ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday after another season that fell short of a Super Bowl appearance, but the team promoted Brandon Beane to president of football operations.
“Sean has done an outstanding job leading our football team over the past 9 seasons,” owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “But I feel like we need a new structure in our leadership to give this organization a better chance to take our team to the next level. We owe that to our players and the Bills Mafia.”
The Bills lost 33-30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime of the AFC divisional round, marking another year without making the playoffs. It was the fourth time in five seasons that the Bills had been eliminated from the divisional stage.
McDermott, 51, leaves Buffalo with a 98-50 record and an 8-8 mark in the postseason, including two losses to the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs (2020, 2024 seasons). They won five straight AFC East titles from 2020 to 2024, finishing second at 12-5 behind the New England Patriots this season.
“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in making the Bills a playoff team,” said Pegula in his statement. “I respect all the work, honesty and attention to detail that this team and the community have shown.”
McDermott released his own statement on NFL Network on Monday, thanking the Bills organization, its fans and the Pegula family.
“For almost ten years I had the opportunity to wake up every morning as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills, which was truly a gift,” said McDermott. “… I’m proud and humbled to work alongside an amazing staff and players as we share life together and pour our hearts and souls into both winning football games and making a positive impact in our community.”
McDermott could emerge as a head coach for other NFL teams that still have openings. McDermott told his staff on Monday that he intends to continue coaching, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Besides the Bills, seven NFL teams currently have coaching vacancies: Miami, Tennessee, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Arizona and Cleveland.
Beane, who will continue his role as general manager in addition to carrying more responsibilities as president of football operations, will lead the team in the search for a new coach as Buffalo prepares to play in a new stadium next season.
“Brandon will oversee all aspects of our football operations,” Pegula said. “… I have full faith and have seen Brandon’s outstanding leadership style and trust his abilities to lead our organization.”
Beane was hired by the Bills just months after McDermott in 2017.
The loss to the Broncos extended the Bills’ streak of not reaching the Super Bowl since they became the only team in NFL history to lose four straight from 1990 to 1993. It also extended their record for most wins in a span of seven seasons without a Super Bowl appearance, including the playoffs (91).
The change will result in reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen, 29, having a new coach for the first time in his professional career. Allen will enter his ninth NFL season next year and has earned the most playoff wins (eight) and starts (15) of any quarterback without a Super Bowl start in the Super Bowl era.
The postgame locker room and news conference after Saturday’s loss were more emotional than after some of the team’s recent outings when Allen cried onstage. McDermott said he was defending Buffalo and the entire organization after a lengthy response to the overtime referee dispute.
McDermott went 0-3 in the postseason overtime during his Bills career.
McDermott’s 98-50 record in the regular season marked the second-best winning percentage and second-best in the league at the time (behind only the Chiefs). He led the team to break a historic scoring drought of 18 years in 2017.
Defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and DaQuan Jones expressed their frustration with McDermott’s firing on Instagram stories.
“This— right here is truly sickening stupidity,” Phillips wrote. “The best coach I’ve ever had.”
Posted by Jones: “It doesn’t make sense but you got what you wanted.”
McDermott has been a consistent defender of Buffalo, often talking about what the western New York community means to him and the drive to establish a culture and bring a Super Bowl title to the area for the first time.
“Bills Mafia, you’re one of them!” McDermott said in his statement. “It has been a pleasure and an inspiration to see your passion and commitment in person. I have always wanted our teams to play with the same level of intensity and grit that is true to Buffalo and that you show every day! … Thank you for allowing me to serve as your head coach.”
As of 2019, the Bills have the most wins in seven seasons without a Super Bowl appearance, including the playoffs. The Bills became the fourth team during the Super Bowl to win a playoff game in six consecutive seasons; the past three have all won Super Bowls in those seasons.
The priority for the Bills is to win with Allen, who turns 30 in May. He is coming off a down year, throwing 25 touchdowns — his fewest since his sophomore season in 2019 — and has been sacked more than 40 times. He also ran for 14 touchdowns (second most of his career).
The Bills had one of the league’s fastest offenses, led by James Cook, who became the first Buffalo player to win the NFL’s rushing title since OJ Simpson in 1976.
McDermott led the Bills’ defense, which allowed the fewest three-pointers per game (20.2) in the regular season during his tenure. That number, however, jumped to 28.7 points given up in the road playoffs, where the Bills went 1-7 since 2017.
This year’s unit, ranked 12th in pass defense, ended up being the football’s most reliable side late in the season, finishing as the nation’s leading pass defense (156.9 yards per game). That, however, contributed to problems that were consistent, as the Bills gave up 136.2 rushing yards per game (fifth most in the NFL).
Buffalo was McDermott’s first job as a head coach, he was hired after serving as the defensive coordinator for both the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles.
