National Football League

'Zero' chance Bills fire head coach Sean McDermott, per sources

Updated Nov. 30, 2023 7:14 p.m. ET

The Buffalo Bills are in the midst of a disappointing 6-6 campaign, but even if matters get worse, there's "zero" chance that the team will fire head coach Sean McDermott, The Athletic reported Thursday.

Four anonymous sources familiar with Bills owner Terry Pegula’s thinking say that he has "neither the desire nor plans to make a [head] coaching change" and that they "would be shocked" if Pegula made such a move, per the report.

The report went on to say that Pegula still holds McDermott "in high regard despite this year’s dip" and that keeping the relationship between McDermott and Bills general manager Brandon Beane, both of whom signed contract extensions through 2027 this summer, is of the utmost importance.

Buffalo is coming off a grueling 37-34 overtime loss to Philadelphia after blowing a 10-point second-half lead. The Bills have now lost three of their past four games and have a road tilt against Kansas City after their bye.

Headed into Week 13, Buffalo is 2.5 games behind Miami for first place in the AFC East and a half-game behind Indianapolis for the No. 3 AFC wild-card seed. That said, the playoff picture looks bleak for Buffalo, which has won the past three straight AFC East division titles.

Buffalo fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey after its Week 10 loss to Denver and quarterbacks coach Joe Brady was promoted to offensive coordinator. Bills QB Josh Allen currently leads the NFL with 24 passing touchdowns, but he also leads the league with 13 interceptions. On top of that, Bills defensive coordinator of six seasons Leslie Frazier stepped away from the team after the 2022 season.

McDermott is in his seventh season as Buffalo's head coach after taking over in 2017. The Bills are a combined 68-41 in the regular season and 4-5 in the postseason under McDermott. They've reached the AFC Championship Game once (2020) and haven't missed the playoffs since 2018.

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