Since their 2022 season ended, the Bills have moved on from both DC Leslie Frazier and OC Ken Dorsey. Coordinator dismissals have been known to precede head coach firings, but the Bills look set to give Sean McDermott more time.
A driver in the Bills going from holding major North American sports’ longest playoff drought (from 2000-16) to the team becoming an AFC power, McDermott is in his seventh season as the Bills’ HC. The team has qualified for the playoffs five times in McDermott’s six seasons. Between Buffalo’s fourth consecutive Super Bowl loss to close the 1993 season and McDermott’s 2017 hire, the team had booked a postseason berth four times. While McDermott’s 2023 squad may be underachieving, it appears ownership is taking a big-picture view here.
McDermott is not in danger of being fired, according to The Athletic’s Tim Graham (subscription required). One of the sources informed Graham there is “zero” chance Terry Pegula will fire McDermott, who was hired before GM Brandon Beane came to town. This follows a report that suggested both McDermott and Beane are safe for 2024. While perhaps not on the hot seat, McDermott’s stock has dropped a bit over the past two seasons.
The Super Bowl LVII favorites to start last season, the Bills went 13-3 and beat the three-loss Chiefs. Because of Damar Hamlin‘s life-threatening injury, the NFL canceled the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game. This led to Buffalo being the AFC’s No. 2 seed, but the Bills — who had lost multiple key defensive starters as the season progressed — underwhelmed in the postseason, narrowly clipping the Skylar Thompson-quarterbacked Dolphins and dropping a one-sided divisional-round game to the Bengals. Still facing high expectations this season, the Bills have stumbled to a 6-6 record.
While Buffalo’s point differential (plus-101, fourth in the NFL) does not depict a team sitting on the “In the Hunt” line in playoff graphics, the Bills have endured several letdown losses. Most recently, the Eagles eclipsed a dominant Josh Allen performance by driving for an overtime touchdown, dropping McDermott to 1-6 in career OT games. This followed Buffalo having 12 men on the field to give Denver a second-chance try at a game-winning field goal. ESPN’s FPI gives the Bills, who have again seen core defenders go down with major injuries, a 21% chance to make the playoffs.
The Bills, however, announced through-2027 extensions for McDermott and Beane in June. McDermott’s .624 win percentage remains the highest in franchise history. The recent stumbles aside, Buffalo has won three AFC East titles under the “McBeane” duo’s leadership. The Bills’ two-trade effort in the 2018 first round secured Allen, and the team’s 2020 trade for Stefon Diggs helped turn their quarterback into a superstar. With the Chiefs redoing Patrick Mahomes‘ deal in September, Allen’s $43MM-per-year pact that runs through 2028 may be the team-friendliest of the current QB extensions.
That said, both the Titans and Cardinals bailed on staffers’ extensions recently. Tennessee axed GM Jon Robinson months after extending him through 2027; the Cardinals did the same with Kliff Kingsbury and Steve Keim. Teams have fired HCs after repeated playoff trips and experienced immediate success as a result, as evidenced by the Broncos moving on from John Fox in 2015 and the Buccaneers firing Tony Dungy in 2002. Both teams won the Super Bowl the following year. McDermott has also been fired after a playoff season, when Andy Reid dismissed him as Eagles DC despite the team winning the NFC East in 2010. That move led McDermott to Carolina. As it stands now, however, the Bills are not planning to shake up their operation.
Pegula is believed to still hold McDermott, 49, in high regard, Graham adds. Pegula has only fired one coach since buying the Bills in 2014. He axed Rex Ryan during the 2016 campaign. The team aimed to keep Ryan’s predecessor, Doug Marrone, but he exercised a $4MM payout clause that freed him from his contract in the event an ownership change occurred during his tenure. Marrone made the unusual move to leave an HC job for a position coach gig (in Jacksonville, though he later became HC). Pegula fired GM Doug Whaley following the 2017 draft, however, hiring ex-McDermott Panthers coworker Beane soon after.
Nor should he be. Sometimes everything goes your way, but some years it doesn’t.
Agreed. McDermott has been an active presence in turning Buffalo into what it is today. Even if they were to miss the playoffs, that would still be just one disappointing year in a just of successful ones. Seven years heading a franchise is rare these days, and the Bills would be risking throwing out the environment that they’ve created under McDermott’s regime.
He needs to have good coordinators. Fix that and he will be fine.
I forgot about the Leslie Frazier situation, but isn’t he suppose to return next year?
I don’t know if he will return, but his departure did not seem like a dismissal-more like he chose to take time off. Of course, it is possible that was the public statement only, but it certainly wasn’t the same context as the more recent firings.
McDermott has been making changes, increasing in scale, as the Bills have diminished. The front office too has been poking around, with free agent signings or trades at different positions over the years to address problem areas (some more successful than others). There have been lineup changes and public, but not explicit or inappropriate, remarks about those changes and where problems are.
The Bills seem like they’ve been actively trying to find solutions in different areas for years, which is the best you can expect effortwise from management. It hasn’t always worked, but the effort is there. Not every team does that. And the Bills seem to do it in a way where the response usually isn’t an overreaction, but that they aren’t afraid to make an investment when necessary.
As much as I dislike him, he’s not the problem.
His coaching decisions have led to at least 3, possibly 4 losses this year. If he would learn from clock management mistakes, he’d have a lock on this job for the next decade (at a minimum).
Bills are off this weekend but their run-in is rough: Kansas City away, Dallas home, LA Chargers away (Saturday before Xmas), New England home (New Year’s Eve), Miami away (Week 18). Only one easy game in the bunch — and the Bills can’t win without their mafia present.
I think 2 are easy because Chargers suck
AFC East team playing in California on a short week. That qualifies as rough.
Hey hey hey easy there…….chargers are a pretty decent bunch of guys. At the very least they show up, look excited and prance about as if they know why they’re on a field.
It’s the ‘officials’ fault that team loses
The Bills’ secret weapon in that game is the Chargers’ coach.
There’s no secret, mid level pass over the middle combined with ‘screens’ to RB or WR
Time for the Bills to start playing youngsters and see what they have. From what I have read, they haven’t had the best drafts recently. But they need to see where their depth is at.
And would they finally learn that a RB is supposed to lead the team in running yards, not your QB?
I think the last two weeks have shown more versatility in those areas with the new OC. Unfortunately, it was the defense that let them down (along with fumble fingers Gabe Davis). Younger receivers will likely get more opportunities the next few weeks as Davis ends his Bills career with more time on the bench.
Wondering if our collective ‘need it now’ fast food conditioning has led us to expect a winning season every year. Yes I know ‘winning in the NFL equals money’, spread all around. Though winning is about players understanding their jobs and performance within a scheme while avoiding injuries.
New faces come and go, players and coaches. Draft provides inexperience with the scrutiny and pressure of ‘pro ball’. Complexity of the NFL schemes and playbook seems to overwhelm a larger number of rookies every year.
I know colleges are lacking in imprinting certain ‘job’ skills does this also include sports?
The Super Bowl window has closed. Head Cheerleader Sean McDummie won’t lead this team anywhere. He like the team has peaked