They fired Sean McDermott because Bills ownership felt the team had plateaued under him and repeatedly failed to reach the Super Bowl despite strong regular‑season success and having Josh Allen at quarterback. The most recent playoff collapse against the Denver Broncos was viewed as a blown opportunity and became the final straw.

Quick Scoop: What Happened

  • The firing came two days after a 33–30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round, a game many in the organization believed was there to be won with better in‑game decisions.
  • Team leadership felt there were “several” chances to close out that game and that coaching decisions, not just officiating, cost them a realistic shot at advancing.
  • Internally, the message was that coming close wasn’t enough anymore; nearly a decade in, ownership no longer believed McDermott could get them over the hump to a Super Bowl.

Big Picture Reasons

  • Super Bowl standard, not just playoffs : McDermott turned Buffalo into a consistent contender with nine seasons, multiple playoff wins, and one of the best stretches in team history, but never made a Super Bowl despite seven straight years with playoff victories.
  • Wasted “best window” : This particular season was seen as one of the Bills’ clearest paths to a title, with some top AFC rivals already out; losing to Denver at home in that context amplified frustration.
  • Stagnation narrative : Around the league the sense was that the Bills had reached their ceiling under McDermott; close, competitive, but not evolving enough in big spots to break through.

The Denver Game Fallout

  • McDermott publicly called out the officiating after the overtime loss, especially a controversial Josh Allen interception ruling, but inside the building the feeling was that the team still had enough chances to win regardless of calls.
  • Reports say ownership and some in the front office believed game management and situational coaching in that matchup undercut one of Buffalo’s best shots at a conference title game in years.

How Fans And Media Are Framing It

  • Local and national discussion paints it less as a single‑game overreaction and more as a culmination: multiple narrow playoff exits (often by a field goal) all stacked on McDermott’s ledger.
  • Talk shows and columns have framed it as Pegula choosing to ride with GM Brandon Beane’s long‑term roster vision while deciding that McDermott was no longer the right sideline voice to maximize it.

Bottom Line

Sean McDermott wasn’t fired because he was a bad coach; he was fired because, in the Bills’ view, he became the coach who could get them close, but not all the way, and the Denver playoff loss crystallized that belief.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.