Remember those days when the Buffalo Bills were struggling to find their next Jim Kelly? How during the playoff drought, they had a revolving door of quarterbacks and were disappointing year after year. In fact, they didn’t have success with head coaches either. The Bills were failing miserably at the two most important positions on a football team.
Then, in 2017 after the Bills moved on from Rex Ryan, Buffalo made the choice to hire Sean McDermott, who was the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. The Bills needed a new culture and they believed that McDermott was the guy who could turn around this organization. The Bills were completely right.
In his first year as the head coach, the Bills made the playoffs, with a little bit of help from the Bengals who defeated the Ravens to help Buffalo get into the playoffs. However, the Bills’ next task was to get a franchise quarterback. For as serviceable as Tyrod Taylor was, he wasn’t the franchise. In the 2018 draft, the Bills traded up for quarterback Josh Allen, who has established himself as one of the best players in the league and has an MVP under his belt.
However, for as great as Allen is, the Bills still have yet to reach the Super Bowl and it certainly isn't Allen's fault. The defense for the Bills has let this team down too many times and with McDermott being a defensive-minded coach, at some point we have to put the blame on McDermott for why the Bills haven't had the success that fans have hoped for.
Not to mention, the Bills have not had the best supporting cast in recent memory outside of James Cook and a couple of flashes from Khalil Shakir. Even with having Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis at one point, that offense wasn't enough to overcome the defensive struggles that the Bills have under McDermott. There has not been any kind of complimentary football that has helped the Bills go all the way.
Colin Cowherd says what the harsh truth about Josh Allen's prime
Following the Bills’ loss to the Falcons on Monday Night Football, Colin Cowherd from The Herd talked about how Josh Allen’s prime has been wasted so far, specifically with the lack of playmakers and whether or not Sean McDermott is the right coach to have with a quarterback like Allen.
"They need to find playmakers. They need to add juice. And I’m not sure McDermott’s it."@colincowherd wonders if the Buffalo Bills are wasting Josh Allen's prime years pic.twitter.com/Crg2ma43A1
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) October 14, 2025
Josh Allen has wiped away some of the problems that the Bills have had because of his greatness. However, these last two games where the Bills couldn’t get Allen to play hero ball, Buffalo has been embarrassed in different aspects, mostly on defense. It shows just what’s wrong with the Bills. They need help on defense.
We are at a point where there has to be a conversation on whether or not McDermott is the guy who can lead the Bills to a Super Bowl with Allen. Since 2020, the Bills have had two chances to win the conference, both times they failed. They had the Chiefs back in the 2022 divisional round, and blew it in 13 seconds. They hosted the Bengals the following postseason and they got blown out at home. How much longer can this go on for?
If the Bills once again come up short of making the Super Bowl, the Bills need to seriously consider a major change. Whether it’s in the coaching staff or on the roster, what they have shown right now is not enough.