Sportsnaut
For a seventh straight season, the Buffalo Bills reached the playoffs. And for a seventh straight year, the team led by Sean McDermott did not reach the Super Bowl. While the 51-year-old has been one of the better coaches in franchise history and has seven double-digit win seasons under his belt, his time in New York is likely over.
Despite having a lead late in the fourth and a chance to win the game in overtime, the Bills saw their season come to a frustrating end on Saturday night against the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. In a month where Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh saw their legendary runs end after not living up to expectations, it would be surprising if Buffalo retained the services of McDermott.
With the Bills likely to move on from their head coach in the next few days, we look at five replacement options, including the former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is set to interview with the Las Vegas Raiders this weekend. While he may not excite Bills fans, he is a hot candidate for head coach and offensive coordinator jobs around the league because his offensive mind is still highly regarded around the NFL.
Considering what he did with Tua Tagovailoa, pairing him with Josh Allen could lead to Buffalo having an offensive juggernaut that carries them to the Super Bowl in 2026.
Because of the Dallas Cowboys’ high standard and desperation to get back to the Super Bowl, Mike McCarthy’s winning 12 games for three straight seasons wasn’t enough in Big D. The standard in Buffalo is sky high because they have one of the very best QBs in the game. However, the difference between him and McDermott is that he developed a young QB (Aaron Rodgers) and took him all the way to a Super Bowl win.
McCarthy did great things with Dak Prescott. Allen is better, and that could be the difference between falling short of high expectations and winning a second Super Bowl.
Tomlin reportedly doesn’t want to coach in 2026 after stepping down from the top job with the Steelers last week. Nevertheless, the Bills should inquire about his interest in taking over their program.
His resume is undeniable and includes a Super Bowl win. The difference between his first 10 years and his last nine is having Ben Roethlisberger as QB. When he had a talented signal caller, he was often in Super Bowl contention. Working with Allen could be the thing that gets both of them a championship in 2026.
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