Two days after the Buffalo Bills stunned the NFL by firing longtime coach Sean McDermott, the team’s list of candidates to replace him is already taking shape.
The Bills plan to interview Buffalo offensive coordinator Joe Brady, former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Washington Commanders run game coordinator and running backs coach Anthony Lynn, according to league sources. Daboll and Anarumo are the first candidates scheduled for in-person interviews.
Bills GM Brandon Beane said in a news conference Wednesday that the Bills’ list is still growing, and includes candidates on some of the four teams that are playing in conference championship games on Sunday, whose staffers cannot interview for head coaching jobs this week. Beane also said quarterback Josh Allen, the reigning MVP, will have input in the process.
When Bills owner Terry Pegula announced McDermott’s firing, he said in a statement that Beane would be promoted to president of football operations and would lead the search for a new head coach.
Daboll, a Western New York native, served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator from 2018 through 2021, coinciding with Allen’s rise to superstardom. He went 20-40-1 in more than three seasons as the Giants’ coach. He is also a candidate for multiple offensive coordinator jobs, and league sources said he is expected to land with the Tennessee Titans as new coach Robert Saleh’s offensive coordinator if he isn’t hired by the Bills.
Brady has been the Bills’ offensive coordinator since taking over for Ken Dorsey near the end of the 2023 season. Buffalo finished in the top 10 in yards and scoring the last two seasons and Brady helped Allen win his only MVP award in 2024, although the offense at times struggled with inconsistency this season. Brady has interviewed for several other head coaching positions this month, as has Anarumo, who coordinated the Colts defense this season after six years with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Udinski, who is only a few months older than Allen, helped transform the Jaguars from a 4-13 team to a 13-4 division winner that nearly beat the Bills in the wild-card round. Weaver, 45, is also a head coaching candidate in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and elsewhere. Lynn, 57, was 33-31 in four years coaching the Los Angeles Chargers. He spent two seasons in Buffalo under Rex Ryan, serving as interim head coach in the final game of the 2016 after Ryan was fired.
The Bills have reached the divisional round of the playoffs in six straight seasons and made the playoffs eight times in nine seasons under McDermott, but failed to advance to a Super Bowl. McDermott was fired after a crushing loss to the Denver Broncos that left Allen and other players in tears.
