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The Buffalo Bills’ decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott after an overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the playoffs drew a rebuke from a Super Bowl champion.
Bruce Arians, who led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title during the 2020 season, criticized the Bills organization for the move on Tuesday.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians during the NFL Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on May 1, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
“This baffles me,” Arians said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “How they promoted Brandon Beane and fired Sean McDermott, that blows my mind, because they didn’t have any damn players.
“The guy is one of the best coaches in the league and a great leader of men. He’s taken that team as close as possible – he couldn’t beat (Patrick) Mahomes. He didn’t throw any damn interceptions and the referees really screwed him over and fired him. I mean, come on man. And Brandon Beane gets a damn raise? I don’t understand that. That blows my mind.”
The Bills failed to return to the AFC Championship Game after losing to the Broncos in overtime, following a controversial interception. The loss marked another crushing blow to McDermott’s tenure as Bills head coach.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott during overtime of an AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Empower Field against the Denver Broncos at Mile High on January 17, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Image Images)
MARSHAL BILLS’ WIFE WRITES HEARTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA POST FOR THE FAMILY OF FIRED COACH SEAN MCDERMOTT
McDermott accepted the job before the start of the 2017 season. Buffalo has only finished below .500 once since then. He helped lead the Bills to the playoffs in eight of nine seasons. The team reached the conference title game twice but never returned to the Super Bowl.
NFL fans were confident that the Bills could have been a Super Bowl contender heading into the 2025 season. The Bills’ odds improved when their nemesis, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, missed the entire season with a knee injury.
Buffalo failed to win the AFC East and fell to the New England Patriots. They made the playoffs via the wild card and defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars by three points. But the loss to the Broncos ultimately doomed McDermott’s tenure as head coach.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott against the Kansas City Chiefs during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 26, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
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McDermott was 98-50 as head coach of the Bills. He went 8-8 in the playoffs and only missed the postseason once.
