Bills Fire Head Coach Sean McDermott After Nine Seasons, Ending Transformative but Title‑Less Era
The Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons, ending one of the most successful but ultimately Super Bowl‑less eras in franchise history. The move comes two days after Buffalo’s overtime divisional‑round loss to the Denver Broncos, another painful playoff exit in the Josh Allen era.[nytimes]
Decision to move on
Buffalo dismissed McDermott on Monday, with the organization opting for a new direction after repeated postseason disappointments despite a championship‑caliber roster. General manager Brandon Beane is expected to remain in place and lead the search for the next head coach.[espn]
The tipping point was a 33‑30 overtime defeat to Denver in the AFC divisional round, marking the sixth straight season the Bills reached at least that stage without breaking through to a Super Bowl. McDermott’s inability to turn regular‑season dominance into February success ultimately overshadowed his role in reviving the franchise.[usatoday]
McDermott’s record in Buffalo
McDermott leaves Buffalo with a 98‑50 regular‑season record, the second‑most wins in team history behind Hall of Famer Marv Levy. He guided the Bills to the playoffs in eight of nine seasons, including five straight AFC East titles from 2020 through 2024.[nfl]
In the postseason, McDermott went 8‑8, reaching the AFC Championship Game twice but never the Super Bowl. Several of those exits came at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, including the 2020 and 2024 conference championship losses and the infamous “13 seconds” divisional defeat.[en.wikipedia]
Transforming the franchise
When McDermott arrived in 2017, the Bills owned the NFL’s longest active playoff drought at 17 seasons; he snapped it in his first year by sneaking into the postseason as the AFC’s No. 6 seed. That breakthrough laid the foundation for Buffalo’s rise, culminating in the emergence of Josh Allen as an MVP‑caliber quarterback and the team’s return to annual contender status.[sports.yahoo]
Under McDermott, Buffalo tied and then surpassed franchise marks for wins, reclaiming the AFC East from the New England Patriots and reshaping the perception of the organization league‑wide. His defensive background and organizational structure were widely credited with stabilizing a team that had cycled through coaches and quarterbacks for nearly two decades.[nytimes]
Why the change now
Despite the stability, frustration mounted as Buffalo repeatedly fell short in January, particularly in road playoff environments where McDermott’s teams struggled. Since 2020, the Bills have logged one of the league’s best combined regular‑season and playoff win totals, yet watched AFC rivals reach and win Super Bowls instead.[reddit]
The latest loss to Denver underscored recurring issues: situational management, late‑game defense, and an offense that too often stalled in key postseason moments. In the calculus of ownership, the window with Allen in his prime demanded a fresh voice on the sideline to push Buffalo over the top.[cnn]
What comes next for Buffalo
Beane now leads a high‑stakes coaching search, with early speculation centering on offensive‑minded candidates who can maximize Allen and maintain a championship window. Names already floated in league circles include former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and other sitting or former head coaches with strong offensive pedigrees.[wgiram.iheart]
For McDermott, a respected defensive strategist with multiple deep playoff runs on his résumé, coordinator and future head‑coaching opportunities are expected to materialize quickly. For the Bills, the decision marks the end of a transformative nine‑year run — one that resurrected the franchise, but ultimately fell just short of the sport’s ultimate stage.[nfl]