Inside The Star
This morning, NFL fans saw yet another domino fall in what was already one of the craziest head coaching carousels of all time: two days after losing to the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills fired their longtime coach, Sean McDermott.
Bills fired HC Sean McDermott, per source. pic.twitter.com/snnTXfzJaD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2026
In nine seasons, the former Panthers DC was a dominant regular-season coach who failed to win when it mattered in the postseason.
It’s a familiar story, as teams around the league seem to be comfortable moving on from “winning coaches” if they aren’t getting the job done in January. The Ravens and Steelers are prime examples of this.
And so, with the reigning MVP at the helm and a consistent playoff-worthy roster, the Bills need a new leader.
Here, I’ll go over the three candidates I expect to top Buffalo’s list as they start the process to replace McDermott after nearly a decade of work.
At least from a speculation perspective, the clear starting favorite to succeed McDermott is his own former offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll.
The 50-year-old coaching veteran grew up in a Buffalo suburb and landed the Bills OC job in 2018 after a stint with the Alabama Crimson Tide. His tenure was an immediate success, and he was the one who molded Allen straight out of college.
After the 2021 season, his efforts with Allen were recognized, and he was hired by the Giants as head coach. Obviously, it didn’t work out there, and he was fired this past season.
However, with Buffalo back in the HC market, and Daboll free to interview and sign whenever, a reunion makes a ton of sense to fix this offense.
Maybe all he needs as a head coach is the competitive roster he never got with the Giants?
Behind Daboll as the favorite for this job is the in-house option, incumbent Bills OC Joe Brady.
At just 36-years-old, Brady has helped LSU win a national championship, as he coached Joe Burrow up during his time as a Tiger, and has been an offensive coordinator for both Carolina and now Buffalo.
Regarding #Bills: Wouldn’t surprise me to see Joe Brady get a real look there. Talk amongst league circles last year that he was the guy in waiting, per sources.
They’ll certainly go through process, and another candidate could wow them, but Brady has a lot of fans in that…
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) January 19, 2026
He didn’t have a great tenure with the Panthers, as he was fired during his second season, but he found his way to Buffalo and worked his way up the ladder to get back to running an offense in 2024.
Despite a lack of solid weapons, Allen and Brady have maintained a strong...
