Sean McDermott Fired by Bills, Who Are Top Replacements to Help Josh Allen for Super Bowl Run?

The Buffalo Bills shockingly fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday after the team went 12-5 record this season and reached the AFC divisional round.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport first reported the news.

Brandon Beane has been promoted, now serving as President of Football Operations and General Manager. He will lead the search for McDermott's replacement.

Buffalo's playoff run came to an end with a 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos.

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As a consequence of making the postseason, the Bills are getting a late start to their coaching search. Other teams have already started interviewing candidates. The Atlanta Falcons confirmed their hiring of Kevin Stefanski over the weekend, while the New York Giants brought in John Harbaugh.

Buffalo will be an attractive vacancy, though, thanks to the presence of franchise quarterback Josh Allen. Moving into a new stadium next season is a sign of ownership's wider ambitions as well.

All signs point to former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin taking a year off, so he's likely off the board.

If the cliche about teams going in the opposite direction of what they had before holds true, the Bills could balk at hiring another defensive-minded coach. That will be tough when a lot of the best candidates in this cycle (Robert Saleh, Jesse Minter, Brian Flores, Jeff Hafley and Chris Shula among others) are defensive coordinators.

Former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel would fit the bill as an offense-centric option, while the Seattle Seahawks' Klint Kubiak, Los Angeles Rams' Mike LaFleur and Jacksonville Jaguars' Grant Udinski are some of the best offensive coordinators in line for a possible step up.

McDermott took over as head coach prior to the 2017 season. He led the Bills to a 9-7 record and a postseason berth in his first year in the job, though they lost in the wild-card round to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 10-3.

Nonetheless, it was the team's first trip to the playoffs since the 1999 season, and expectations in Buffalo were high.

Things altered before the 2018 campaign, though, when the Bills made significant changes to the roster, including the trade of starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns. They replaced him by signing A.J. McCarron in free agency and drafting Allen in the first round.

But McCarron struggled in training camp, battled through a shoulder injury and was eventually traded. Allen wasn't deemed ready to start, leaving Nathan Peterman as the Week 1 quarterback. That ended in disaster, as he completed just five of his 18 attempts for 24 yards against the Baltimore Ravens, throwing two interceptions.

Allen eventually replaced him and earned the starting gig going forward. However, between a reworked offensive line and a rookie quarterback, the Bills continued to struggle on their way to a 6-10 record.

But Allen's ascension to stardom—alongside seven consecutive playoff berths, six trips to the divisional round and two trips to the AFC Championship Game—seemed to have made McDermott immune to a hot seat.

Perhaps another failure to win a title changed that, however. After his firing, Buffalo will be in the market for a new head coach this offseason, joining a long list of teams in that regard.