With the offseason beginning in January for most NFL teams, it was in fashion for dissatisfied owners to throw their head coaches under the bus while retaining their general managers. Of the record-tying 10 clubs that switched head coaches over the past several weeks, eight of them maintained the status quo atop their front offices. The Bills are part of that group. Not only did general manager Brandon Beane stay in place at Sean McDermott's expense, but owner Terry Pegula promoted him to president of football operations/GM.
Most teams that shook up their sideline leadership missed the playoffs in 2025, whereas the Bills earned a berth for a league-leading seventh straight year. They even won a wild-card round game, a 23-20 nail-biter in Jacksonville, but it was not enough to buy McDermott a 10th year. After the Bills dropped a 33-30 overtime thriller to the No. 1-seeded Broncos in the divisional round, Pegula decided he had seen enough.
Believing the Bills "hit the proverbial playoff wall" under McDermott, Pegula fired him two days after the Denver game. On the other hand, Pegula is convinced Beane is not at fault for the Bills' long-running playoff shortcomings. Pegula went along with Beane's decision to promote McDermott's last offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, to head coach (more on that below).
With the grizzled McDermott gone and a rookie head coach in place, Beane is wielding more power than ever. Beane is now in the beginning stages of a crucial offseason for a team that has to find a way to break through as superstar quarterback Josh Allen enters his 30s. While Beane will aim to beef up his roster around Allen, a lack of financial wiggle room and some potentially painful losses in free agency will boost the difficulty level.
