BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — As the Buffalo Bills begin their search for a new head coach, it’s only fair to give Sean McDermott some much-deserved praise.
After nine years in Buffalo, McDermott leaves the Bills in a far better place than he found them.
“To the fans, we as a family look forward to being part of this great city and this passionate fanbase,” McDermott said as he was introduced on January 13, 2017. “This is our type of town. We look forward to making Buffalo our home.”
For nine years, that’s what the McDermotts did. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger advocate for Buffalo than the Bills' head coach. He learned what the team means to the community in his first season as head coach, as he led the Bills to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
“I appreciated the opportunity, but that's when it hit me, that's when it hit my heart, was when I saw the reaction when we made the playoffs,” McDermott said during an interview prior to the 2025 season. “We're here for a reason, you know, and it'sgoes well beyond the football field.”
But the on-field success mattered too. In his nine seasons with the Bills, McDermott boasted an impressive 98-50 record in the regular season. In the playoffs, he was 8-8. He led the Bills to five consecutive AFC East Division titles and eight trips to the playoffs in nine seasons. When asked before the 2025 season about what he was most proud of, McDermott had a simple answer.
“Changing the narrative on Buffalo. That is honestly probably the No. 1 thing for me.”
Although McDermott was never able to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo, his tenure in Orchard Park was certainly a success. And it’s fitting that his final press conference was just like his first one: defending a community that has fallen short so many times.
