning at least one postseason contest, would be the envy of most NFL teams. But with perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen under center, the expectations in Buffalo seem to be Super Bowl or bust.
Under McDermott, the bills had strung together seven consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins. Read a full breakdown of McDermott’s record in Buffalo here.
Buffalo Bills next head coach: Eight potential candidates
While the Bills haven’t released any information about who they’re targeting as McDermott’s successor, Buffalo’s head coaching job is sure to be attractive. With Josh Allen under center and the Bills opening a new Highmark Stadium for the 2026 season, there’s continued excitement for what’s possible in Buffalo.
One potential candidate is already in house. Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady has drawn interest for coaching jobs around the NFL for the better part of two seasons. Could the Bills consider promoting the 36-year-old internally to replace McDermott?
Brady helped lead the Bills to a strong offensive season in 2025, as they finished third in the NFL in offensive EPA per play, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Josh Allen has thrived under Brady’s leadership, which isn’t a surprise. Brady has a proven track record of getting the most out of elite-level quarterbacks, as he also oversaw Joe Burrow’s historic final season at LSU in addition to Allen’s 2024 NFL MVP campaign.
Read USA TODAY NFL reporter Jacob Camenker’s list of potential Buffalo Bills coaching candidates here.
Potential NFL head coaching landing spots for Sean McDermott
McDermott’s impressive track record – which includes seven consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins to close his tenure in Buffalo – will surely attract attention with seven vacancies remaining around the NFL, not including the Bills. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports McDermott ‘could well emerge as a head coaching candidate’ this cycle after the long-time Bills coach told his staff he ‘intends to continue coaching.’
Which NFL teams could have an interest in hiring McDermott after his dismissal from the Bills? Read USA TODAY NFL reporter Jacob Camenker’s list of McDermott’s top potential landing spots here.