The Buffalo Bills are keeping many of the key pieces of their last decade of success in place despite their playoff loss to the Denver Broncos. However, head coach Sean McDermott was shown the door in a move that not all Bills fans out there seem to be thrilled with.
While it would have been brutal for Bills fans to see McDermott take a job elsewhere and start putting together yet another championship contender, the latest updates make it seem like McDermott is going to be on ice for a year before he gives it another go in the pros.
According to Ian Rapoport, McDermott is widely expected to take a year off from coaching before re-entering the head coach cycle in the 2027 campaign. McDermott hasn't had a bounce-back opportunity that will enable him to instantly take over another team.
Unlike former Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who was instantly swept up by the New York Giants with a very expensive new contract, teams that have needed new head coaches in this cycle (nine, excluding the Bills) haven't been tripping over themselves to hire him.
Former Bills coach Sean McDermott expected to take 2026 off
Having Josh Allen obviously helps, but McDermott made the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in charge, and he won at least one playoff game in six straight seasons. For teams searching for a floor, that sort of consistency is likely going to make him an appealing candidate.
McDermott comes from a defensive background, which is not going to be as appealing as teams shift more toward coaches with offensive backgrounds. In addition, if McDermott was consistently losing playoff games with Allen as his quarterback, why would he help inferior quarterbacks break through?
However, his hirings of Brian Daboll and Joe Brady (for all his faults) suggest that he can put together a solid offensive staff. McDermott will likely be able to raise the floor for many teams out there, and he might be able to leverage that into a role that gives him additional influence over the final roster that he did not have in Buffalo.
It seems impossible to imagine a world where McDermott doesn't get back to coaching and just stays around on TV forever. The Bills may end up facing off against McDermott in the future, and that could lead to them finding out once and for all if they made the right call.