The Buffalo Bills resigned head coach Sean McDermott on Monday, just days after the team’s latest playoff exit. That alarmed the Bills mafia and reporters, who had been digging for information about the head coach’s status for weeks.
Now that the dust has settled, we’re starting to learn what exactly happened before Bills general manager and new president of football operations Brandon Beane meets with the media this week. Some of this is speculation. Some of these are true reports. Let’s sift it all out.
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Sean McDermott inconsistent with Brandon Beane, Terry Pegula
I’m hearing more about the upcoming 2025 season than I have in the past. While most consider the duo of Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott to be in lockstep historically at Carolina, their personalities have never been 100 percent in sync. That’s not the same as saying there’s a rift, but it opens the door to saying they’re not a package deal and you can give up one and keep the other.
Apparently there were disagreements behind the scenes, too. WGRZ’s Vic Carucci, who has good ties to the organization’s ownership, wrote Tuesday morning.
“I heard that in a meeting between McDermott, Beane and Pegula five weeks ago, the coach pointed out what the team lacked in terms of winning a Super Bowl. I don’t know the specific details of what McDermott mentioned, but I heard that both Beane and Pegula were unhappy with McDermott’s assessment.”
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I wish we could have more details on the roster disagreements. We hit mid-December five weeks ago and are already far away from the trade deadline.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero also discussed football connections on Monday’s episode of The Rich Eisen Show.
“Certainly, there was some frustration with Sean McDermott, and you could see that with some of the players who were inactive on game days, like a revolving door at wide receiver and that kind of thing. But ultimately Terry Pegula not only decided to go with Brandon Beane over Sean McDermott, he promoted Brandon Beane. He gave him a bigger title. Brandon Beane will now lead the search for a new head coach and the coaching staff is also looking for a new head coach.” Reporting to Beane. “
With this information in mind, I also think two things are clear. Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane share a football vision for the team and feel Sean McDermott doesn’t embrace or develop the talent to make it happen.
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“Sean McDermott does have a big say in the personnel. They all report directly to Terry Pegula and are on the same level.
Sean McDermott doesn’t make it to Super Bowl
Nine years is a long time in the NFL, and during Josh Allen’s prime, teams had a bite at the apple but failed to get the job done.
Pelissero reports that this was the deciding factor in the move. This team was good enough to always make the Super Bowl, but it wasn’t ready or capable of winning.
“They feel like this is a team that should compete at the highest level. They’re not at the highest level yet to get to the Super Bowl. Sometimes owners just feel like it’s time.”
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There’s no doubt that McDermott played a major role in several of the team’s playoff exits. With the “13 seconds” being the most egregious error, the Bills’ defense also allowed more points in last year’s AFC Championship Game than the Kansas City Chiefs had allowed all season.
The Bills’ loss to the Denver Broncos was their latest and probably worst loss on paper. It’s one thing to lose to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes or to bow out two weeks after the most exciting moment in franchise history, the team is exhausted. With the New England Patriots back in the AFC Championship Game, losing to Bonix and the upstart Broncos was another story.
Sean McDermott is last coach to be fired
McDermott has used a variety of tactics with his coaching staff over the years. Along with the hiring of Brian Daboll, McDermott was willing to make several changes to his coaching staff.
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He replaced defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, replaced Daboll with Ken Dorsey at offensive coordinator and even changed the special teams coordinator.
For better or worse, McDermott promoted from within each time Daboll was hired. It was a staff made in his image.
Roster development under Sean McDermott mixed
We’ve already established that McDermott plays a key role in terms of personnel. The Bills invested heavily on the defensive line during McDermott’s tenure and also on the wide receiver wall after McDermott’s public feud with Stefon Diggs forced his trade.
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Greg Rousseau has developed into a good defensive end, while AJ Epenesa is a solid but not great defensive end. Ed Oliver moves into defensive tackle and DaQuan Jones takes over the defense. Beyond that, the bill lacks success. Puna Ford was very good the past two years with the Chargers and Rams, but three years ago in Buffalo, he sat out most games. Tim Settle had five sacks and 31 tackles for the Texans in 2024 after not having those numbers during his two years in Buffalo. It’s not just a collection of talent that shows Beane is the primary decision-maker.
At wide receiver, fans bemoaned the lack of a true No. 1 receiver without addressing the souring relationship that led to Diggs being traded in the first place. Then there’s Coleman’s lack of development (although I suspect a lot of that could and should be laid at the player’s feet). Buffalo signed Curtis Samuel and Josh Palmer, added Elijah Moore and Gabe Davis, and eventually added Mecole Hardman and Brandin Cooks. You might be looking at this and thinking they were bad in Buffalo, and they were. But they also all performed below their best seasons. They didn’t play to their talent level in Buffalo.
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Josh Palmer: 72 catches, 769 yards in 2022, 58.1 yards per game in 2023
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Elijah Moore: 59 catches, 640 yards in 2023, 48.9 yards per game in 2021
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Gabe Davis: 48 catches, 836 yards, 55.7 yards per game in 2022
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Brandin Cooks: 80 catches, 1,204 yards in 2018, averaging 75.3 yards per game
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Mecole Hardman: 59 catches for 693 yards in 2021, averaging 40.8 yards per game
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Curtis Samuel: 77 catches for 851 yards in 2020, averaging 56.7 yards per game
Instead of approaching career highs with Josh Allen at quarterback, they hit career lows. So this is not just a talent issue, but a utilization issue.
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Palmer: Averaged 22 catches, 303 yards, 25.3 yards per game
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Moore: 9 catches for 112 yards, averaging 12.4 yards per game
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Davis: Averaged 12 catches, 129 yards, 21.5 yards per game (recovering from injury)
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Cooks: 5 catches for 114 yards and 22.8 yards per game (added later)
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Hardman: 0 catches in regular season
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Samuel: Averaged 7 catches for 81 yards and 13.5 yards per game
No one expects all of them to have their best seasons ever, but for them to have an average season instead of the worst years of their careers feels like a coaching issue rather than a talent issue.
Individually, each of these things could sink the ship, but collectively, it feels like McDermott may have entered 2025 on borrowed time, possibly all the way back to 13 seconds.