Sources: Bills fire coach Sean McDermott, former Eagles DC and La Salle High alum
McDermott transformed the Bills into a perennial winner but was knocked for failing to make a Super Bowl appearance.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills fired Sean McDermott on Monday, two people with direct knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press.
The move came two days after the Bills were eliminated in a heart-wrenching 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.
McDermott’s tenure ends after nine seasons in which he transformed the franchise into a perennial winner but was knocked for failing to make a Super Bowl appearance. Buffalo became the NFL’s first team to win a playoff round in seven consecutive years but not reach the Super Bowl.
The 51-year-old McDermott finished with a 98-50 regular-season record and was 8-8 in the playoffs, ranking second on the team list in wins behind Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy (112-70, 11-8). Levy did so over 11 seasons during a tenure that included the Jim Kelly-led team reaching — and losing — four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s.
McDermott’s failure to reach the Super Bowl with Josh Allen at quarterback became his undoing. Though Allen has broken many of Kelly’s passing and scoring records, the Bills have advanced to the AFC championship game just twice — and lost both to Kansas City — during a team-record seven-year playoff run.
A wrestling and football star at North Penn and La Salle College High School, McDermott spent the first 12 years of his NFL coaching career with the Eagles in a variety of roles, including defensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010.