Bills owner dives into reasoning for Sean McDermott firing, blames 'coaching' on lack of wide receiver success

The assemblage wasn't adjacent acold earlier the Buffalo Bills decided to fto spell of Sean McDermott.

The Bills fired McDermott connected Monday aft the team’s heartbreaking playoff nonaccomplishment to the Denver Broncos successful the AFC divisional round.

That loss, squad proprietor Terry Pegula said, azygous handedly outgo McDermott his job.

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Head manager Sean McDermott and proprietor Terry Pegula of the Buffalo Bills look connected anterior to a crippled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers astatine Raymond James Stadium connected Dec. 12, 2021 successful Tampa, Florida. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

"My determination to bring successful a caller manager was based connected the results of our crippled successful Denver," Pegula told reporters connected Wednesday alongside wide manager Brandon Beane.

"I looked around, archetypal happening I noticed was our backmost with his caput down crying. I looked astatine each the different players, I looked astatine their faces and our coaches, I walked implicit to Josh [Allen], helium didn't adjacent admit I was there. First happening I said to him was ‘That was a catch.’ We each cognize what I'm talking about. He didn't admit me. He conscionable sat determination sobbing. He was listless. He had fixed everything helium had to effort to triumph that game. And looking around, truthful did each the different players connected the team."

"I did not occurrence a manager based connected a atrocious officiating decision. If I tin instrumentality you into that locker room, I felt similar we deed the proverbial playoff partition twelvemonth aft year," Pegula added.

The proprietor besides made definite to enactment that Allen didn't person immoderate input astatine all" successful the decision.

"I didn't speech to Josh astir this. I talked to him afterwards, but that speech volition enactment private," Pegula said.

Buffalo Bills owner, Terry Pegula, looks connected anterior to the crippled against the Baltimore Ravens successful the AFC Divisional Playoff astatine Highmark Stadium connected Jan. 19, 2025 successful Orchard Park, New York.   (Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

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Beane was asked astir the deficiency of wide receiver success, namely successful Keon Coleman, but Pegula jumped successful and placed blasted connected "coaching" connected the archetypal prime of the 2nd circular successful 2024. Ladd McConkey was the adjacent selection.

"The coaching unit pushed to draught Keon," Pegula said. "I'm not saying Brandon wouldn't person drafted him, but helium wasn't his adjacent choice. That was Brandon being a squad subordinate and taking proposal from his coaching unit who felt powerfully astir the player. He's taken, for immoderate reason, vigor implicit it and not saying a connection astir it. But I'm present to archer you the existent story."

The decision marked different crushing stroke to McDermott’s tenure arsenic the Bills’ caput coach. McDermott took the occupation earlier the commencement of the 2017 season, and Buffalo finished nether .500 lone erstwhile since then. He helped usher the Bills to the playoffs successful 8 of his 9 seasons. The squad made the league rubric crippled doubly but ne'er got backmost to the Super Bowl.

Buffalo Bills caput manager Sean McDermott speaks astatine a quality league aft an NFL shot crippled against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, successful Detroit.  (AP Photo/Rey Del Rio)

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Many thought the Bills were a squad of destiny this year, considering Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson each did not marque the playoffs. 

Alas, Jarrett Stidham volition spell against Drake Maye for a travel to the Super Bowl.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

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