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The Buffalo Bills’ firing of Sean McDermott today has apparently shaken up the NFL coaching carousel.
In the hours since the Bills dismissed McDermott after nine seasons with the franchise, it has been reported that McDermott plans to continue coaching, that he could be a major player in multiple vacant openings, and now, that things could play out fast with McDermott officially on the market.
“Several organizations want to move quickly on Sean McDermott, but timing is the obstacle,” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini posted on X, formerly Twitter. “A number of key decision-makers are tied up in in person meetings with other candidates today.”
It’s not hard to see why NFL teams would be desperate to bring in McDermott as their next head coach. Of the six openings in the NFL, excluding the Bills, all but one hired a first-time head coach the last time they had a vacancy. For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, that worked out very well in the form of a Super Bowl win each, but for the others — the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins — their experiences varied but ultimately didn’t reach the same heights as Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Landing an experienced, incredibly successful head coach could be too alluring for any of those franchises, including the Steelers and Ravens, although McDermott’s playoff woes may be disqualifying, considering their similar complaints with their outgoing coaches.
Unlike now-New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh and his old William & Mary teammate Mike Tomlin, McDermott doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring to point to when his playoff struggles are mentioned. And they sure were mentioned in the past few seasons, as the Bills continued to fall at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason.
In four of Buffalo’s five trips to the playoffs from 2021 to 2025, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in either the divisional round or the AFC Championship Game. That fact likely made this year’s postseason exit even more painful, as Buffalo failed to reach the conference title game despite the Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals, who knocked Buffalo out in 2023, not even making the playoffs.
Instead, the Denver Broncos delivered the knockout blow when Wil Lutz nailed a game-winning field goal, capitalizing on a controversial Josh Allen interception and Tre’Davious White being called for pass interference.
McDermott finished his Bills tenure with the second-most wins and second-best win percentage in franchise history, behind Marv Levy and Lou Saban, respectively.
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