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Bills fire Sean McDermott after latest playoff failure

By Thomson Reuters Jan 19, 2026 | 9:42 AM

Sean McDermott was fired as head coach of the Buffalo Bills on Monday.

McDermott, 51, went 98-50 in the ‍regular season with eight additional playoff wins and eight losses in nine seasons as coach of the Bills.

His final game was another playoff heartbreaker, losing 33-30 in overtime at ‌Denver on Saturday.

McDermott and quarterback ‌Josh Allen have not reached a Super Bowl but held the lead in the fourth quarter against the Broncos in the divisional playoff defeat ​on Saturday. It was the fourth playoff loss since 2022 in which ‍the Bills lost despite ​leading in the fourth quarter.

Allen has ​the most career wins (eight) and starts (15) in ‍the playoffs by any quarterback who has never started in the Super Bowl.

The Bills became the 10th team to make a coaching change since the end of ‍the 2025 regular season. The New York Giants hired John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski was named ‍head coach ‍of the Atlanta Falcons, leaving ​eight vacancies.

McDermott led the Bills ​to ⁠five consecutive AFC East titles from ‌2020-24.

ESPN reported that Buffalo is retaining general manager Brandon Beane, who will lead the search for a new coach as the Bills prepare to debut their new stadium in 2026.

–Field ⁠Level Media