Buffalo Bills starting quarterback Josh Allen has been silent since his tear-soaked press conference following Saturday’s playoff overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. He wasn’t present the following day to field questions about the season and the upcoming offseason, and he has yet to break his silence on Sean McDermott’s firing.
That’s in stark contrast to owner Terry Pegula, who, alongside general manager Brandon Beane, held a nearly hour-long press conference on Wednesday explaining his decision to fire McDermott and promote Beane to President of Football Operations.
While there was chaos in nearly every answer within that hour, Pegula clarified Allen’s position in helping the Bills’ front office in finding its next head coach.
Terry Pegula confirms Josh Allen will have a voice in the Bills’ coaching search
“The starting quarterback will be part of the team to help select a new coach. He’s going to be working with us. And anything else — his feelings — I want to keep that private. I don’t want this in Josh’s head. This was my decision... His personal opinion, I keep personal,” Pegula said on Wednesday.
It should come as no surprise that Allen will be involved in the decision. After all, he’s not only the starting quarterback for the Bills, he’s one of the league’s best overall players.
That said, any time a quarterback is directly involved in a coach hiring, the expectation is for the team to lean toward hiring an offensive mind. That tends to go double if the coach that was just relieved was a defensive mind, as McDermott is.
So far, the Bills have scheduled interviews with four offensive minds for their open head coach position:
- Current offensive coordinator Joe Brady
- Former New York Giants head coach and Bills OC Brian Daboll
- Washington Commanders run game coordinator and former Bills assistant and interim head coach Anthony Lynn
- Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski
While it’s early in the process, it’s equally unsurprising that the Bills have already lined up coaches that Allen is quite familiar with. Daboll is already a heavy favorite to land in Buffalo because of his ties to Allen’s early-career success.
The Bills have also scheduled interviews with defensive-minded coaches as well, with Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and Miami Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver being the first to join the candidacy pool. More are sure to follow.
As for the quarterback’s personal opinions on the entire fiasco that has been the beginning of the Bills’ 2026 offseason, it seems Bills Mafia will have to wait a while longer. Though after speaking for Beane about Keon Coleman, it’s probably for the best that Pegula didn’t speak for his quarterback, too.
Nonetheless, there’s no telling when we may hear from Allen, who is set to have a procedure performed on his injured foot this offseason.
That said, while Bills fans may have lost some faith in the front office over the past few days, the faith in Allen hasn’t waned, and at the very least, Bills Mafia can take some comfort in knowing that Allen will have some say in who his next head coach is. Considering Beane is leading the search, that would seem to take at least some of the pressure off his shoulders.