On Monday morning, Jan. 19, alerts flooded the sports world.
Head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott, had been dismissed from his duties.
He had been the coach for nine seasons, during which he turned the franchise into a consistent playoff contender. McDermott also helped end the Bills’ significant 17-year playoff drought, helping the team reach the postseason in his first year. The most notable aspect was that the head coach was released, yet the general manager received a promotion.
The release of the news shocked everyone, especially the NFL’s most recognizable fanbase, Bills Mafia.
For a struggling franchise that had now seen postseason success, despite not reaching the Super Bowl, the release of their head coach was the last thing fans expected. Most people went to social media to post about their shock and disappointment with the now-removed coach.
Polls took place where fans were voting on whether they agreed on the coaching change, with the majority voting “No.” With opinions erupting from the fanbase and other NFL fans, nothing went more south for the franchise, than the press conference that took place two days later.
On Jan.21, Bills owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane held a presser that would not be forgotten. As Pegula does not normally interact with the media, fans soon found out why.
The interview started with Pegula thanking McDermott for his success with the Bills. He then goes into what influenced his decision to release their coach, mentioning the experience he encountered in the locker room following the Bills’ loss to Denver the previous Saturday. The first thing he noticed was their star quarterback and reigning MVP, Josh Allen. Pegula mentions him visibly upset and in tears until he tells his quarterback, “That was a catch.”
For those who are curious, the controversial play he is talking about happened in overtime with approximately 7:50 left on the clock. Allen threw a deep ball to wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who went up for the ball along with Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillian. The two ended up rolling over each other, before McMillian appeared to come up with the ball. The play was later ruled an interception, and the Broncos would go on to kick a game-winning field goal eliminating the Bills for another unsuccessful post-season.
The next think Terry states in the press conference are the numbers,“5, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 6.” The owner then elaborated on how these were the seed numbers for the Bills in the last seven postseasons. This shows the success of the team and their ability to return to the playoffs consistently in such a competitive league.
The reporters jumped on this fact immediately, with the first reporter asking “Why would you fire a coach based on a bad officiating decision?” Pegula then responds with, “I did not fire a coach based on a bad officiating decision.” He later added to his statement saying,” Where do we go from here from what we have?”
This showed his course of action and how he wants to improve the team as they struggle when led to big stage games.
Following this, discussion of Bills receiver Keon Coleman comes up, which only adds fuel to the fire for fans. A reporter asks the two about the decision to bring in the player and the reasoning they had for why they drafted him.
Pegula took over the answering portion, stating “That coaching staff pushed to draft Keon. I’m not saying Brandon wouldn’t have drafted him, but he wasn’t his next choice.”
This said by the owner of an organization about one of their current players. Bills fans were fuming. Coleman has since been on multiple teams’ watch lists to pick up in the offseason as the relationship and drive to play in Buffalo has most likely declined following that statement.
As if this could not get more frustrating for fans, the call that ended their season was brought up again.
A reporter asks Brandon, “At the trade deadline you said that you felt the team had a championship roster. What in your mind led to the group falling short of that?” Beane would attempt to answer, but not before Pegula interrupts him, repeating “A bad call!”
This one call is yet again brought up, leading to the eventual firing of their head coach. This call that Pegula says did not influence his decision and instead was the environment in the locker room after the loss. Fans are dissatisfied with this explanation after their owner talked about their success and what McDermott brought to the franchise. Yet, he repeatedly mentions the call that did not go their way and then the firing of the coach.
In addition, their franchise quarterback is often mentioned as he is the leading figure on the team.
A reporter asks him if he talked to their quarterback, and all he responds with is, ”Didn’t talk to Josh [Allen] about this. I talked to him afterwards.”
This is yet another point that upset fans, as their owner never consulted with their most beloved player about the removal of his coach. A pair that had great success , unfortunately, had to end after their eighth season together.
The 2026 season has not gone according to plan for Bills fans. With the postseason exit and now the search for a new head coach, they may as well be hitting the reset button. The search for the new Bills coach has already started with any candidate on the table. Bills Mafia eagerly awaits the reveal of their next head coach; however, questions still linger about their previous one.
If the play were ruled a catch, would McDermott still be in Buffalo?