The Buffalo Bills’ desired choices for their next head coach have already been whittled down, according to reports.
The franchise fired former head coach Sean McDermott just two days after the team’s overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs on Saturday.
The dust has barely settled on McDermott’s exit and candidates for his replacement are already being lined up.
NFL insider Peter Schrager suggested potential options to take the helm in Buffalo with two branded as ‘obvious.’
He claimed that former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and the team’s current offensive coordinator Joe Brady were clear choices for the position.
However, Schrager also put forward a third name that has gone more under the radar but should be worth keeping an eye on.
The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday after their playoff exit
Former New York Giants coach Brian Daboll (left) and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady (right) are said to be ‘obvious’ candidates for the vacancy in Buffalo
He claimed that Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Davis Webb should ‘be worth circling’ given his experience with the team.
Webb played for the Bills for three seasons and is said to have been a close teammate of Buffalo’s quarterback, Josh Allen.
Schrager noted that, in addition to his friendship with Allen and ties to Buffalo, the 30-year-old has spent the last three years working under Super Bowl-winning head coach Sean Payton in Denver.
Webb has also attracted interested from elsewhere around the league and has already met with the Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens.
Meanwhile, the Bills do already have a legitimate contender in the building in Brady, who has been with the team for two years.
Brady replaced Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator in the middle of the 2023 campaign. He went on to guide Buffalo to an average of 30.9 points per game in 2024, which ranked second-most in franchise history, while Allen went on to win NFL MVP.
The 36-year-old has already interviewed with the Ravens, and received interest from the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins as well.
Daboll is another extremely familiar name in Orchard Park. He also served as the Bills’ offensive coordinator before he left to take the head coach job in New York.
Broncos quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Davis Webb is said to be an option
Webb was a teammate of Bills quarterback Josh Allen (pictured) for three years
After being hired by the Bills in 2018, he helped transform Allen from a project quarterback to MVP candidate, which ultimately landed him the Giants position.
Daboll guided New York back to the postseason for the first time since 2016 in his first season in charge but results in the Big Apple dramatically dropped off leading to his midseason firing in November.
McDermott put together an impressive nine-year run in Buffalo, going 98-50, while reaching the playoffs in all but one season. However, he won only eight playoff games and failed to get the Bills back to the Super Bowl over that time.
The postseason defeats have been excruciating. Saturday’s 33-30 loss in Denver marked the sixth time McDermott’s Bills were beaten in the fourth quarter or overtime of a playoff game.
‘Sean has done an admiral (sic) job of leading our football team for the past 9 seasons,’ owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. ‘But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level… We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.’
General manager Brandon Beane is being retained and is expected to lead the search for the 20th head coach in team history.
It’s not clear what the next move is for McDermott, who previously served as a defensive coordinator in Philadelphia and Carolina.
The Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders are among the teams that either are or could be looking to hire a defensive coordinator.
Then there is the possibility that McDermott gets another offer to be a head coach. The Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens are all looking to hire head coaches after disappointing seasons, while the Atlanta Falcons (Kevin Stefanski) and New York Giants (John Harbaugh) vacancies have been filled.
