Sean McDermott was fired by the Buffalo Bills on Monday as a consequence for failing to reach the Super Bowl yet again. Though McDermott was fired, the team actually promoted general manager Brandon Beane to President of Football Operations, and will have all coaches report to him.
It’s clear that McDermott lost a power struggle within the Bills’ front office. It probably also didn’t help that he was critical of the Bills’ roster.
Veteran sports reporter Vic Carucci published an article for WGRZ on Tuesday that discussed McDermott’s firing. Carucci says that McDermott’s assessment of the Bills’ roster did not sit well with Beane nor team owner Terry Pegula.
“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,” Carucci wrote.
Considering Beane is reponsible for assembling the roster, it’s no surprise he might not have liked any criticism of the roster from McDermott. It also sounds like both Beane and Pegula felt the roster was good enough to win a Super Bowl, and that it was McDermott’s fault if the team were to fall short, which they ultimately did.
McDermott led the Bills to the playoffs eight times in his nine seasons as the Bills’ head coach. They won the division five straight years, and reached the conference championship twice. Ultimately, McDermott’s biggest fault as a coach may be that he happened to be in the same conference as a prime Patrick Mahomes during the Chiefs’ dynasty. This may have been the year for Buffalo to strike with Kansas City out of the playoffs, and it didn’t happen, leaving the fans — and front office — frustrated. Despite that, there are a lot of people unhappy with the firing.
