The Buffalo Bills fired longtime head coach Sean McDermott on Monday morning. As an AFC foe, that has little direct impact on the Philadelphia Eagles, but it could be significant news for the NFC East champions if Brian Daboll is their preference at offensive coordinator.
Shortly after McDermott’s firing, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini characterized Daboll as an early favorite to be Buffalo’s next head coach.
“Talking to NFL executives around the league about Buffalo’s next head coach options, the name that keeps coming up is a familiar one, a Buffalo native and someone Josh Allen loves: Brian Daboll,” wrote Russini.
This comes roughly just a day after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Eagles were expected to interview Daboll for their offensive coordinator opening.
Daboll was the Buffalo offensive coordinator from 2018-21, which was Josh Allen’s first four NFL seasons. Daboll received significant credit for Allen developing his accuracy and becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
That stint is a significant reason why Daboll is a candidate for the Eagles. But in Buffalo, he could return to coach the quarterback he had tremendous success with for four years.
Will Brian Daboll Be Next Buffalo Bills Head Coach?
It’s not yet clear that Daboll is Philadelphia’s preference for their next offensive coordinator. But it’s obvious why he should be a candidate, which is why the news of the Bills opening is such a terrible update for the Eagles.
Daboll possesses 25 years of NFL coaching experience. He’s been an offensive coordinator or head coach for 13 of those seasons. The past four years, he served as New York Giants head coach until getting fired mid-season in 2025.
He coached under Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. He also has a previous relationship with Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.
“Daboll has also worked with Nick Sirianni,” Penn Live’s Johnny McGonigal wrote. “Daboll was the OC with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012 when Sirianni was the team’s wide receivers coach. Sirianni considers Daboll a ‘mentor.'”
Daboll would be a terrific addition to the Eagles coaching staff. But it just became harder for the Eagles to land him with Buffalo’s head coach opening.
Other Eagles OC Candidates
Even if the Eagles consider Daboll the best fit for their offensive coordinator opening, Philadelphia should have other quality candidates for the job.
That includes another former head coach. McGonigal argued Daboll and fired Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was at the top of the Eagles’ OC wish list when the offseason began.
The Eagles are also set to interview other candidates, including another fired Giants coach — Mike Kafka. He served as New York’s interim head coach after the franchise parted with Daboll midseason.
Philadelphia also requested to interview Jim Bob Cooter and Zac Robinson for the opening.
The Eagles will have a new offensive coordinator for the fifth straight season under Sirianni. Of the team’s four previous offensive coordinators, two of them went on to become head coaches while the Eagles fired the other two.
Philadelphia removed Kevin Patullo from his offensive coordinator position after losing in the NFC wild card round last weekend.
Eagles Get Terrible Update on Offensive Coordinator Search: Report