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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is being called out after the team fired Sean McDermott as head coach.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will have a new head coach for the 2026-27 season after letting go of head coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons with the team. The franchise made the announcement on Monday, January 19, following the team’s loss on Saturday, January 17, 33-30 in overtime to the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High.
“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team,” owner Terry Pegula said of the action in a statement. “I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he showed for this team and the community. I wish Sean, Jamie and his family all the best.”
The Buffalo Bills also announced that Brandon Beane will serve as the president of football operations and general manager of the Buffalo Bills. He’ll be tasked with helping to hire the team’s next head coach. “I have full faith in and have witnessed Brandon’s outstanding leadership style and have confidence in his abilities to lead our organization,” Pegula said.
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills Under Fire
Allen is getting some pushback after the firing of McDermott. One former NFL quarterback even goes so far to say that Allen was really the problem, not the coach.
Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton shared his thoughts on the move on “First Take.”
“Why are we tiptoeing around the obvious issue here, and it’s the underperforming Josh Allen… this was supposed to be his year,” he said on the program.
Newton also implied that McDermott may have lost his job because of Allen’s turnovers. “Out of all the turnovers, the worst turnover for me was the one right before the half, because it was a 10-point swing right there,” he said. “And now, how much did you lose by? Three points.”
Newton continued, “For as great as Josh Allen is, he has not showed the clutch gene that we judge the quarterbacks off of. In order to be a great player, and this is coming from a guy who did not do this all the time, we judge players off this metric.”
Buffalo Bills Fans React to Sean McDermott’s Firing
McDermott leaves the Buffalo Bills with a 98-50 regular-season record, according to NFL research. He took the team to the playoffs in eight of nine seasons and won double-digit games in each of the past seven seasons. But, he’s never taken them to the Super Bowl. He also finishes his run with an 8-8 postseason record.
Comments online were all over the place, some supportive and some not so much.
“Well that’s odd. I’d argue their roster construction was a bigger issue than coaching,” one said. “My guess is that they have a pretty good idea who they want,” another added. “He should be fired by providing Josh Allen zero weapons over the past multiple years,” one more said.
“So dumb. Brandon wouldn’t know football if one hit him in the back of the head,” another said. “They fired the wrong person,” another commented. “My question is who do they think they’re gonna hire who’s better?” another said. “At what point is your quarterback at fault.”
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
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