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The body wasn’t even cold before the Buffalo Bills decided to let go of Sean McDermott.
The Bills fired McDermott on Monday after the team’s heartbreaking playoff loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC divisional round.
That loss, team owner Terry Pegula said, single-handedly cost McDermott his job.
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Head coach Sean McDermott and owner Terry Pegula of the Buffalo Bills before the Buccaneers game at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 12, 2021, in Tampa, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
“My decision to bring in a new coach was based on the results of our game in Denver,” Pegula, alongside general manager Brandon Beane, told reporters on Wednesday.
“I looked around, first thing I noticed was our quarterback with his head down crying. I looked at all the other players, I looked at their faces and our coaches, I walked over to Josh [Allen], he didn’t even acknowledge I was there. First thing I said to him was ‘That was a catch.’ We all know what I’m talking about. He didn’t acknowledge me. He just sat there sobbing. He was listless. He had given everything he had to try to win that game. And looking around, so did all the other players on the team.”
“I did not fire a coach based on a bad officiating decision. If I can take you into that locker room, I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall year after year,” Pegula added.
The owner also made sure to note that Allen “didn’t have any input at all” in the decision.
“I didn’t talk to Josh about this. I talked to him afterwards, but that conversation will stay private,” Pegula said.
Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula before the AFC divisional playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium on Jan. 19, 2025, in Orchard Park, New York. (Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
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Beane was asked about the lack of wide receiver success, namely in Keon Coleman, but Pegula jumped in and placed blame on “coaching” on the first pick of the second round in 2024. Ladd McConkey was the next selection.
“The coaching staff pushed to draft Keon,” Pegula said. “I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice. That was Brandon being a team player and taking advice from his coaching staff who felt strongly about the player. He’s taken, for some reason, heat over it and not saying a word about it. But I’m here to tell you the true story.”
The defeat marked another crushing blow to McDermott’s tenure as the Bills’ head coach. McDermott took the job before the start of the 2017 season, and Buffalo finished under .500 only once since then. He helped guide the Bills to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons. The team made the conference title game twice but never got back to the Super Bowl.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott speaks at a news conference after the Lions game, Dec. 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)
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Many thought the Bills were a team of destiny this year, considering Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson all did not make the playoffs.
Alas, Jarrett Stidham and the Broncos will go against Drake Maye and the New England Patriots for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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