Bills fire coach Sean McDermott after 9 seasons, will retain GM Brandon Beane: Source

The Buffalo Bills fired coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons on Monday, according to a league source, after they once again failed to advance to the Super Bowl with franchise quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills lost to the Denver Broncos 33-30 in overtime on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. According to a league source, general manager Brandon Beane will be retained and lead the search for a new coach.

The Bills have reached the divisional round in six straight seasons and twice advanced to the AFC Championship Game (in 2020 and 2024) but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in both of those title game appearances. McDermott finishes his Buffalo tenure with a regular-season record of 98-50 and a postseason record of 8-8.

McDermott’s teams made the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, including in his first year in 2017 when the Bills snapped a 17-year playoff drought. His 98 wins are second all-time in franchise history behind only Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, who won 112 games over 12 seasons and reached four Super Bowls.

This story will be updated.

The Bills moving on from McDermott is a stunning scene for a franchise that struggled so significantly before he arrived. Ultimately, the Bills saw each one of the team’s playoff heartbreaks and decided it was time to go in a different direction. Whether it was the “13 seconds” loss in Kansas City, another loss to Kansas City in last year’s AFC Championship Game with a chance to win it late, or the most recent heartbreak in Denver, a game that the Bills had several chances to win, the Bills under McDermott just couldn’t push past the AFC Championship Game, despite all of their regular season success. That is eventually what led to the longtime head coach’s ouster on Monday. Falling short of the AFC East division in 2025 and having to spend the postseason on the road, along with not progressing in a playoff field that was without Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson in the playoff field, are likely contributing factors to his demise in Buffalo.

During his tenure, McDermott endeared himself to the area for how well he channeled being an authentic Buffalonian. McDermott often commented about how misunderstood the area was and how important it was to him to deliver a Super Bowl to the area and its fan base. He had a deep respect for the team’s history, despite not being from the area, and put it at the forefront of who he was as the franchise’s leader. But in the end, it is a results-based business, and boiling anxiety from a fan base over not getting to a Super Bowl in Allen’s prime led to this huge decision. Allen will be 30 this offseason, and without knowing how much longer he can play the physical brand of football that he does, the Bills decided the time was now to make the move. The move is a risk, considering McDermott has been one of the most consistent and winningest coaches in the NFL since he arrived But is calculated as they hope this is the catalyst to finally winning a Super Bowl championship. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

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