NFL Rumors: Bills' Sean McDermott Job Security Eyed by Insiders After Texans Loss

The AFC East has already seen one head coach get fired, with Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills potentially moving onto the hot seat in the wake of Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans.

Per ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, people around the league have been sending text messages asking about McDermott's job security as potential head-coaching candidates start looking ahead to positions that might come open.

Graziano did note that no one within the Bills organization has said anything about McDermott's long-term status, but there is outside speculation he "could be in trouble" if they continue to come up short in the playoffs.

The idea of McDermott even being talked about on the hot seat two weeks ago seemed foolish. The Bills were 3-0 after a dominant 47-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football. Josh Allen looked like he was on his way to an MVP season.

Fast forward to now, the Bills have had two ugly losses where the flaws of this roster have really stood out. The defense gave up 271 yards rushing in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4.

Sunday's loss to the Texans saw Allen finish 9-of-30 passing, giving him the worst completion percentage by any quarterback in a game with at least 30 attempts in the last 30 seasons.

But it wasn't Allen's lackluster performance that proved to be the biggest story of the day. After the Texans pinned Buffalo's offense at its own three-yard line in a tie game with 32 seconds remaining, McDermott decided to call three straight pass plays rather than try to run the ball to at least get Houston to use its three timeouts.

All three high-difficulty throws fell incomplete, forcing the Bills to punt from their own end zone. The Texans got possession at the Buffalo 46, completed a short pass for five yards to set up manageable field goal attempt. Ka'imi Fairbairn's attempt from 59 yards was good as time expired to give Houston the win.

There is no guarantee the Bills win the game if it gets to overtime, but the situational awareness and clock management on that final possession were baffling.

After their red-hot start to the season, the Bills find themselves in position where they could fall out of first place in the AFC East by the end of Week 6.

Buffalo will play the New York Jets, who fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football.

McDermott comes from a defensive background, but the Bills defense is really being picked apart right now. They have allowed 852 total yards in the past two games after allowing 860 yards in the first three games combined.

The 50-year-old McDermott is in his eighth season as Bills head coach. He has a 76-43 record and six playoff appearances, but they have lost in the Divisional Round in each of the past three years after reaching the AFC Championship Game during the 2020 season.