Ian Rapoport peels back the curtain on Bills firing Sean McDermott

The Buffalo Bills made the surprising decision to move on from Sean McDermott as their head coach. Many within Bills Mafia were ready for the move, calling for it from various corners of the internet. Still, Monday morning’s news did come as a bit of a surprise two days after the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs after a tumultuous season.

Despite reaching the Divisional Round, 2025 felt like a step back for the Bills in many ways. The defensive inconsistencies and the lacking supporting cast around Josh Allen thwarted the Bills numerous times throughout the season. 

In the end, controversies with the officials helped bring about the end of their postseason hopes, but the larger body of work the 2025 season presented were too much to ignore.

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport laid it out plainly for the NFL world the root cause of why the Bills top decision makers decided to end the McDermott era in Buffalo after nine seasons.

Ian Rapoport explains what pushed the Buffalo Bills to make the call on Sean McDermott

“It’s not exciting news, it’s unfortunate news,” Rapoport said Monday morning. “He has been one of the most successful head coaches we have seen over the last decade or so. Consistently in the playoffs. Consistently delivering, getting right to the cusp, but not getting over the hump. And you really did wonder after this game if a frustrating, frustrating overtime, late loss for the Buffalo Bills, would it be it? You can certainly see that there was angst in the building, it’s something, that our understanding, has been brewing.”

While Buffalo is moving on from McDermott, the team has already clarified that general manager Brandon Beane will be retained in the transition.

McDermott led the BIlls to the postseason in eight of his nine seasons with Buffalo. Unfortunately, each trip ended in heartbreak, with each postseason exit landing a gut punch to Bills Mafia.

Of course, the unfolding of the 2025 postseason has been a particularly brutal experience for the Bills. Not only did they fall short to the Denver Broncos, but they found out in the aftermath that Denver’s Super Bowl hopes were dashed with Bo Nix’s ankle injury ending his season. Now the New England Patriots have a clear path to Super Bowl LX as they prepare to face Jarrett Stidham under center instead.

As Bills Mafia knows, as long as Buffalo has Josh Allen, they always have a chance. Still, matching him up with the right head coach is the most important offseason goal for the front office now. With Allen heading into his ninth season in 2026, the Bills can’t afford to continue falling short in the postseason after moving on from McDermott for the same reason.