Ex-Bills HC Sean McDermott Predicts How Joe Brady Will Do as His Replacement

Sean McDermott has been synonymous with the Buffalo Bills longer than Josh Allen.

The Bills hired McDermott as head coach in January 2017. In his first year, Buffalo snapped a 17-year playoff drought, which was the longest active playoff drought in American sports at the time. Then, Allen was drafted seventh overall in 2018.

In the Allen era, the Bills have made the playoffs for seven straight seasons, but the bar had changed. Anything short of reaching the Super Bowl wasn’t good enough, and the Bills have lost in the AFC Divisional Round four times and the AFC Championship Game twice since 2020.

Most recently, the Bills lost 33-30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime of their AFC Divisional game, and McDermott was fired two days later. The Bills promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady as McDermott’s replacement.

On Wednesday, McDermott joined Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero on “The Insiders” and forecasted how Brady will fare in his place.

“It’s hard for me to know - and I would say this about anyone - who has never done the job before, with all due respect to Joe in this case,” McDermott said. “We can prepare all we want, having gone through it myself, but it’s a different job than any job that leads to that job. Joe is a very talented coach. He’s a very talented playcaller. Listen, what I saw in Joe in the four seasons, I think, he was with us, he’s gonna do a good job.”

McDermott continued, “I’m looking forward to watching him. I think he knows, and I hope he knows, that I’m always here if he needs anything.”

Elsewhere in the segment, McDermott said he went “through the normal gamut of emotions” after his firing, but he’s ready to “capitalize” on the unexpected time he now has with his family. He explained why he decided to take next season off from coaching and what he’d do differently for his next NFL team. Watch below.

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 9:13 PM.