Sean McDermott has spent the past nine years as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Despite helping them make the playoffs in eight of those seasons, he and the franchise parted ways during the 2026 NFL offseason. He has yet to land another job, but one executive suggested he could eventually land with an NFC contender.
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McDermott found plenty of success with the Bills, including eight winning seasons and totaling at least 11 victories in each of his final six years as their head coach. He also won eight playoff games and appeared in the AFC Championship game, but his failure to reach a Super Bowl with superstar quarterback Josh Allen likely contributed to his departure.
McDermott remains without a new position as the 2026 NFL season quickly approaches, but one executive mentioned him as a potential candidate to eventually become the next head coach of the Washington Commanders. They will enter this season with Dan Quinn serving in the role, but he could apparently be in the hot seat.
“Keep an eye on Sean McDermott there next year. Just remember who told you first,” a longtime NFL personnel executive told SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora.
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Quinn is coming off a massively disappointing season in which the Commanders took a huge step backward from the year before. They went from appearing in the NFC Championship game in Jayden Daniels’ breakout rookie season to missing the playoffs outright in the quarterback’s second year.
Daniels’ regression and injuries are a major concern for the franchise, as they are invested in his success for the overall outlook of their future. He finished fifth among all quarterbacks in PFSN’s QB Impact Rankings during his rookie year, but fell all the way to 28th last season. While his injuries surely had a role in this alarming drop, he won just two of his seven starts during the 2025 season.
Quinn’s job security may be directly tied to Daniels’ performance in 2026, as the Commanders hope to see him return to the quarterback he was during his rookie season.
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A failure to do so, or another struggle to be a legitimate playoff threat, could result in Washington seeking a new head coach.
This is where McDermott could potentially step in, as he is already a proven winner due to his impressive run with the Bills. If they are looking for stability and postseason credentials, he could be their guy.
