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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 rebuke from a Super Bowl champion.
Bruce Arians, who guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title during the 2020 season, ripped 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 one baffles me,” Arians said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “How Brandon Beane got elevated and Sean McDermott got fired, that just 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 you could get – couldn’t beat (Patrick) Mahomes. He didn’t throw any damn interceptions and the referees screwed him bad and he gets fired. I mean, come on man. And Brandon Beane gets a f—ing raise? I don’t get that one. That one blows my mind.”
The Bills failed to get back to the AFC Championship Game after losing to the Broncos in overtime, following a controversial interception call. The defeat marked another crushing blow to McDermott’s tenure as the 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 Jan. 17, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
BILLS QUARTERBACK’S WIFE PENS HEARTFELT SOCIAL MEDIA POST TO FIRED COACH SEAN MCDERMOTT’S FAMILY
McDermott took the job before the start of the 2017 season. Buffalo only finished under .500 once since then. He helped guide the Bills to the playoffs in eight of the nine seasons. The team made the conference title game twice but never got back to the Super Bowl.
NFL fans had confidence that the Bills could have been Super Bowl contenders going into the 2025 season. The Bills’ odds got better when their nemesis, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was lost for the season with a knee injury.
Buffalo fell short of winning the AFC East – falling 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 Jan. 26, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
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McDermott was 98-50 as the Bills’ head coach. He was 8-8 in the playoffs and only missed out on the postseason once.
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