Why was Sean McDermott Fired?
The goal is Super Bowls. With Josh Allen, the urgency has never been higher. Go Long talks to people with direct knowledge of the decision.
Miss our three-part series in December 2023? All stories are unlocked to read, icymi:
We also sat down with McDermott toward the end of the 2024 season.
Playoff losses are soul-crushing. Always. The reality that this opportunity won’t come for another 365 days — if you’re lucky — is paralyzing.
Year to year, no team in today’s NFL has experienced more agony than the Buffalo Bills.
After “13 Seconds,” to cap the 2021 season, players recall Stefon Diggs going ballistic in the locker room. “Every fucking time!” he screamed. “Every single fucking time!” After getting snowplowed by the Cincinnati Bengals, in 2022, the Bills were an emotionally deflated ghost of themselves. The sight of Damar Hamlin nearly dying on a football field a few weeks prior was traumatizing. After Wide Right II, in 2023, the sensation was disbelief. After the 2024 AFC Championship? More sadness. More shock. Dalton Kincaid was in tears after a fourth-and-5 prayer fluttered through his hands. He recalled sage vet Micah Hyde telling him to “fucking own it,” to “fucking suck up these tears” and face the press. He did. Everyone found a way to move on.
But this all felt like something different. The raw emotion from Sean McDermott’s eighth playoff loss resembled more of a finality. Joey Bosa slammed his helmet against the tunnel wall. Quarterback Josh Allen — a portrait of stoicism in pressers — broke down in tears. Dion Dawkins, upon hearing that Allen blamed himself, was quite literally speechless. McDermott went off on the officials. One last time, he invoked his love for the city — “I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it” — and even called The Buffalo News from the team plane to vent.
All the epitome of a coach and a team that has officially run out of gas.
It was time.
After nine seasons as the Bills’ head coach, McDermott has been fired. In a statement, owner Terry Pegula announced that Brandon Beane would serve as both the president of football operations and general manager. Pegula said Beane would “oversee all facets of our football operation, including the oversight of our coaching staff.”
McDermott’s place in Bills history is secure. He finished 98-50 in the regular season for a sparkling winning percentage of .662, good for 15th all-time. He ended this franchise’s gloomy 17-year playoff drought and won five straight division titles. One day, he’ll have the honor of shouting “Where else would you rather be?!” into a pregame microphone. News of his firing struck an emotional chord with fans. Even McDermott’s detractors insist the man sincerely woke up every morning with the best intentions — he was driven to bring a title to this title-starved city. He viewed his presence here as a calling from a higher power. Intentions, however, do not guarantee success. Because even McDermott’s greatest supporters must admit his ceiling is clear.
Buffalo boasts one of this generation’s greatest talents and has nothing to show for it.
No coach in NFL history has won more playoff games (eight) without a Super Bowl appearance. No quarterback in NFL history has also won more playoff games (eight) without a Super Bowl appearance than Josh Allen.
Allen, the reigning MVP, turns 30 in May.
Owner Terry Pegula needs to inject new life into his franchise before it’s too late.
This was always the difficult decision he needed to make. We obviously wrote an extensive series on the coach in December 2023. To his credit, McDermott tried to evolve the last two years. Buffalo fell short two more times, so he’s out. Rare is the coach who breaks through with a team to win it all in Year 10 or beyond.
On Monday, Go Long chatted with sources with direct knowledge of this decision.
Here’s why the Bills finally moved on from McDermott.