4 Sean McDermott replacements Bills can hire to get Chiefs monkey off their back
The Buffalo Bills' season ended in painfully familiar fashion — with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round. Buffalo has now lost to Kansas City in three of the last four postseasons. The one exception is 2022, when the Cincinnati Bengals dethroned Buffalo.
Now, the Bills approach a pivotal juncture as an organization. Can Buffalo justify running it back? Nobody can deny the Bills were close. If a couple plays go the other way, maybe Buffalo wins. That's the way of the sport. But, in the end, the Bills lost to the Chiefs. It's a persistent problem. Until Buffalo can excise their Kansas City demons, there's no way for Josh Allen to deliver a Super Bowl to one of the NFL's most loyal fanbases.
Coaches are the natural scapegoat when a team comes up short. Sean McDermott has done a tremendous job in Buffalo. On the whole, he is 73-41 across seven years as head coach. He has one losing season to six winning seasons. The longtime defensive coordinator has earned his spot in the NFL head coaching hierarchy.
And yet... the Bills have to consider shaking it up after yet another bitterly disappointing end to the season. The definition of insanity, and such. There's always downside risk to firing an undeniably competent head coach, but there's also a chance it's the change that pushes Buffalo over the top.
If the Bills decide to axe McDermott in their pursuit of a different postseason outcome. Buffalo would immediately become the most desirable job on the market. Here are the four strongest candidates
4. Bills can hire Texans OC Bobby Slowik
What's life without a little risk? Firing the immensely experienced and accomplished Sean McDermott in favor of a 36-year-old coach with one year of coordinator experience would certainly qualify as bold. It could also be the move that launches Buffalo to the top of the NFL pecking order.
Bobby Slowik is the engineer behind the Houston Texans' balanced offensive attack. He is not "responsible" for C.J. Stroud's magical rookie season, but it's hard to separate the rookie's poise and penchant for execution from the play-caller who guided his way. Slowik's creativity is undeniable. He is a branch from the Kyle Shanahan tree, which will always garner extra attention, and he helped Houston host (and win) a postseason game with a rookie quarterback. The Texans were 3-13 last season, folks. Not to look at their coordinators would be malpractice.
It's clear Slowik knows how to maximize elite arm talent. He would be able to dive deep into his bag of tricks with Josh Allen at the controls. There isn't a more dynamic quarterback talent in the NFL outside of, well, Kansas City. For as great as Stroud was (and is going to be), Slowik could level up with Allen's experience and dual-threat ability.
Maybe Buffalo should prioritize a more experienced head coach (or even coordinator) when it comes to replacing McDermott. It's hard to know how Slowik will handle the sudden surge in responsibilities. Not every great play-caller is a great head coach. That said, Slowik has certainly earned consideration from every team with an opening.