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Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and general manager/newly promoted president Brandon Beane addressed the firing of former head coach Sean McDermott during a press conference on Wednesday (January 21).
Pegula confirmed that his decision to fire McDermott "was based on" the AFC Divisional Round loss to the Denver Broncos last Saturday (January 17) and felt the team hit "the preverbal playoff wall" via ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg.
Beane, whose promotion was announced amid McDermott's firing, accepted responsibility for the team's lack of playoff success, specifically during the prime years of reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen's career.
“We have a MVP QB who just finished his 8th season here & we’ve got to help him get to the Super Bowl," Beane said via NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe. “We have to get it over the top & that starts with finding the right head coach.”
Pegula also claimed that the coaching staff pressured Beane into drafting wide receiver Keon Coleman, who has had a disappointing start to his NFL career in two seasons.
“The coaching staff pushed for Keon. He was not Brandon’s next choice. Brandon was being a team player," Pegula said via Wolfe.
McDermott was hired by the Bills in 2017 and the team has been a perennial contender for the majority of his tenure, making the playoffs eight times in nine seasons and winning the AFC East Division title five consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2024. Buffalo hasn't, however, made a Super Bowl appearance in that span, losing twice in the AFC Championship Game, four times in the AFC Divisional Game and twice in the AFC Wild Card Game.
The Bills finished the 2025 season second in the AFC East Division standings and sixth in the AFC, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-24, before a 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos this past weekend. Many believed Buffalo faced its most open run to the Super Bowl with the absence of the Kansas City Chiefs, who eliminated the Bills four times during McDermott's tenure, prior to Saturday's loss.