For 17 years, the Buffalo Bills were seen as a laughingstock by organizations like the New York Jets. Their playoff drought was one of the longest in NFL history – a far cry from the four Super Bowls they attended in the 1990s.

But then, the hiring of one man flipped everything.

Sean McDermott’s rise to prominence as Buffalo’s head coach turned around the organization from the moment he set foot in Western New York. In his nine years at the helm, he reached the playoffs eight times, posting an 8-8 record in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Jets fans have been forced to watch their team become what the Bills were during the pre-McDermott era.

Following Buffalo’s most recent playoff loss, a 33-30 overtime defeat to the Denver Broncos, the organization made the shocking decision to fire McDermott. In their minds, the head coach took the team as far as he could.

McDermott’s firing has sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. For an AFC East rival in the Jets, the decision will impact them in more ways than one.

Buffalo’s odd front office decision points to instability

It wasn’t just McDermott’s future that the Bills decided on. The organization promoted general manager Brandon Beane to President of Football Operations. He will have full control of the next head coach in Buffalo.

For an executive like Beane, who has drafted just three Pro Bowlers outside of Josh Allen since 2018, the promotion is a surprise.

In many ways, the Bills reaching the postseason as consistently as they have could be attributed more to McDermott than to the executive, with Beane’s poor free-agent and draft record holding the organization back.

An organization willing to part ways with a head coach but not the general manager points to instability. It suggests that the ownership group may not have confidence in the team’s process and is willing to roll the dice on a coaching change because that’s the easiest excuse to make.

Make no mistake, though. The promotion of Beane, after a dismal draft and free agency record of busts and disappointments, will not be ignored by top coaching candidates.

Jets have another defensive coordinator candidate

This seems like a no-brainer, but it would behoove the Jets to gauge McDermott’s interest in potentially returning as a defensive coordinator next season. He reportedly already stated his willingness to continue coaching.

Would he be comfortable going back to a coordinator role?

Even if that answer turns out to be a yes, it’s hard to envision McDermott willingly coming to the Jets – even with a chance to spurn the Bills for firing him.

That doesn’t mean the Jets shouldn’t inquire, though. New York remains open to finding the right kind of person to call their defense after a horrific season that saw the defense post historically bad numbers in multiple categories.

It is unlikely that Gang Green could entice McDermott to join them, but that shouldn’t stop them from checking in.

Bills will have a worse head coach

Whenever a consistent playoff-contending coach gets fired like this, there’s one looming question for the team to answer:

Can they get an upgrade?

When it comes to McDermott, the Bills need to find a head coach who can do better than 98 wins and eight playoff victories. They need to find someone who can consistently field solid-to-elite defenses while also getting the most out of an MVP-caliber quarterback.

For as enticing a job as this will be, there’s a good chance the Bills will get a downgrade as their head coach. That will, obviously, be great news for the Jets, especially if the new coach ends up cratering Buffalo’s playoff window and doesn’t get the same play from Allen as before.

That will eventually lead to the next point.

A disgruntled QB?

It’s hard to foresee a situation in which the Jets can be competitive as long as Josh Allen and Drake Maye are in the division for their respective teams. The Bills’ inability to go deep in the playoffs notwithstanding, their quarterback remains elite.

He’s also someone who has had one coach throughout his entire career, only to see that man removed due to not winning a Super Bowl. Fair or not, that can lead to resentment for any player, not just a quarterback.

Already, Bills players are speaking out against the decision. While Allen isn’t one of those players, he probably isn’t too happy that the coach he has defended time and again is no longer there.

A disgruntled Allen could lead to dysfunction in 2026, and possibly poor play from the former MVP. It could be the beginning of long-term questions about his future.

Again, any chance for the Bills to get worse is a good thing for the Jets. Allen losing his head coach is a massive gamble from Buffalo that isn’t guaranteed to work.

New York’s coaching decision looms large

The Jets wanted to show patience with Aaron Glenn after a dismal first season. However, that decision is only becoming more scrutinized as more playoff-contending coaches hit the open market.

First, it was John Harbaugh. Then, Mike Tomlin followed, and now, it’s McDermott. As perennial playoff coaches get canned while the Jets stand pat with Glenn, they will only face more criticism from fans and media members.

This isn’t to say the Jets should fire Glenn right now. They are not necessarily wrong to allow a young coach a chance to see his plan through for a second season.

But what if the team suffers through another three-win season? Will there be as many proven head coaches available in 2027 as there are this offseason?

New York’s gamble is that they believe Glenn will figure things out. It’s a gamble that will be looked at incredulously for the foreseeable future now.