McDermott is now getting scapegoated for bad drafts and personnel decisions...

[LarryMadman]

43 minutes ago, DaVinci said:

7 years of playoff football not one sack.

This is in reference to the Defensive Ends specifically.

 

The WGR morning guys asked the question of who was the last DE, not any defensive player but strictly DE only, to record a sack in a playoff loss and the answer was Jerry Hughes back in 2020. 

 

So the question is why, were they coached that way or do they stink at their jobs? 

[Yobogoya!]

22 minutes ago, Gunner said:

Yep, if it was 3rd and (anything over 13 yards,) I knew the opposing team was getting the first down.

 

We all did, my friend. 

 

We all did...

[1962]

40 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

We’ll see now.  Did Beane draft guys he wanted and told McD to deal with it, or did the coach tell him what he wanted in a player and he got guys maybe he didn’t necessarily think were the right guys.

A lot of speculation about who said what and who is responsible for falling short  of the expectations Josh Allen provides. Terry Pegula has shown he’s nothing if not patient. His handling of the Sabres GM situation and their recent success probably influenced his decision on McDermott. The Bills are moving into a new stadium and with the upcoming draft getting rid of the GM would result in an unstable situation for ownership. I think Beane is on a one year prove it deal. 

[ddaryl]

Guess what... We are about to find out.

[US Egg]

The tit for tat playing out is media driven and their spouting speculation. None of it will diminish McDermott’s standing.

[May Day 10]

33 minutes ago, Walking Tall said:

All I can do is laugh at people that think Sean McDermott wasn’t heavily involved in personnel decisions.

 

 

I agree.  While yes, I would agree some accountability for the GM would have been nice (although the org would be really bare right now with Pegula going it alone)... since he was hired, McDermott has been the most influential person in the football department.  Beane was hired as an underling of McDermott in the first place.  

 

I have a lot of admiration for the way McDermott goes about his business and felt secure that the Bills were buttoned up under his leadership. I am anxious with the unknown ahead...  However, many of the issues with the build of the team should be placed at McDermott's feet. 

[KHAN]

I don't have an issue at this point in moving on from Sean.

 

I'm concerned with Beane taking total control of all things in the organization. But we're fully committed to that now. 

 

I absolutely  believe that these articles coming out so quickly painting Sean as a narcissistic control freak   are  clearly trying to scapegoat him and re-frame public opinion. 

Edited January 21 by KHAN

[Bruffalo]

25 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said:

 

We know for a fact McDermott was in charge in 2017. How did that pan out? Pretty well.

How has it been since? Bad.

 

But blame the guy who was successful...

 

We will soon see who was responsible.

There's not really enough sample size to really extrapolate anything from that.  

 

It's undeniable that McDermott was steering the ship in the direction of the team. That means identifying priorities. It's probably more pronounced with the Bills because McDermott didn't report to the GM, he reported to the owner.

[nedboy7]

Report: Terry Pegula, Brandon Beane weren’t pleased with Sean McDermott’s concerns about talent

 

The decision to fire coach Sean McDermott and to promote G.M. Brandon Beane shows that owner Terry Pegula resolved the “coaching” vs. “talent” question by concluding that the roster was good enough to get farther than the divisional round of the 2025 playoffs.

Veteran Bills reporter Vic Carucci of WGRZ.com has posted a story with a nugget that sheds more light on the internal assessment of whether McDermott had the tools he needed.

From Carucci: “I’m told that during a meeting held five weeks ago between McDermott, Beane and Pegula, the coach pointed out what the roster lacked to win a Super Bowl. I don’t know the specifics McDermott mentioned, but I’m told neither Beane nor Pegula was pleased with McDermott’s assessment.”

This is what happens when ownership views the coach and the General Manager as not being joined at the hip. If the position from the top is that both succeed or both fail, there’s never a debate about whether the G.M. has, or hasn’t, given the coach what he needs to thrive. In those situations, ownership expects them to work together.

An either-or environment opens the door to something that happens commonly during NFL games. As the coach is on the sideline, doing his job to the best of his ability, one or more people in proximity to the owner can criticize anything and everything the coach does and doesn’t do.

Those three hours per week are the most important. And the coach can’t defend himself while he’s being judged in real time by others who envision a path to saving themselves (or, as the case may be, advancing their interests) by blaming it all on the coach.

Carucci’s reporting indirectly confirms that something like this happened in Buffalo. It was two against one, and the two didn’t want to hear McDermott’s belief that he didn’t have enough talent to get the team to where others expected him to take it.

And so McDermott is gone. While the presence of quarterback Josh Allen makes the Bills job attractive, the next coach needs to take the job with eyes wide open. It’ll be on him to take the Bills over the top.

Of course, if the next coach doesn’t get it done, Beane will get some blame for hiring the wrong coach. The better approach would be for Pegula to make it clear to Beane and whomever he hires that they’ll be running a three-legged race. Either they both get to the finish line, or they both fall flat on their faces.

If the next coach will instead be the next guy to take the fall if the Bills fail, the Bills may not be able to get the best coach for the job. That’s what the Giants recently experienced in trying to hire John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh didn’t want to answer to G.M. Joe Schoen. Harbaugh wanted to have (and got) a direct pipeline to those who run the show, making it easier for him to make his case (if he feels compelled to make it) that the roster is lacking.

Of course, there’s currently no other candidate with the kind of leverage Harbaugh had. Whoever gets the job will be working for, and answering to, Beane. And if the coach concludes the roster isn’t good enough, his best move will be to keep that opinion to himself.

[T master]

Of course he is the Bills fan base has so many "Football Experts" its amazing that some of those here aren't on the list for the HCing position not only on the Bills team but many others that are looking for a HC  !! 

 

Some here are so smart when it comes to football they could have a SB in their pocket just by being hired if you ask them !! 

 

McD has always been a S**T coach just ask them they will tell you !! 

 

 

[SCBills]

This is why it’s so hard to make judgments…

 

McDermott’s Defense seems predicated upon the following:

 

Compression DE’s

 

Penetrating DT’s

 

Coverage LB’s

 

Complex Safety roles

 

As a result, Von Miller was really the only guy who broke the mold at DE … and he was a monster until he got hurt.  Everyone else of importance is an archetype of big, powerful DE’s who compress the pocket. 
 

DT’s are undersized penetrators to get pressure up the middle with a compressed pocket. 
 

LB’s are undersized to play more in coverage and shoot gaps. 
 

So who’s to blame?  The coach or the GM for finding players that fit the archetype the coach wants?   Or is Beane just doing whatever he wants and telling McD to make it work?

[djp14150]

1 hour ago, RocCityRoller said:

I started a 'Is McDermott the right coach' thread back in 2023 on another board. I think it was two years after the 13 seconds game. The team had regressed and the roster was still good, but I saw trends. No team had won a Super Bowl with a QB/HC combo after five years. I compared it to Dungy in Tampa and Reid in Philly. Back in 2021-2022 I was ok dumping the HC for his terrible playoff gaffs. Since then, the roster has regressed and the coach has been better.

 

We won't know how this plays out until McDermott goes elsewhere. It's still a successful run in many ways. Marino and Shula won 5 AFC East titles in the 1980's without winning a Super Bowl. See Elway and Reeves too, but they both made it to the Super Bowl and deserved the benefit of the doubt. Even Reid made one Super Bowl with the Eagles. As the years wore on the Marty Schottenheimer comparison (CLE/ KC) became more apt.

 

It was well past time for the Bills to move on. The chance to move on from just the HC is 1-3 years too late in my opinion. McDermott actually grew as a coach the past two seasons, and the GM regressed. The roster is not as strong as it was back in 2020-2023, and the stakes are higher now. Since that thread McDermott got to another AFC Championship game and another Divisional round. Tomlin, Harbaugh, and Zach Taylor have not done that in the same time period. This made me reevaluate my position.

 

I do think changes were needed. The old phrase is that: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Terry Pegula was too patient IMO. Changes were needed 2-3 yrs ago. Moving on from McDermott would have made sense then. That time has passed, and I think a true reevaluation and house cleaning was in order. It boggles the mind that Beane was retained, much less promoted while McDermott was fired and scapegoated. Both should have been shown the door IMO.

 

There is a growing trend here, on Reddit and other spots outlets that McDermott had all of the final say on draft picks and FA signings, so he is to blame for the weak roster. This makes no sense. I find this to be a lot of cope and of little logic. It seems like fans being fanatical and the media being dismal as usual.

 

I will reiterate McDermott was responsible for some of the early post season collapses. He should have been fired then. I thought the time to dump McDermott only was 1-3 years ago. Even then I wasn't sure if it was coaching or roster build (GM).

 

This theory of blaming McDermott for the draft and FA failures reeks of revisionist history and cronyism. I disagree wholeheartedly with it. Beane has been as big a part of these failures since 2020 as McDermott has. If we want to blame McDermott for Personnel let's look to see what if anything McDermott did before Beane, and his 'Carolina connection'. We know for certain that McDermott ran a draft and free agency period before Beane was ever signed. I think if you look at it, the assumption McDermott is the cause for personnel issues doesn't hold up to basic logic or history.

 

Example A:

In McDermott's meeting a few weeks ago with Pegula and Beane he told the owner and GM the team lacked the talent to win a Super Bowl. He alluded to it many times over the past year. Would a HC who has the final say in personnel say that to his owner if he had final say in draft picks? No he wouldn't.

 

Example B:

McDermott had ONE draft with Whaley (lame duck GM) and Whaley's scouts in 2017. This was a draft McDermott clearly did have final say in. That draft yielded Tre White, Deion Dawkins and Matt Milano. Those are three players who have been cornerstones of this team. That yielded 3 Pro Bowlers, in one draft.

 

Any draft yielding three Pro Bowlers, and an All Pro is a smashing success. The 2017 draft is one of the best in Buffalo Bills history. It was all McDermott.

 

McDermott's one (1) draft yielded 3 Pro Bowl talents. 1 on offense and 2 on defense. All still on the team in 2025. Yes White left, but he came back for the coach who drafted him.

 

Exmple C

Since then Beane has had 8 drafts (2018-2025) that have yielded 5 Pro Bowlers total. Allen, Edmunds, Knox, Cook and Teller. Wyatt Teller was cut by Beane, and made the Pro Bowl with Cleveland of all places. 4 offensive Pro Bowlers and 1 defensive Pro Bowler in eight years.

 

I know the Pro Bowl is a questionable metric, but it is a metric.

 

Do people really think that if McDermott had final say on all those Beane picks, he somehow did so much worse in eight drafts, than the one draft he had unquestionable control over???? That is beyond foolish and statistical improbability.

 

1 yr = 3 Pro Bowlers

8 yrs = 5 Pro Bowlers

 

But the 1 yr guy is the problem....

 

Eaxample D

Let's look at free agency. McDermott was also in charge of the free agency period in 2017, since Beane was hired on May 9, 2017.

 

McDermott's two big FA signings were Jordan Poyer (March 8, 2017) and Micah Hyde (March 9, 2017). They rode in a limo together and thought they were competing for the position. Both of these critical FA signings were two months before Beane was ever hired as GM of the Bills. Both players were role players on the Browns and Packers. It seems McDermott did a nice job finding mid level FAs he could coach up.

 

McDermott completely rebuilt the Bills secondary in 2017, spending a 2nd round pick and 2 mid level FA signings:

Tre White (CB): 3x Pro Bowl, Defensive Rookie of the Year (2nd place), 1x 1st team All Pro, 1x 2nd team All Pro, DPOY (5th place)

Micah Hyde (S): 2x Pro Bowl. 1x 2nd team All Pro

Jordan Poyer (S): 1x Pro Bowl, 1x 1st team All Pro

 

McDermott did that without Beane

Imagine if he could have built other units out.

 

Conclusion:

McDermott ran one draft (2017) and drafted 3 Pro Bowlers.

His FA period landed Poyer and Hyde, both Pro Bowlers and AP first or second team players.

 

Beane drafted Josh Allen and 50+ other players.

 

He has spent over a billion dollars of Pegula's money in Free agency.

He has landed 5 Pro Bowl players over 8 seasons.

 

But McDermott got fired and Beane got promoted

 

Now the narrative being promoted is that McDermott was the ring leader, and Beane was helpless in the draft and FA.

It doesn't pass the sniff test, it's total BS.

 

McDemott reached his apex here in Buffalo, he deserves some of the blame, and he should have been let go of 1-3 years ago.

On the other hand, this blame of McDermott for draft failure and FA signings is revisionist BS.

 

I do think Mczd had a lot of control than other HC do in wanting his guys. He wanted his guys from free agency.  Maybe Beane had interest in better talent guys bit Mczd didn’t like their character or didn’t fit his systems.

[C.Biscuit97]

McDermott got Leslie Fraziered

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, KHAN said:

I don't have an issue at this point in moving on from Sean.

 

I'm concerned with Beane taking total control of all things in the organization. But we're fully committed to that now. 

 

I absolutely  believe that these articles coming out so quickly painting Sean as a narcissistic control freak   are  clearly trying to scapegoat him and re-frame public opinion. 

 

Sean had the reputation for finding a scapegoat, but he got outplayed here by the Master. No question Beane should be gone if McD is gone. McD was a better HC than Beane is a GM. Beane comes off as that slimy guy in all of this to me. I’d put up with it if he’s better at his job, but he’s not. He’s just more conniving. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

1 hour ago, NORWOODS FOOT said:

Keeping Beane is no good. 
 

He drafts high floor / low ceiling guys with “leadership” qualities. 
 

He does not draft players with traits that create mismatches. 
 

He takes the “safe” road instead of dealing with complexity in pursuit of a championship. 
 

His “above average” (nothing spectacular) roster puts all of the pressure on Josh to be perfect. 
 

It’s a bull#### strategy that has given us the result we have - wasting the best years of a generational talent.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

We’ll see now.  Did Beane draft guys he wanted and told McD to deal with it, or did the coach tell him what he wanted in a player and he got guys maybe he didn’t necessarily think were the right guys.

 

Exactly, there was an article in Monday's Buff News implying that. One good point it made too, while certainly not 100% true, more of the flop draft picks and even free agency signings were on the defensive side of the ball. 

 

The other point made was the one person in the room when these picks were made was Pegula.  That may be why he dumped McD and kept Beane as he knows first hand that McD lobbied for many of these choices.  Ultimately Beane made the picks and that's why so many people nationally who don't have the inside scoop are blasting them for keeping Beane, but the picks could have been made with McD pounding the table for certain players and characteristics.

 

Add to that the fact that both McD and Beane reported to Pegula would give the coach more say in the picks than normal.

Edited January 21 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[RocCityRoller]

50 minutes ago, H2o said:

Behind ALL of the failed draft picks, he is not. Heavily involved in all of the defensive draft picks, he ABSOLUTELY has been. 

I do think he told Beane, I need a Zone CB, I need a pass rusher for my defense to work. Most HC probably do this.

 

I don't think he was telling Beane "Draft me Kaiir Elam or else" which is the narrative being floated around

30 minutes ago, LarryMadman said:

This is in reference to the Defensive Ends specifically.

 

The WGR morning guys asked the question of who was the last DE, not any defensive player but strictly DE only, to record a sack in a playoff loss and the answer was Jerry Hughes back in 2020. 

 

So the question is why, were they coached that way or do they stink at their jobs? 

or were they over drafted guys?

[uticaclub]

1 minute ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

 

 

Exactly, there was an article in Monday's Buff News implying that. One good point it made too, while certainly not 100% true, more of the flop draft picks and even free agency signings were on the defensive side of the ball. 

Most of our busts were on the defensive side of the ball because that is where we allocated most of our draft picks and FA money. Coleman & Ford were offense busts and Dalton Bandaid isn’t exactly a reliable player

[Charles Romes]

When the Bills unloaded Diggs and a bunch of vets two years ago, I thought the path to the Super Bowl with low draft picks and a max contract QB was McD performing magic on the cheap in the back 7 just like he did landing Poyer, Hyde as overlooked free agents and Milano in the fifth which the OP mentions.
 

The problem is McD the last several years was not able to bring any young defensive prospects into the fold on the cheap like he did when he first arrived in Buffalo. Supposedly McD had a great coaching year in 2025. But getting Tre, Poyer, Shaq, to play well enough to get to the playoffs should not be seen as a success when you take the long view. That these old players had to carry the load highlights that no young affordable players had been developed to take over. Also, if old Tre and Poyer not being in the field led to game changing breakdowns in the 2025 playoffs what was likely to happen in the 2026 playoffs.  

[SCBills]

3 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said:

I do think he told Beane, I need a Zone CB, I need a pass rusher for my defense to work. Most HC probably do this.

 

I don't think he was telling Beane "Draft me Kaiir Elam or else" which is the narrative being floated around

But would Beane want to extend Bernard and Rousseau?

 

Would he want to draft Landon Jackson and TJ Sanders?

 

McDermott likely told him this is what we need and these are the players/archetypes we need. 
 

Then Beane goes into the Draft with the knowledge and makes the picks he deems best, but it’s clear most of his draft picks … especially on Defensive Front 7, fit the McD archetypes. 

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

The guy got NINE seasons. That’s like a life and a half as an NFLhead coach. Do not feel bad for this man. And I guarantee he had his hands in every aspect of this organization. You don’t have to run him through the mud but the pity party has to stop