McDermott had non losing seasons AND playoff wins so why was he fired? Was he fired because he was white? 
Of course not, he was fired because he failed to get them to a Superbowl.
Too bad the same criterion isn't used for all coaches, regardless of race, because that is the real, fair standard of excellence.
I’m not sure that McDermott is the reason for all of the Bills shortcomings. One thing I can say is that he is at minimum 50% responsible for the turnover before the half. What in the world is he thinking with 12 seconds and no timeouts nowhere near FG range. That’s the kind of stuff that gets coaches fired. Unless you’re Matt LaFleur. Then you get a contract extension.
@Rush51
Ok true, now apply the same criterion for Tomlin. When he had Ben in his prime with Bell and Brown in the 2011s onward produced nothing. How many Superbowls did they win together? The same as you and me.
Yeah, Tomlin got them to 2 Superbowls and won one in 2008 (ancient history). Noll got them to 4 Superbowl wins but it was time to go. Tomlin had all non losing seasons but no playoff wins in 9 years. Tomlin's lifetime playoff record is 8-12. Also, time for him to go.
Championships are the criterion for greatness. The mediocrity of both McDermott and Tomlin cost them their jobs in the end. Non-losing resumes for sure but big deal, fan-bases want championships.
Of course there are other reasons that Tomlin is leaving town that have nothing to do with football. Some are predicting the scandal will break.
Urban Meyer was crucified in the media for rubbing up against a young lady at a nightclub. A double standard in reporting for sure.
This is a smart move by the Bills. The only thing that went wrong is they won last week, losing out on Harbaugh to take over this team. There are plenty of holes to poke on Harbaugh, but he was able to lead some pretty damn tough defenses and bring in the right people. That has been missing big time w Buffalo.
I am not as sure that he could have got much more out of the team or Allen.
They beat Rivers, Jackson, Nix, Skylar Thompson, Mac jones, and Lawrence.
They lost at Houston when Watson was very good.
Then lost to Mahomes 4 times and Burrow once.
Allen may be a generational talent. But losing to Mahomes, who is likely a top-5-6 QB of all time is not bad. Losing to Burrow, who if he were to stay healthy is likely a top 10-12 QB of all time is not bad either.
They beat the teams they should have beaten.
Going into Denver, with Denver having a bye, etc. was always going to be a tall task.
And they almost pulled it off.
You do not fire a coach for that.
Folks just do not realize how very, very hard it has been to get through Brady and now Mahomes, or Burrow when he is well.
Folks see Mahomes and Brady do it and think they should because they have a very good QB.
That is entirely different than have a truly all-time great QB and the coach to go with it, like Belichick and Reid.
Fans should enjoy their great QB, coach and team while they can.
Many teams wish they had this type of success, where they simply get frustrated at 'not getting over the hump.'
What it boils down to is that the team's play nor Allen's play nor the coaches' role got McDermott fired.
Mahomes and Burrow and Jackson got him fired because they got hurt.
The fans and the owner thought for sure it was their year because the two elite QBs were out that they could not beat and the other generational talented QB had already lost.
To me that is very lame to fire the coach for that reason(s).
@brn2loslive2win
Of course he isn't.
Allen is very, very good. He is simply not what folks want him to be or think he is.
He has worked very much at his craft and has very, very much improved from his early years.
He is arguably the best wildcard round QB ever. But in the divisional round or Conference Championship, not as much.
McDermott was getting as much, if not more, than he could out of the team.
Now they are going to try to retool. But at what cost.
@Rush51
Of course I agree. That Buffalo defense has been soft for years and failed in key moments over the years. The great Matt Milano blah, blah, blah.
That inability to stop the Chiefs from marching down the field with only 13 seconds left in the playoffs was unforgivable years ago. A squib kick would have probably run off 5 seconds at least.
The William and Mary fab duo were let go in the same year. Who could have predicted that?
@Rush51
Harbaugh had the same situation with Jackson. He could not get over the hump, as they say.
What would he do different with Allen.
Neither coach should have been fired.
Not great decisions by the teams to me.
But, maybe a change will work out.
Especially, if they do not have Mahomes and Burrow to deal with.
Key word > Defense 
The reality is he COULD of been fired after the 2021 collapse with 13 seconds left in arrow head when Gabe Davis scored 3 TD’s in an instant classic
He wasn’t! He SHOULD of for sure been fired after getting smoked at home in 2022 vs Bengals
He’s actually lucky to get another 3 year ride in Buffalo which he failed once again including another heart breaker in the 2024 AFC title game
well i don’t blame him totally that play was called too go up 8 josh skipped the ??, now that debacle at the half i don’t exactly remember did they even have any timeouts left but that’s also on josh launch the ball downfield i don’t know why he’s trying too rum it, josh also missed the tight end for a touchdown in regulation, the refs screwed them too 95% of the time the give that too the offense then those b.s. pass interference calls,
I come to this as an objective observer that could give a rat's ass about PIT or BUFF. Look it, I know you're a big fan of PIT. I've read many of your previous threads and your frustration w Timlin. I get it. He has been a bigger disappointment as the years have worn on. That is clear to me. But the years w Roethlisberger were hard fought, and he did about as well as he could w Brady and Manning in the same conference. Your expectations as a Steelers fan are huge, but you haven't had a QB in forever, so what can you realistically expect since then ? And hate to break it to you, things aren't looking so good going forward.
Now, BUFF has Josh Allen to build around, and McDermott has been an empty suit for many years. This guy is has been a Defensive guy throughout his career, and yet this has been their weakness ! He comes across as very aloof, which is why his players don't respect him. McDermott has been the bigger disappointment simply based on the potential he has been able to work with.... for this mant years...
@Raiders22
I respect you a lot.... but you didn't say a damn thing about how BUFF's defense has let them down continuously over the years.. particularly in playoffs.
It's time to start anew in BUFF, .... in a new stadium.
They would be wise to hire a defensive guy as HC , and the new guy wise enough to keep Joe Brady as OC.
stadium was built on cursed indian burial ground they are winning sb next year. coach was part of the problem. all coming together for buffalo
@Rush51
All true. When you do not have your own Brady or Mahomes you have to make it up in other areas. One of the would be to have a very elite defense.
But when you have your version of 'Superman' and you arr riding him -- he cannot turn the ball over 4 times. He also cannot continue to make crucial mistakes and them be overlooked because of his other awesome great plays.
Brady and Mahomes have set the expectations too high for a QB and a team.
It used to be like Manning or Rodgers -- make a good run and maybe get to a SB and maybe win one.
Now all fans think their very good QB is elite. They are not elite in crunch time for multiple games needed in a playoff run.
Ver, very, very few teams will have all great units at once. The elite overcome whatever weak units they have.
Yes, they need a better defense.
They also need better WRs for Allen.
But you may be right. Maybe Ravens, Steelers, and Bills all just need a change.
It is just so hard to open up a net wide enough to grab a better coach than they already had.
But you are correct -- change can be good.
The Raiders, and many other teams, would love to have those teams' success, lately.
The difference is McDermott has rosters that he should have gotten to the super bowl with and won rings but didnt, Tomlin hasnt had those kind of rosters in a very long time. All you have to do is look at the preseason expected win totals to know this. Bills owner, if he's smart, would be brown nosing, tap dancing, and jigga bugging up to Tomlin as I type and doing whatever he can to get him to Buffalo if he wants a ring in the near future before Allen gets too frustrated.
Buffalo Bill
@rosswin97
You are correct about Tomlin always exceeding his preseason win expectations.
I wrote a big article about this and a lot of other things on him and how he has been far better than folks think.
For example, look at Knoll’s record without Bradshaw, etc. Tomlin wins no matter what.
I somewhat disagree though that McDermott has had teams that should have won a SB.
They should never have beaten the Chiefs or Bengals. I am not sure they should have beaten the Broncos in Denver with a bye.
It is just the case of wanting Allen to win a SB. Just like they wanted him to get the MVP last year. There was a good case to say he should not have. But we like him and want him to do well.
Because they are in the running every year we know their players and think they should go to the SB. That simply may not be true.
They are just a good team; not a great team.
Good teams need a lot to go right for them to win 2-3-4 playoff games in a row to win SB.
What if Allen got to a SB and did not win it. The issue would only grow more. Folks would say he never won a SB.
Same with Jackson.
Very few QBs have ever had this held against them like this. Not even Marino or Manning. They always made excuses for them about how the team didn’t have whatever they thought they needed. Rodgers is maybe in the other category.
But because of Brady, and now Mahomes, we think a good QB needs to get to a SB and then win it.
I think both of those coaches were doing fine, as well as Harbaugh.
I doubt Allen gets too frustrated. It is no different with him than any other normal good QB. It is just like Prescott or Herbert or any other good QB — if things come together for the team, then they will make it.
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