National Football League

Sean McDermott 'confident' he's the right coach for Bills, Josh Allen

Updated Mar. 7, 2024 6:23 p.m. ET

The Buffalo Bills have had some brutal playoff exits in the past few seasons, which has some fans questioning whether head coach Sean McDermott is fit to lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl title.

McDermott brushed aside that notion in a recent interview, however, saying that he believes he's undoubtedly the right coach to maximize Josh Allen's window as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.

"I'm confident in who I am as Josh's coach," McDermott said. "I know how to develop players. I'm confident in that and extremely confident Josh is going to develop the best he can, that we're going to maximize Josh's potential."

McDermott's statement is a sign of his continuing optimism that the team will eventually get over the hump. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, he said that the Bills hoisting a Lombardi trophy is "not a matter of if" but "a matter of when."

The Bills underwent some notable changes on Wednesday after releasing franchise standouts Jordan Poyer and Mitch Morse, and they're reportedly expected to release Tre'Davious White later this offseason. They also let go of Deonte Harty and Nyheim Hines to clear salary-cap space before the start of the new league year (March 13).

If the Bills have to round out their roster with younger and cheaper options, there could be more of an onus on Allen to play well at quarterback. Allen has had some turnover struggles over the past two seasons — including throwing the second-most interceptions (18) last season — following the departure of former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

What's more, there has been ongoing criticism that McDermott's defensive background isn't beneficial to Allen, especially after he made an in-season switch at offensive coordinator in 2023 by removing Ken Dorsey for Joe Brady.

McDermott also disagreed with that narrative, saying: "I watched Donovan McNabb and Cam Newton grow — one under an offensive head coach in [Andy] Reid and the other under a defensive head coach in Ron Rivera. I took copious notes. … I was watching."

"With Josh, some of my (pre-draft evaluation) on him was through a defensive lens: ‘This is going to be hard to defend,'" he added. "But it's also about who the guy is as a person. Who fits Buffalo the best? Not only the weather and his hand size, but who fits the fabric of Buffalo the best? Similarly, as the head coach, the fit of Sean McDermott in Buffalo. They're my type of people. Hopefully, I'm their type of people. The fit is important."

McDermott's Bills squad lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons in 2023. Last season's loss felt different though, as it was the first time they played the Chiefs at home in the postseason with Allen and Kansas City perceived to be at its weakest in the Mahomes era. Of course, the Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl a few weeks later.

The Bills still have ground to make up to catch the Chiefs, but they won't have too many resources available this offseason. They're more than $9 million above the salary cap before releasing White, according to OverTheCap, and they hold draft picks toward the end of each round but don't have a third-round pick.