Sean McDermott Landing Spots: Which Teams Should Want the Former Bills Coach?

Sean McDermott’s resume screams stability: 98-50 regular season record, eight playoff appearances in nine years, five AFC East titles. But the 51-year-old’s next employer needs to answer a harder question than whether he can win games. They need to figure out which version of McDermott they’re actually hiring.

The coach who built a league-best defense in Buffalo? Or the one whose units ranked 19th and 13th in his final two seasons?

McDermott’s Defensive Identity Has Eroded

McDermott made his name as a defensive architect. As Carolina’s coordinator from 2011 to 2016, he fielded top-10 units in four consecutive seasons and reached Super Bowl 50. In Buffalo, he partnered with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier to construct one of the NFL’s most feared defenses, peaking with an 88.2 score on PFSN’s Defense Impact metric in 2021, which ranked first in the league.

Then Frazier left after the 2022 season, and McDermott’s defensive identity began unraveling.

He called plays himself in 2023 and produced a respectable seventh-ranked unit. But when he handed the defense to Bobby Babich in 2024, Buffalo’s Defense Impact score cratered to 72.6, a C- grade that ranked 19th. The 2025 defense improved marginally to 78.0 and 13th overall, but that’s still a C+ from a coach who built his entire career on defensive excellence.

The timing made the decline unforgivable. McDermott’s two worst defensive seasons came precisely when the path to the Super Bowl was clearest. The Chiefs were beatable in 2024. Kansas City, Baltimore, and Cincinnati all missed the 2025 playoffs entirely. A defensive-minded coach couldn’t summon his best work when it mattered most.

MORE: Bills Fire Sean McDermott

Any team considering McDermott needs to reckon with this reality. They’re not getting the 2021 version. They’re getting a coach whose defensive philosophy may have calcified, whose best coordinators have moved on, and whose scheme hasn’t evolved to match the modern passing game.

The Best Fits for McDermott’s Next Chapter

That doesn’t mean McDermott lacks value. His floor remains remarkably high. Seven consecutive 10-win seasons speak to organizational competence that most franchises would kill for. The question is fit.

The Baltimore Ravens offer the most intriguing possibility. They have a two-time MVP in Lamar Jackson, a patient ownership group under Steve Bisciotti, and a defense that regressed after coordinator Mike Macdonald left for the Seahawks head coaching job in 2024. McDermott wouldn’t need to rebuild anything. He’d need to stabilize a roster that underachieved and restore defensive accountability. Baltimore’s culture of winning aligns with McDermott’s process-driven approach.

Former Bills HC Sean McDermott could well emerge as a head coaching candidate for some teams that now have an opening. McDermott told his staff today that he intends to continue coaching. pic.twitter.com/ZycMWClOwy

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers present a different calculus. The organization values coaching longevity above all else, having employed just three head coaches since 1969. McDermott’s nine-year run in Buffalo demonstrates the patience Pittsburgh prizes. But the Steelers need someone to develop a young quarterback, not manage an established one, and McDermott’s track record suggests he thrives with infrastructure already in place. The roster also needs significant offensive investment, which runs counter to McDermott’s defensive identity.

The Miami Dolphins’ job comes with Tua Tagovailoa’s massive contract and Tyreek Hill’s uncertain future. McDermott could theoretically rebuild the defense while the offense sorts itself out, but Miami lacks the stability he’s accustomed to after firing Mike McDaniel after just four seasons.

A return to coordinator work shouldn’t be dismissed. McDermott excelled in that role for eight years before becoming a head coach, and several contenders could use a defensive voice with his experience. But at 51, with a track record of sustained winning, he’ll likely hold out for another top job.

The most honest assessment: McDermott remains a safe hire for any franchise seeking competence and consistency. He won’t embarrass an organization. He’ll make the playoffs more often than not. Whether he can win a championship is the question Buffalo answered by letting him go. His next employer will have to decide if that ceiling is enough.