If Missing the Playoffs Is What it Will Take for Change, Would You Welcome It?

[Chandler#81]

I wouldn’t go as far as untouchable, but I -and likely others, am suffering from ‘Seanitis’, a contempt-breeding familiarity condition. 
I’m sure everybody realizes neither would be unemployed long. 7 of 8 years in the playoffs and 5 straight Division titles carries a lot of weight in the League.

Both would be snapped up quickly if they desired to stay in the League, including some teams who’d fire their current HC/GM just to interview them. Personally, I don’t blame either one for our current predicament. With very rare exceptions, they acquire talented players with high character which is unusual these days.
 

We’re literally crippled by injuries and more players will likely follow in the coming weeks. There’s only so much ca$h to go around. But the infusion of good young talent -injury notwithstanding- are fine additions to the growth of the team. 
 

Theyve spoiled us is all.

[Marcus Aurelius]

One day I'll grow up and not let the poor play of the Bills affect my life.

But until then  ... 😓

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The chiefs are 5-5 and we haven’t been to a Super Bowl in 32 years. If you want us to miss the playoffs delete your profile 

[Bob in STL]

On 11/21/2025 at 9:39 AM, Kirby Jackson said:

Just an NHL team and an NFL team come with infinitely different external pressures. If you were to tally how many times in a year the word Sabres is mentioned on national TV vs. Bills, the delta will be well into the thousands. Terry can screw up the Sabres and no one notices. The entire world sees and talks on the Bills regression. He can’t hide in plain sight with this. 
 

There is no denying that he has done a bad job with the Sabres. That’s like saying though that his $200k house is in rough shape. The focus will always be on the $1M home. When the $1M home in the nicest neighborhood starts to fall apart, people notice. 

Ok.  The NFL is a bigger deal than the NHL.   Just say it that way.   Still, more than a few people notice how bad the Sabres are run.  

 

But every NFL team runs it course, and every QB MVP fades away, and every good coach gets fired or moves on.   What Terry does after this Bills team fades away might be much more Sabre-like than you care to believe, and there is evidence of not only of bad decisions but outright neglect that are in play here.  

 

[uticaclub]

On 11/21/2025 at 1:45 PM, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

The chiefs are 5-5 and we haven’t been to a Super Bowl in 32 years. If you want us to miss the playoffs delete your profile 

No one wants to miss the playoffs, but it's obvious at this point that Beane & McDermott will NEVER build a Championship caliber roster.

[Lost]

1 minute ago, uticaclub said:

No one wants to miss the playoffs, but it's obvious at this point that Beane & McDermott will NEVER build a Championship caliber roster.

 

They're good at getting the band back together though 😂

 

Nothing spells championship like bringing back guys who already played here and weren't good enough, but are now 3 years older and slower.  

[Budkin]

Absolutely. And at this point the worst case is for us to squeak into the playoffs just to save these bozos jobs.

[Kirby Jackson]

28 minutes ago, Bob in STL said:

Ok.  The NFL is a bigger deal than the NHL.   Just say it that way.   Still, more than a few people notice how bad the Sabres are run.  

 

But every NFL team runs it course, and every QB MVP fades away, and every good coach gets fired or moves on.   What Terry does after this Bills team fades away might be much more Sabre-like than you care to believe, and there is evidence of not only of bad decisions but outright neglect that are in play here.  

 

Fair. Locally, people know about the disaster of the Sabres. The pressure though can only be so big when it’s Paul Hamilton and Marty Biron talking about them for an hour a day. It’s local and secondary. That was the point. There’s no denying that he has completely messed that up. Look at the LaFontaine situation.
 

We just don’t know what will happen here. Josh has covered for a lot of mistakes. Does Terry feel the urgency to win in Josh’s window? He should. Josh also has the power to end this. He has virtually equal power. If he goes to Terry and says he wants something different, he gets it. He’s at that stature that some reach. It’s the LeBron scenario. Maybe Terry doesn’t want to dump them but Josh can 100% make that happen. I don’t see him ever saying anything publicly but could certainly say that privately. 
 

Terry is facing more pressure in this situation than in any that he has faced. It’s a different pressure. It’s also a lot broader. We will see how he handles it but it’s not comparable to keeping Kevyn Adams.

[Aesop]

I voted No and for McD and Beane to stay.

[harmonkillebrew]

I'm not giving up on playoffs yet, particularly b/c there are young, unproven teams that I think we could beat. The road to the SB will not go through KC this year.

We need to rally, get in, and go on a run. 

 

But, if they fail in the playoffs, I'm ready to see some changes. 

[H2o]

We are 7-4 and could still lose 4 or 5 of the next 6 games. At best, I think we go 11-6. At worst, we end up 8-9. If 8-9 is what it takes to clean house, then I'll take 8-9 so we clean house. 

[LabattBlue]

14 minutes ago, H2o said:

We are 7-4 and could still lose 4 or 5 of the next 6 games. At best, I think we go 11-6. At worst, we end up 8-9. If 8-9 is what it takes to clean house, then I'll take 8-9 so we clean house. 

The best you could hope for with an 8-9 finish is new coordinators.  It would take a LOT more for McD & BB to be kicked to the curb.  

[folz]

Just seeing this thread now. Wow, I guess I really am a Homer in that 82% of the fans in this poll seem to want Beane and McD gone and are willing to sacrifice/miss the playoffs in order to do so. Believe me, I understand the frustration with the team right now, but I can't ever imagine not wishing to make the playoffs, especially with Josh Allen at QB.

 

A few of my still optimistic thoughts:

1. It's never as bad as it seems, and it's never as good as it seems (and that goes not just for the Bills, but for all of the teams in the league).

2. We have had slumps in the middle of seasons before and come out of them. And despite the slump and the WR room, we are still 6th in points scored and the #1 rushing team.

3. I'm not basing any opinions on the Houston game: Thursday night games are always bad/struggles, always weird and more injuries. We were on a short week and on the road against the #1 defense in the NFL (playing for their season/playoff lives basically), and with a number of injuries. I'll wait a week or two before assuming that is how our team will look for the rest of the year vs. every other opponent.

4. I honestly believe that if it weren't for some very bad refereeing, we would have made the Super Bowl last year (flame me all you want for that, I just believe it to be so---there were a number of videos at the time pointing it out. It wasn't just the 4th down they didn't give Josh, it was all game). Maybe we don't win vs. Philly, but I think we would have been more competitive than K.C. was at least.

5. Since Mahomes has been starting (2018---7 years), Kansas City has prevented 17 teams from reaching or winning a Super Bowl. Just sucks that we were 4 of those teams. But, let's not pretend that having an all-time team in your conference that is also the darling of the NFL isn't a factor.

6. It is really hard to maintain consistent success in the NFL. There will be ups and downs---turnover, players aging out, injuries, contracts, free agency, having to pay a franchise QB, etc., etc. Yet, the Chiefs and  Bills are the only teams to make the playoffs in each of the last 6 seasons (K.C. is on a 10-year run). Since the start of free agency and salary caps in the early '90s, only 4 other teams have made the post-season more than 6 times in a row. Yes, I understand it is because of the QBs, but they still have to have a good team around them. Sean Payton missed the playoffs 6 of 15 seasons (40%) with Drew Brees as his QB (for example).

7. We are still going to make the playoffs this year. And as we all know, the playoffs are a new season. Anything can happen...and the AFC is still pretty wide open (meaning I think the Bills could beat or lose to any of the prospective playoff teams, but none of them scare me...makes me think we wouldn't have a chance). 

 

One game season going forward. Just beat Pitt on Sunday. If so, we are 2 games up on both Pitt and Balt, with a head-to-head victory over each. Chiefs don't have an easy road (Cowboys, Texans, Chargers up next). Houston still has to play the Colts twice, the Chiefs, and the Chargers. Jax still has Colts twice and the Broncos. Plus, some of those teams will be giving each other losses. We're still in good position...it will just be from a wild card spot this year. [Do division titles still seem irrelevant now, as I have heard argued so often?] 

 

Just trying to keep some hope alive.

 

I get it, some of you are done with the current regime and have been done for a while and save a Super Bowl win this year, your position is pretty firm. I'm just at a point of, it doesn't look good right now, but let's see how it plays out first. I know, that's what we homers say every year...but it still makes sense to me. If we go on a run, great for all of us. If we crash and burn somehow (miss the playoffs, lose bad in the playoffs or to an inferior opponent), maybe the last of us Homers will be sliding over to your side.

[SectionC3]

I’ve settled on Beane, Brady, and the S/C staff being the fall guys for McD if this year goes south.  
 

Sean is a self-preservationist.   He’s blamed a DC, an ST coach, a couple of OCs, and Jerry Hughes.   To date, the front office hasn’t been a target.  So I suspect he’ll pin this year on the roster (both pro and college player personnel), the OC, and s/c.  On their faces, they’re all reasonable scapegoats.  But rest assured blame won’t fall on the  HC.  

Edited 2 hours ago by SectionC3

[Success]

18 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

The best you could hope for with an 8-9 finish is new coordinators.  It would take a LOT more for McD & BB to be kicked to the curb.  

 

On that point, I will take new coordinators all day.  

 

One thing I have never  understood - we have a QB like Allen, and we  promote from within on the coordinators, instead of hiring experienced, proven & successful candidates.  Which we obviously could.

 

I'm okay w/ McD as HC/culture guy, IF we have top-tier coordinators running the offense & defense.

 

All of that said, in no way do I want to lose more games to see if that happens. I hope we win out and still grab the 1 seed.

 

[Nephilim17]

Allen is 30 next season. If not now, when?

Roster management: too many bloated contracts for underperforming free-agents and re-signed players, and too many underperforming top picks. Some good players but not nearly enough elite ones to win it all.

Coaching: In the history of the NFL, McD and Josh winning together would be an outlier. Could still happen but I don't like betting on historical outliers.

Edited 1 hour ago by Nephilim17

[Buffalo ill]

I would ideally want both to go.  I voted Bean, because of the dumpster fire roster and the big contracts for always injured underperforming players.

 

Now I may cut McDermott (some) slack if Bean is the one giving him these lemons.  But if Bean makes his decisions based on what McDermott tells him to do (aka more of a puppet) then they both need to go.

[zow2]

Honestly, the only people that *want* to miss the playoffs for the sake of change are just trying to make themselves feel better in the event the Bills choke and don't get in.

[gomper]

I'm only speaking for myself.  They have gone as far as this regime will take them. You can't neglect helping your generational talent.  You can't keep missing on high draft picks that you need to replenish the roster on friendly contracts.  You can't continually overpay FA that have minimal impact.  You can't have a Coach who over and over again displays horrible game management. 

 

I appreciate the culture change and both of them pulling the organization out of the abyss.  Thank you but no one wants Marvin Lewis 2.0. 

 

Blow it up. They will have their pick of quality candidates.  With Josh, it's an attractive job.

[BillsShredder83]

On 11/21/2025 at 6:55 AM, Gugny said:

Is this regime really untouchable?

 

Missing the playoffs might be the only thing to precipitate real change. 
 

Is that a reasonable sacrifice?

100%. Also nice little jump start on the "re-tooling". We wouldn't pick any further out than #18 i believe.

 

Sounds silly, but we absolutely need the talent infusion 

 

For reference 

Egbuka went 19th.

 

McMillan went 8th if we were looking at an expensive trade up. That dude mightve put us in the Super Bowl this year.

 

Yes I fully understand each drsft is different... just giving some context

 

Nic Scourton went #51 overall, which is just passed the missed playoff barrier....

 

Will Johnson a bit higher at #47.

 

Its such a different talent pool that we don't have access to!!

Edited 12 minutes ago by BillsShredder83