The Buffalo Bills made the difficult decision to part ways with nine-year head coach Sean McDermott on Monday morning. After reaching the playoffs in eight of those seasons, winning at least one playoff game in each of the past six seasons, owner Terry Pegula decided he had seen enough heartbreaking ends to the postseason.
Later in the day, the now-former head coach of the Bills released a statement, expressing his appreciation to the Pegula family for the opportunity, but above all, his love and respect for Bills Mafia and the city of Buffalo.
“For nearly a decade I have had the opportunity to wake up every morning as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills, which has truly been a gift,” McDermott wrote. "I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Pegula family, the Buffalo Bills organization, and to the fans for allowing me to live out the dream of being a Head Coach in the NFL in this incredibly special place.”
Sean McDermott delivers a heartfelt thank you to Bills Mafia and the city of Buffalo
“I am proud and humbled to have worked alongside amazing staff and players as we shared this life together and poured out our hearts and souls into both winning football games and making a positive impact in our community. This community graciously embraced not only me but my family and in some ways helped raise out children over the last 9 years. For that I say thank you to all of the teachers, coaches. And friends whom we met along the way…the City of Good Neighbors! We Love You! We will miss Buffalo.
“Bills Mafia, you are one of one! It has been a joy and inspiration to witness your passion and commitment first hand. I always wanted our teams to play with the same level of toughness and grit that is true to Buffalo and the you demonstrate every day!
“God gave me and my family an incredible opportunity, one that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Yet we know that HE has a plan.
“Thank you for allowing me to serve as your head coach.
“God Bless,
Sean McDermott”
Sean McDermott’s farewell comes as the Bills officially move in a new direction
While many in Bills Mafia were understanding or glad to see the team move on from McDermott, many still showed love and respect for him throughout the day on social media following the news of his firing. Players showed their support too, none maybe more boisterous than Jordan Phillips.
As Stephen A. Smith pointed out, and as Bills fans have echoed, the issue with McDermott’s firing fans have is that, alongside the news that he was let go, Pegula also announced that general manager Brandon Beane was not only being retained, but promoted to President of Football Operations.
Nonetheless, McDermott showed his professionalism and class in his statement, and his outpouring of adoration for the city and its fans should be followed by some mention of the successes he brought to Buffalo for the past nine years.
McDermott had a career record of 98-50, 8-8 in the playoffs. Over the past six seasons, McDermott won at least one playoff game, reached the AFC Conference Championship Game twice, and carried a 73-27 record, the best mark of any coach in the NFL over that period.
Speaking of the playoffs, McDermott broke Buffalo’s 17-year playoff drought in his first season with the franchise. His seven-year streak of reaching the postseason is also the longest in franchise history.
He finishes his Bills tenure as the winningest coach in franchise history, winning 66% of his games. He trailed Marv Levy’s record win total in Buffalo by just 24 games and his loss total by 20. Levy was 11-8 in the postseason to McDermott’s 8-8.
McDermott’s detractors will say the caveat is Josh Allen, and yeah, they have the best point you can make. Not reaching the Super Bowl with the best player in the league is why McDermott was fired. But it was McDermott who built his coaching staff, which not only provided Allen with Brian Daboll and Joe Brady as playcallers but also an elite offensive line.
It probably was time for the Bills and McDermott to split. John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens did for similar reasons. It happened to McDermott’s friend, Mike Tomlin, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, too.
But there’s no denying that McDermott is a hell of a coach. And wherever he ends up next, the Bills know they’ll have a headache waiting when he and the Buffalo Bills meet on the field again. McDermott matched up against Josh Allen will be an interesting scenario to look forward to, then.
But that headache on the field won’t come without respect from both sides before and after that game, and any other that follows it.
Bills Mafia gives back the love, McDermott. Good luck, coach.