BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — With Sean McDermott out as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, the person who replaces him will have a franchise quarterback to work with, and they'll be moving into a new stadium next season. They'll also have arguably the highest first-year expectations to live up to.
Here's a look at some potential head coaching candidates who 7 Sports' Matt Bové and Dom Tibbetts believe would make the most sense.
Joe Brady
Let's start with what would be the quickest and most seamless "hire," promoting Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach. Brady had immediate success when he was promoted from quarterback coach to offensive coordinator when Ken Dorsey was fired in 2023.
The offense maintained a relatively high level of success in the 2024-2025 season, marked by Josh Allen winning the NFL MVP Award at the end of it. But as we look back on this past season, Buffalo's offense was inconsistent. You could make the argument that the roster was not assembled to put the offense in the best position to succeed, but at the end of the day, the lack of points and production ultimately falls on Brady's shoulders this season. That could maybe derail his potential promotion.
His saving grace, however, could be the close relationship he has built with Allen, the team's franchise quarterback, because as we've seen, his word does hold some merit in the front office.
Brian Daboll
We think this is another easy one to talk about. The Western New Yorker served as the Bills' offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021 and helped mold Allen into becoming the franchise quarterback he is today. That relationship alone is worth a lot of consideration, knowing Allen is and will be the focal point of the organization on the player side so long as he remains in Buffalo.
In his final three seasons as offensive coordinator before taking the New York Giants head coaching job, Daboll turned the Bills offense into a top-10 unit overall and top-five in many statistical categories. Is it the most out-of-the-box hire for this organization? No. But maybe there's a sense of regret about who the team was unable to retain after the 2021 season, and President of Football Operations/General Manager Brandon Beane believes it's time to bring Daboll back home.
Klint Kubiak
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has turned the Sam Darnold-led offense into a force up in the Pacific Northwest. He is arguably the most sought-after head coach candidate in this current cycle and for good reason.
During the regular season, Seattle had the eighth-best passing offense, the 11th-best rushing offense, and third highest points per game total in the NFL. Looking at this team now in the playoffs, it's easy to see why the Seahawks are the favorites to win the Super Bowl this year.
Having a lethal receiving weapon like Jaxon Smith-Njigba has allowed Kubiak to scheme this offense to put a guy like Njigba as a front-runner for the NFL's offensive player of the year award. The only problem with Kubiak right now is that while his team is chasing a Lombardi trophy, his time to interview for jobs is very restricted, and the team has to formally request an interview. So if the Bills were to wait on him and, in the end, not hire him, they would be putting themselves into a very difficult position.
Mike Tomlin
The first thing that comes to mind as to why Buffalo would give former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin a look is that he has what the Bills organization has been chasing for so long — a Super Bowl. Tomlin has one win and two trips to the biggest game of them all.
Aside from that, Tomlin has also brought even more consistency to Pittsburgh. After all, he reigned as the team's head coach for 19 seasons. In that time, Pittsburgh went to the playoffs in 13 of the 17 seasons he was the head coach. The upside to hiring Tomlin is that it's not a massive risk that all the progress you built under nine years of Sean McDermott would unravel, given his ability to get far less talented teams to the postseason.
The counter to that argument could be that you're not really moving the needle with a guy like Tomlin, who hasn't been able to win a playoff game since 2016. This move seems like it's not aggressive enough to warrant the move to fire McDermott earlier Monday.
Marcus Freeman
Yes, you read that right. Current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. His name has popped up during this offseason's coaching searches from other organizations, and many believe his leadership qualities alone make him a prime or future head coach candidate.
To make this work, you would need to surround him with experienced NFL coordinators who can work in unison. Some names that make sense to consider for those coordinator positions would be former Bills quarterback and current Broncos pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb as the offensive coordinator. And perhaps former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce as the defensive coordinator.
It'd be a reach of a hire given the lack of NFL experience, but if Beane and the Bills ownership want to make a splash and change their approach, Freeman's hire would be fascinating to watch play out.
Mike McDaniel
If you're team "offensive-minded" head coach, Mike McDaniel, I'm sure has been a guy you've pondered about. In his first couple of years as head coach of division rival Miami, the Dolphins' offense saw lots of success, especially in 2023, when their offense was the league's best and nearly captured the AFC's two-seed until the Bills beat them in week 18 of that season.
His downfall has been partly put on his shoulders, with rumors towards the end of the 2025-2026 season that he was "losing the locker room," but also on the regression of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The thought is that if you put a once dubbed "offensive mastermind" with a quarterback of Josh Allen's capabilities, then the sky is the limit, right?
Still, the culture shock of staying in the division and having to convince a locker room full of guys who were shocked and frustrated with McDermott's firing could be an uphill battle not worth the try.
Kyle Shanahan
COACHING TRADE! With one year left on his contract, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan brings up a really interesting scenario. What if Buffalo traded for the long-time head man?
Shanahan has been the head coach in San Francisco since 2017 and, before that, had been an offensive coordinator with Washington and Houston dating back to 2008. It's hard to find a guy with this much head coaching and offensive experience all rolled into one. Would the 49ers be willing to possibly trade their head coach? And what would Buffalo have to give up in return?
It's a wacky scenario to consider, but anything is possible, and if the Bills feel like experience as a head coach is still at the forefront of things they're looking for in their new head coach, Shanahan is among the best.
The 7 Sports team and contributors Joe Buscaglia and Howard Simon discussed the topic on Monday's episode of Leading The Charge. You can watch their conversation below.
Shortly after McDermott's firing was announced, 7 Sports gave their instant reaction to the move, the retention of general manager Brandon Beane, and more. You can watch the full conversation below.
