The Sean McDermott era of Buffalo Bills football is over, as the team decided that, after nine years, they were content to hit the reset button and start fresh with a new head coach. While McDermott accomplished quite a lot during his near-decade tenure in Buffalo, the Bills never reached the Super Bowl while he was in charge and when you're the head coach of a team that has Josh Allen at quarterback, and you don't reach a Super Bowl, eventually that's going to cost you your job.
That's exactly what happened to McDermott as he's on his way out after nine years. For the first time since 2017 and for the first time in the Josh Allen era, the Bills will be searching for a new head coach to run the ship in Buffalo and hopefully do what McDermott could not. We don't know who the new head coach is going to be yet, but Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said that the Bills need to think outside the box for this hire.
"The one thing I can't shake is, like, Josh Allen turning 30 this offseason. There's the chance for someone to get in there and compete for championships right away and change the narrative on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills," Breer said on The Dan Patrick Show. "If you're gonna make this bold move to get rid of a coach that accomplished that much over nine years, I think your hire has to be bold as well."
Bills reset after Sean McDermott puts massive pressure on next hire
Breer preached the truth here. Allen turns 30 in May and, given the hits he's taken on during his eight years in the league and all of the running he does, the Bills' championship window is certainly not as wide open as it once felt like it was. That's why the Bills have to nail this hire, and Breer says they have to swing for the fences and go with somebody bold.
It doesn't feel as though Brian Daboll or Mike McDaniel would be 'bold' hires necessarily, but both men have an understanding of the offensive side of the ball, and maybe that's what the Bills end up zeroing in on this offseason. The fact of the matter is that the Bills made the call to relieve McDermott of his duties because they were tired of coming up short, so they need to ensure that their next hire will take this team all the way.
It's absolutely possible for the Bills to be in the Super Bowl a year from now with the right hire, but who is the right hire? We'll have to wait and see.