Seven months removed from one of the most consequential coaching decisions in recent NFL history, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen hasn’t let it go.
The Bills star QB broke down into tears in January after his team’s overtime playoff loss to the Denver Broncos ended the franchise’s season without a Super Bowl appearance. Days later, owner Terry Pegula pointed to that emotional moment as a factor in his decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott, who had led the Bills for nine seasons and compiled a 98-50 regular-season record.
“My decision to bring in a new coach was based on the results of the game in Denver,” Pegula said. “It was where does the leadership of the team, on the field and in the locker room, where [do] we go from that moment, another playoff failure? That’s why I decided Sean had to leave.”
Allen still carries the weight of that decision. When asked recently about his role in the aftermath, he admitted, “I think about that all the time. There are certain plays throughout the game — and that’s going to be every game — where you’re like, ‘I could have done more.’ And I always feel like I can do more.'”
Turning a New Page in Buffalo
It’s a heavy admission from a player who, by most accounts, doesn’t deserve the blame he’s assigning himself. Josh Allen performed well in the majority of Buffalo’s previous postseason exits, including two AFC Championship losses to Kansas City.
The Denver game was an outlier, not a pattern.
Now, with Joe Brady being elevated to head coach, it was earned through preparation and performance, according to Allen, and not favoritism.
“I can honestly say, Joe went out there and he earned it,” Allen said. “The way that he interviewed, how hard he works as a coach, and the success that we’ve had as an offense over the last few years — he earned it.”
A new change at head coach doesn’t mean the pressure is gone. In fact, Brady is under a tremendous amount of pressure as the fanbase isn’t sitting patiently waiting for the Bills to make a Super Bowl appearance.
“I’ve been here for 10 years and know that if we don’t win, guys are not just gonna be around forever,” Bills five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “That is on the top of my mind, like, bro I want to win because I want to stay in Buffalo. I don’t want to move. So yes, it’s do or die. Welcome Joe Brady, and get all the missiles flying. We need to hit all targets.”
Reflection in Redirection for Josh Allen
GettyROCHESTER, NEW YORK – JULY 29: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills and head coach Joe Brady talk during training camp at St. John Fisher University on July 29, 2026 in Rochester, New York. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/Getty Images)
For Josh Allen, the end of McDermott in Buffalo was, in part, a referendum on his own postseason mistakes, and now he’s tasked with proving he can overcome those errors.
With a new stadium, new head coach, new offensive coordinator, a new defensive scheme, and playmakers, the Bills are betting that changing almost everything around Allen will finally get them over the hump.
“He carries the weight of a whole fan base, of a whole city, on his shoulders — gracefully,” tight end Dawson Knox said. “If there’s anyone who’s built for it, it’s him. But that guy puts on the cape, man, and no one else can wear it like he does.”
“We’re not afraid to talk about it: We want to win this Super Bowl for this fan base, for this city, for the whole state — but we also want to win the Super Bowl for ’17,'” Knox added.
Let’s see what Allen has in store in Year 9.
The Shadow Over Josh Allen & The Decision That Reshaped the Bills