Former Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott enjoyed an extremely successful nine-year run with the team, only to be fired due to his playoff failures. With quarterback Josh Allen under center, many thought the Bills would have at least logged a Super Bowl appearance by now, but a loaded AFC has constantly stood in their way. However, a former Pro Bowler has an interesting take on McDermott.
Sean McDermott’s Play Style Ultimately Cost the Bills
McDermott’s postseason mishaps in Buffalo are arguably one of the biggest riddles the NFL community isn’t talking about. Amid speculation about politics within the franchise, some believe the head coach’s famously strong game plans were ultimately deeply flawed.
Former Pro Bowl wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, for one, is convinced that McDermott’s schemes were actually sabotaging the team. He weighed in on the specifics of Buffalo’s gameplay approach last season, particularly his expectation that running back James Cook won’t have another campaign as productive as his 2025 season. Houshmandzadeh spoke about it during a recent appearance on “Speakeasy.”
“The reason Sean McDermott is no longer the coach is because he was forcing them to run the ball more than they wanted to — that’s a fact,” he said. “They wanted to throw the ball more.”
The Bills ran the ball north of 500 times last season, resulting in Cook leading the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Allen rushed for an additional 112 times for 579 yards and 14 scores. Meanwhile, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson combined for another 100+ carries as part of the run-heavy offense implemented by offensive coordinator Joe Brady under McDermott.
“The OC was forced to run it more than he wanted to, so James Cook is not going to get those types of carries again — he’s just not,” Houshmandzadeh argued. “Buffalo was running the ball, I’m watching it like, ‘Damn, they’re running it again?’ That’s how McDermott wanted to play.”
McDermott was onto something by leaning hard on the run game. Cook is one of the most explosive rushers in pro football, and Allen is one of the most dangerous mobile quarterbacks in the game. Combined with a solid backfield featuring Davis and Johnson, the former Bills head coach had good reason to go after the trenches with his running schemes.
According to PFSN’s RB Impact Metric, Cook posted an impact score of 90.1 last season, which ranked as the best in the league.
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However, the approach might have earned them a 12-5 regular-season record, but the thesis ultimately fell flat in the postseason yet again. The Bills edged past Liam Coen’s Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild Card Round, but Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos awaited them in the Divisional Round.
A 33-30 beating at Mile High was the final nail in McDermott’s coffin as Bills head coach. Now, Brady will pick up the slack in an attempt to break the franchise’s Super Bowl drought.
