Sean McDermott has been fired as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, the team announced Monday.
The 51-year-old McDermott was hired in 2017 and led the Bills to five AFC East division titles and eight playoff appearances in nine seasons.
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While McDermott will exit the franchise, general manager Brandon Beane got a promotion, and will now be President of Football Operations. He’ll lead the search for a new coach.
“Sean has done an admiral [sic] job of leading our football team for the past 9 seasons,” owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level.”
Despite regular-season success — seven straight double-digit-win seasons — it was a lack of success in the playoffs that led to the Bills making a change. McDermott’s Bills went 8-8 in the postseason, including a pair of losses in the AFC championship game to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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The most recent loss came against the Denver Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs on Saturday. The Bills couldn’t overcome a controversial interception and pass-interference penalty, setting up yet another heartbreaking postseason loss.
McDermott released a statement on Monday afternoon expressing his appreciation for the Bills organization and fans: “This community graciously embraced not only me but my family and in some ways helped raise our children over the last 9 years. For that I say thank you to all of the teachers, coaches, and friends whom we met along the way…the City of Good Neighbors! We Love You! We will miss Buffalo.”
Under McDermott, the Bills featured a perennial top-five offense led by quarterback Josh Allen and a top-10 defense. Yet that dominance on both sides of the ball could not help them reach a Super Bowl.
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Prior to being hired by the Bills, McDermott served as defensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers from 2011-2016 and was a defensive coach with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2001-2010.
Given his success with the Bills, and as a defensive mind, McDermott is unlikely to be out of work for long. If he can’t secure another head-coaching role this offseason, McDermott should have plenty of options if he’s willing to return to a coordinator role.
As for the Bills, the team will now look for a head coach who can lead the club to a Super Bowl title. With John Harbaugh (Giants) and Kevin Stefanski (Falcons) already under contract with new teams, the Bills may have missed their shot at bringing in the most established head coaching talent on the market. The team will have to act quickly if there’s a candidate out there that it desires.
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With Allen under center, the Bills should be perennial Super Bowl contenders. McDermott couldn’t lead the team there, and it cost him his job. The team’s next head coach will have similar expectations as early as Year 1.
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