NFL Network announced Monday that the Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Sean McDermott following their playoff loss to the Denver Broncos.
McDermott was named head coach in 2017 and led the Bills to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, winning five AFC East titles in the process.
His Bills have consistently been knocking on the Super Bowl door, entering the season having lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, including two losses in the AFC Championship Game.
On Saturday, Buffalo suffered yet another postseason heartbreak with a 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in the divisional round.
“Sean has done an outstanding job leading our football team over the past nine seasons,” Bills owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “But I feel like we need a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take this team to the next level. We owe it to our players and Bills Mafia.”
“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and helped the Bills become a perennial playoff team. I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he has shown for this team and this community. I wish Sean, Jamie and his family the best.”
McDermott’s departure creates one of the league’s most coveted head coaching vacancies and gives him the opportunity to work with current MVP quarterback Josh Allen, who is awaiting his replacement.
Allen’s eight playoff wins and 15 playoff starts are the most ever by a quarterback who did not play in a Super Bowl in the Super Bowl era. The Bills haven’t advanced to the Super Bowl since losing four straight from 1990 to 1993.
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Will Lutz’s 24-yard field goal earned Denver a dramatic 33-30 victory over Buffalo in overtime, sending them to the AFC Championship Game.
Buffalo also had the most wins in NFL team history with 91 wins, including the playoffs, seven consecutive seasons without reaching the Super Bowl. On the other hand, they are the fourth team in the Super Bowl era to win the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, but they are the only team to never win a Super Bowl.
NFL Network has confirmed that Brandon Beane will remain as general manager.
Prior to McDermott’s arrival, the Bills had missed the playoffs in 17 consecutive seasons, with just one winning season.
In his first season, Buffalo finished 9-7 and made the playoffs, but lost 10-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the wild card round.
The defining moment in Buffalo’s rise to contention under McDermott came in 2018 when they drafted Allen with the seventh overall pick out of Wyoming. Allen struggled in his 6-10 rookie season, going 5-6 as a starter, but recording 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and the Bills finished third in the division and missed the playoffs.
This led to his rise to prominence among the NFL’s elite QBs over the next few years, with Allen leading McDermott’s Bills to five straight AFC East titles as the strongest rival to Patrick Mahomes’ AFC dominance.
Mahomes and the Chiefs’ dominance contributed to Buffalo’s Super Bowl woes, and Saturday’s result prolonged one of the league’s most notable waits to return to the NFL’s final game.
Allen burst into tears, claiming he let his teammates down by throwing two interceptions in the loss to the Broncos, including an overtime pick on Jaquan McMillian.
