Ever since Sean McDermott took over as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, there is no question that he has helped turn this franchise around for the better. He’s had just one losing season (the only season the Bills didn’t make the playoffs under him) and Buffalo has won five consecutive division championships the last five seasons.
In addition, six out of eight seasons under McDermott have resulted in 10+ wins for the Bills. Long story short, he is the best head coach the team has had since Marv Levy and if he can lead the Bills to a Super Bowl, he will become the greatest coach in franchise history.
Just like any other coach though, McDermott has areas of improvement that he needs to work on and there are other coaches who could out-coach him any week. Going into the 2025 season, McDermott and the Bills are going up against five head coaches that could give them major trouble.
Top 5 head coaches Bills will go up against in 2025
5.) Mike Tomlin - Pittsburgh Steelers
Say what you want about Mike Tomlin and how he can’t seem to get the Steelers a playoff win in a long time, he knows how to win and he has one of the best defensive units led by T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. Tomlin has a .630 win percentage as a head coach and while Pittsburgh is trusting Aaron Rodgers to lead the offense, it’s the defense that will be scary which is Tomlin’s speciality.
4.) DeMeco Ryans - Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans was a great football player and now he’s proving to be one of the better young head coaches in the league. He took over a Houston Texans team that was a mess when he arrived, but with a solid draft in 2023 (including drafting C.J. Stroud), Ryans has helped the Texans turn their culture around for the better. In addition, Ryans has also helped the Texans create arguably the best pass rushing duo with Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.
The Bills seem to always struggle when they take on the Texans in Houston and Buffalo is set to travel there again for a Week 12 Thursday Night Football matchup.
3.) Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland Browns
Now before I get backlash on this pick, it’s not Kevin Stefanski’s fault for the mess that the Browns have created with their quarterback room. When you have been named Coach of the Year twice in six years, you are doing something right despite what the organization is doing overall.
Stefanski has two 11+ win seasons under his belt in Cleveland (with 2023 being a year where he coached five different starting quarterbacks). He doesn’t deserve to deal with the mess that Cleveland has created at quarterback, yet he always finds a way to keep the Browns competitive as much as possible.
2.) Mike Vrabel - New England Patriots
When the Patriots moved on Jerod Mayo basically right after Week 18 last season and hired Mike Vrabel, it was the first step in the right direction for New England. The former Patriots player has proven to be a successful head coach in this league as he had a winning record as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018-2023 (54-45) with no true star quarterback.
Vrabel is a culture coach and is already making a great impact with this new look Patriots team. The Patriots could easily be the team in the AFC East that challenges the Bills for the top spot in the division. While it most likely won’t happen this coming season, Vrabel has the ability to set up New England for long-term success.
1.) Andy Reid - Kansas City Chiefs
I mean, how in-depth do I have to be when it comes to Andy Reid? Granted, he didn’t start winning Super Bowls until he got Patrick Mahomes. However, he is still a great offensive playcaller and is currently the leader of the NFL’s current dynasty. He has helped lead the Chiefs to three Super Bowls the last six seasons and the last time he had less than 10+ wins was in 2014 (9 wins).
Reid and the Chiefs are Buffalo’s biggest obstacle to get past and until they do, Reid is at the top of this list as to who could give the Bills nightmares (once again).