Who Will be Buffalo Bills next Head Coach?
Summary
Sean McDermott was fired by the Buffalo Bills following another playoff loss, a move many saw as overdue given his failure to reach a Super Bowl with quarterback Josh Allen. However, owner Terry Pegula’s subsequent public support for General Manager Brandon Beane dramatically shifted perception, making the head coaching vacancy appear far less desirable due to apparent organizational dysfunction.
The leading candidate is considered to be Brian Daboll, who is familiar with the team and Josh Allen from a previous stint. Other potential options include Joe Brady or Mike McDaniel, while longshots like Bill Belichick or Mike McCarthy are deemed plausible only because the job’s diminished appeal may limit choices. Several listed candidates, like Jon Gruden, are viewed as non-starters.
Two days after losing in the AFC Divisional round 33-30 to the Denver Broncos, Sean McDermott found himself unemployed by the defeated Buffalo Bills. McDermott’s tenure in Buffalo was seen as remarkable, specifically because of what he hadn’t been able to accomplish, winning a Super Bowl, or even getting to one, with Josh Allen as his quarterback. On its surface, the news that McDermott had been let go after his latest playoff disappointment was not a surprise in spite of his 106-58 record as a head coach.
From my perspective, that morning and multiple times this season, this was probably two years too late. I would have fired McDermott last season, I thought. I texted friends and colleagues this year after certain Bills losses, especially after back-to-back losses to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, and then later to the Miami Dolphins, that I would not only have fired McDermott, but I wouldn’t have let him fly back on the team plane. It would have been Spirit Airlines for him. Frontier, if I were feeling especially generous.
Then, on Thursday, Buffalo owner Terry Pegula addressed the world and let it be known that maybe we had all judged McDermott too harshly. Maybe, just maybe, the Bills organization was pure garbage, led by the Rat King himself, Brandon Beane, and McDermott was the only thing keeping it above water.Â
Never has a league, a fanbase, and a media group ever switched up quicker than when Pegula opened his cloaca, inflated his throat sac, and spoke in support of Beane, saying things that no one on planet Earth believed for even a second.
In that moment, every criticism of McDermott, at least for me, melted away, and if I had an open head coaching job, he’d be atop my interview list. But, more importantly, the Bills’ job, which looked to be the belle of the ball after McDermott’s canning, now looks considerably less appealing. Like finding a booger wiped on the Mona Lisa.Â
Still, somebody’s got to take this gig, and now, with Pegula letting it be known that he’s a dog poop pick-up pouch and Beene the greedy fly circling it looking for a meal, the roster of potential coaches must be expanded to guys that probably wouldn’t get a look at an opportunity like this. Â
Here are the current odds and the men potentially up for the job;
Brian Daboll +150
Philip Rivers +200
Joe Brady +700
Klint Kubiak +750
Davis Webb +800
Mike McDaniel +1000
Grant Udinski +1200
Mike McCarthy +3300
Chris Shula +3300
Lou Anarumo +3300
Jon Gruden +3300
Bill Belichick +3300
First off, we’re going to go ahead and line through a few of these names right off the bat. Jon Gruden is never working in the NFL again. No one who called Roger Goodell a homophobic slur is working in the league as long as Goodell is the commissioner. It’s not happening. All the owners love Goodell, for whatever reason. He’s their golden goose. Also, and this is important to realize, Jon Gruden sucks. He’s a bad coach with a record barely over .500, mainly because he won in Tampa Bay with Tony Dungy’s players. The time he had complete control of a team, his tenure with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, he drafted multiple felons, including one guy in prison right now for vehicular manslaughter, and never finished better than 8-8. The year the Raiders fired him and replaced him with Rich Bisaccia was their only winning season in any year he was even allowed in the building.Â
Klint Kubiak and Chris Shula, after what we’ve seen from Pegula and what I’m sure is said in coaching circles around the league, probably wouldn’t take this job when there are better, more secure positions open (like the Pittsburgh Steelers). Yeah, the allure of Josh Allen might be too enticing, but Shula and Kubiak have been a part of quality organizations and owners for far too long.
Cross out Lou Anarumo (+3300) since he’s a defensive coach. If Pegula’s press conferences have told us anything other than he’s a turd person, it’s that he’s bringing in someone specifically to coach up Josh Allen. A defensive coordinator ain’t that guy. If he’s going with a young guy who would actually take the job, then he’d hire Grant Udinkski (+1200) and not Davis Webb (+800), who has only coached real football since 2023. I don’t think either guy is a serious contender here (though I’d keep a lookout for Udinski in Cleveland).
And that brings us to the guy atop the list and the dude I think will ultimately end up with the whistle, surface tablet, and commemorative tie tack, Brian Daboll (+150). He’s currently unemployed after being forcibly uncoupled from the New York Giants earlier this season. Josh Allen likes him and had his best season with Daboll calling the plays. And if the Bills’ job is a dumpster fire, Daboll is used to living in the dumpster.Â
The second most likely pick for me? Joe Brady (+700) for the same reasons that go with Daboll. He’s been there. He knows how the organization works already can maybe maneuver around Beane’s whole Grima Wormtongue act.
Outside of those guys, Mike McDaniel (+1000) has tossed his transition lenses into the ring in spite of taking the offensive coordinator position with the Los Angeles Chargers. He would probably be my first candidate outside of the building (and Bill’s family).Â
What about Philip Rivers (+200)? I can see putting him on a staff, but a head coach? After coaching a high school team? It doesn’t feel serious to me.
Lastly, I want to talk about a couple of long shots that might not be so long a shot to take, Mike McCarthy (+3300) and Bill Belichick (+3300). Belichick is obviously hurt by not only his performance as head coach at North Carolina, but the absolute clown show circus surrounding his dating and public life. I think any team, even entertaining hiring Belichick now, after all this, is ridiculous. But Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane are ridiculous. And Belichick would absolutely take the job.Â
As for McCarthy? He’s proven he can win with bad ownership in Dallas and craft a really good offense. I have badmouthed McCarthy as a head coach for years, but he was decent enough with the Cowboys. They could definitely do worse, and, frankly, if Daboll, Brady, or McDaniel turn them down, McCarthy is the man for the job.
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