The Buffalo Bills stunned the collective NFL world on Monday morning when they fired head coach Sean McDermott in the wake of their latest playoff defeat. Now, they will begin searching for a new head coach to replace McDermott, but the timing of this decision could create some trouble for the team.
After years of playoff struggles, McDermott’s latest loss to the Denver Broncos finally cost him his job. The problem, however, is that Buffalo is way behind the rest of the league when it comes to its head coach search. And per the NFL’s rules, there are a handful of potential candidates the team may not even get a shot to interview after moving on from McDermott.
NFL Rules Could Create Problems for Bills in Head Coach Search
McDermott was hired by the Bills back in 2017, and after the team drafted Josh Allen in 2018, the team quickly rose to the top of the NFL. While they enjoyed a great deal of success during the regular season, the postseason was a different story, as Buffalo has advanced to the AFC Championship Game just once during Allen’s stint with the team.
Over the years, McDermott’s standing with the team has been questioned as a result of their playoff woes. With usual competitors like the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals all missing the postseason this year, many folks believed this was Buffalo’s best shot at making it to the Super Bowl.
Instead, the Bills suffered another crushing playoff defeat, and this time, it cost McDermott his job. While public opinion on McDermott’s firing is mixed, there’s no question that this decision could cause problems for Buffalo when it comes to its new head coach search. That’s because NFL rules prohibit the Bills from talking to any of their potential candidates who are still employed by the remaining four playoff teams across the league until they get eliminated from the playoffs.
“One big interviewing note for Buffalo: The Bills cannot talk to any candidate currently employed by the remaining playoff teams. And they can’t talk to candidates on the two teams that make the Super Bowl until after that game, per league rules,” Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports shared in a post on X.
Could Bills Miss Out on Top Head Coach Candidate Because of NFL’s Rules?
GettyGeneral manager Brandon Beane of the Buffalo Bills.
Essentially, the NFL wants to avoid any team still in the playoffs from gaining a tactical advantage by having one of their coaches meet with the Bills and potentially discuss their upcoming opponent. As a result, if Buffalo wants to meet with some of its targets that are working for teams still in the postseason, it will need those teams to lose sooner rather than later.
McDermott’s firing is still fresh, so it remains to be seen who the Bills are targeting for their head coach vacancy. As things unfold, though, a clearer picture will be painted, but it is worth noting that there’s a world where the team doesn’t even get a shot to interview their top candidate. This is just one of the many reasons Buffalo’s head coach search will draw so much attention over the coming weeks.
NFL Rules Will Limit Bills Head Coach Search After Sean McDermott Firing