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Alaina Getzenberg
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday after another season that failed to end in a Super Bowl appearance, but the team did promote Brandon Beane to president of football operations.
“Sean has done an admirable 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. We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.”
The Bills lost 33-30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime of the AFC divisional round, marking another year of falling short in the playoffs. It was the fourth time in five seasons that the Bills exited in the divisional round.
McDermott, 51, leaves Buffalo with a 98-50 record and an 8-8 mark in the postseason, including two AFC championship losses to the Kansas City Chiefs (2020, 2024 seasons). He won five consecutive 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 the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team,” Pegula said in his statement. “I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he showed for this team and the community.”
McDermott issued his own statement to NFL Network on Monday, thanking the Bills’ organization, its fans and the Pegula family.
“For nearly a decade I have had the opportunity to wake up every morning as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills, which has truly been a gift,” McDermott said. “… I am proud and humbled to have worked alongside amazing staff and players as we shared life together and poured out our hearts and souls into both winning football games and making a positive impact in our community.”
McDermott could emerge as a head coaching candidate for other NFL teams that now have an opening. 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 remain in his role as general manager in addition to taking on increased responsibilities as president of football operations, will lead the team’s search for a new coach as Buffalo prepares to debut a new stadium next season.
“Brandon will oversee all facets of our football operation,” Pegula said. “… I have full faith in and have witnessed Brandon’s outstanding leadership style and have confidence in his abilities to lead our organization.”
Beane was hired by the Bills just months after McDermott in 2017.
The loss to the Broncos continued the Bills’ streak of not reaching the Super Bowl since becoming the only team in NFL history to lose four straight from 1990 to 1993. And it extended their record of the most wins in a seven-season span without a Super Bowl appearance, including playoffs (91).
The change will lead to reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen, 29, having a new coach for the first time in his professional career. Allen is going into his ninth NFL season next year and has the most playoff wins (eight) and starts (15) by any quarterback without a Super Bowl start in the Super Bowl era.
The postgame locker room and news conference following Saturday’s loss was a more emotional one than after the team’s other recent exits with Allen tearing up on the podium. McDermott pronounced he was defending both Buffalo and the entire organization after a lengthy answer about a controversial call by the referees in overtime.
McDermott went 0-3 in postseason overtimes during his Bills career.
McDermott’s 98-50 record in the regular season marked the second-best winning percentage and second-most wins in the league during that time (behind only the Chiefs). He led the team to break a historic 18-year playoff drought in 2017.
Defensive tackles Jordan Phillips and DaQuan Jones showed their frustration at McDermott’s firing in Instagram story posts.
“This s— here is so stupid honestly sickening,” Phillips posted. “The best coach I’ve ever been around.”
Posted Jones: “Don’t make sense but ya got what ya wanted.”
McDermott has been a consistent defender of Buffalo, often speaking up about what the western New York community means to him and the drive of establishing a culture and bringing a Super Bowl title to the area for the first time.
“Bills Mafia, you are one of one!” McDermott said in his statement. “It has been a joy and inspiration to witness your passion and commitment first hand. I always wanted our teams to play with the same level of toughness and grit that is true to Buffalo and that you demonstrate every day! … Thank you for allowing me to serve as your head coach.”
Since 2019, the Bills have the most wins in a seven-season stretch without a Super Bowl appearance, including playoffs. The Bills became the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to win a playoff game in six straight seasons; the previous three all won Super Bowls in those spans.
The Bills’ top priority is winning with Allen, who turns 30 in May. He is coming off a down year, throwing for 25 touchdowns — his fewest since his second season in 2019 — and having been sacked a career-high 40 times. He also ran for 14 touchdowns (second most of his career).
The Bills had one of the league’s best rushing offenses, led by James Cook, who became Buffalo’s first player to win the NFL’s rushing title since O.J. Simpson in 1976. The running scheme was designed by offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who announced his retirement Sunday.
McDermott led the Bills’ defense, which allowed the third-fewest points per game (20.2) in the regular season during his tenure. That number, however, jumped to 28.7 points given up in road playoff games, where the Bills went 1-7 since 2017.
This year’s unit, which ranked 12th in defensive efficiency, ended up being the more reliable side of the ball late in the season, finishing as the league’s leading pass defense (156.9 yards per game). That, however, was impacted by issues that were consistent against the run, 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, hired after being the defensive coordinator for both the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles.