{"id":767994,"date":"2026-02-22T03:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T03:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767994\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T03:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T03:05:19","slug":"bills-shouldve-fired-brandon-beane-not-sean-mcdermott","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/767994\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills Should\u2019ve Fired Brandon Beane, Not Sean McDermott"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the dust has settled in Buffalo, it\u2019s time to address the firing<\/a> of Sean McDermott.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe Monday after the Bills lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round, they announced McDermott would no longer be the head coach of the team. In his nine seasons as head coach, McDermott led Buffalo to the playoffs eight times and secured five AFC East titles, but was unable to make it to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

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\u200bBills\u2019 owner Terry Pegula commented on the firing<\/a>, stating, \u201cAnother playoff failure, that\u2019s why I decided that Sean had to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200bMcDermott had his flaws; there were things he could\u2019ve done better. But he isn\u2019t the reason Buffalo can\u2019t get over the hump. <\/p>\n

The man to blame is general manager Brandon Beane.<\/p>\n

\u200bBeane has consistently shown that he isn\u2019t doing what is best for the team\u2019s success. He\u2019s why the Bills continue failing to meet expectations.<\/p>\n

\u200bDraft Struggles<\/p>\n

\u200bBeane has built a reputation for poor draft decisions<\/a>. Since drafting quarterback Josh Allen<\/a>\u00a0in 2018, the Bills have only drafted two Pro Bowlers (Dawson Knox<\/a> and James Cook<\/a>). To put this into perspective, Beane has drafted 55 players<\/a> in his time in Buffalo. For the Bills to only turn two of those players into Pro Bowlers is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

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\u200bBeane has also drafted two of the biggest busts in recent memory, with cornerback Kaiir Elam<\/a> in 2022 and wide receiver Keon Coleman<\/a> in 2024. Coleman has fallen far from the expectations of a second-round receiver.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe year the Bills drafted Coleman, the media heavily criticized Beane for not trading up for players such as Brian Thomas Jr.<\/a> or Rome Odunze<\/a>, who have both had better starts than Coleman.<\/p>\n

\u200bBeane\u2019s struggles in the early rounds of drafts have led people to question his drafting and scouting abilities.<\/p>\n

\u200bQuestionable Signings<\/p>\n

\u200bBeane has been notorious for bringing back former Bills late in their career. Players such as Tre\u2019Davious White<\/a>, Jordan Poyer<\/a>, Jordan Phillips<\/a>, Dane Jackson<\/a>, Shaq Lawson<\/a>, and Gabe Davis<\/a> have been brought back for second or even third stints with the team.<\/p>\n

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\u200bWhile this is not always a bad thing, as it can bolster leadership and depth, it has typically not worked out so well for Buffalo. These players are nearing the end of their careers and are unable to produce at the level they once could. Sometimes you wonder if Beane knows he can sign players from other teams.<\/p>\n

\u200bOther signings, such as Von Miller<\/a> and Josh Palmer<\/a>, have also been criticized for being overpaid and risky. It is safe to say the benefits did not outweigh the risks.<\/p>\n

\u200bWide Receiver Neglect<\/p>\n

\u200bSince Stefon Diggs<\/a> was traded<\/a> to the Texans in 2024, the Bills\u2019 wide receiver group has arguably been one of the worst in the league \u2014 and they have a former MVP throwing them the ball.<\/p>\n

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Khalil Shakir<\/a> led Buffalo this season with an underwhelming<\/a> 719 receiving yards and 72 receptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u200bSince Diggs left the team, Beane has signed<\/a> seven receivers and traded<\/a> for one. In their time with the Bills, those eight players combined for only 1,338 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Los Angeles Rams receiver Puka Nacua<\/a> recorded 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns this season alone.<\/p>\n

\u200bIn a season where many people expected Buffalo to trade for a receiver at the deadline, Beane failed to get a deal done.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200bShould Beane Still Have a Job?<\/p>\n

\u200bMcDermott was not perfect, but it\u2019s self-evident that Beane has not done enough to get the Bills to the promised land.<\/p>\n

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\u200bMcDermott was never the problem. He brought Buffalo out of a 17-season playoff drought<\/a> and created a winning culture. McDermott did everything he could for the Bills, but was held back by the careless, and sometimes non-existent, moves by Beane, who should have been fired.<\/p>\n

\u200bWith McDermott out and Joe Brady in<\/a>, a new era begins in Buffalo.<\/p>\n

Beane and the Bills have to figure things out quickly \u2014 or else they will waste one of the most talented quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Bills Should\u2019ve Fired Brandon Beane, Not Sean McDermott<\/a> appeared first on The Lead<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now that the dust has settled in Buffalo, it\u2019s time to address the firing of Sean McDermott. \u200bThe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":767995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,4256,4133,214,53,2086,10119,3029,258,7,4895,3027,1605,3921,856,8661,8580,8100,7468,58,6,10492,1088,2495,3026,82399,531,21511,3025,7958],"class_list":{"0":"post-767994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-brandon-beane","10":"tag-brian-thomas-jr","11":"tag-buffalo","12":"tag-buffalo-bills","13":"tag-buffalobills","14":"tag-dane-jackson","15":"tag-dawson-knox","16":"tag-denver-broncos","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-gabe-davis","19":"tag-james-cook","20":"tag-jordan-phillips","21":"tag-jordan-poyer","22":"tag-josh","23":"tag-josh-palmer","24":"tag-kaiir-elam","25":"tag-keon-coleman","26":"tag-khalil-shakir","27":"tag-los-angeles-rams","28":"tag-nfl","29":"tag-pro-bowlers","30":"tag-puka-nacua","31":"tag-rome-odunze","32":"tag-sean-mcdermott","33":"tag-shaq-lawson","34":"tag-stefon-diggs","35":"tag-terry-pegula","36":"tag-the-bills","37":"tag-von-miller"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116112072817506242","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=767994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/767994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/767995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=767994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=767994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=767994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}