The Buffalo Bills are widening their search to replace Sean McDermott by interviewing a former rival coach who just landed a new job.
The Bills have already brought in several candidates for the vacancy, including some who have close ties to the team and quarterback Josh Allen. The search continues with more outside candidates, with one coming as a bit of a surprise on Friday.
Bills Interview Former Dolphins Head Coach
Reporter Albert Breer of The Monday Morning Quarterback reported that the Bills are looking at a recently fired rival, one who just landed another job and appeared to be off the market.
“The Bills are interviewing new Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel for their head coaching job today, per source,” Breer reported. “McDaniel, of course, spent the last four years in the AFC East as Dolphins head coach. McDaniel will be Jim Harbaughâs OC if he doesnât land an HC job.”
Reporter Alain Poupart of SI.com wrote that it was a big surprise for McDaniel to land a head coaching interview so soon after taking another job, but said the Bills may be too enticing of a job to turn down an interview.
“McDaniel landing with Buffalo obviously would be quite the turn, even topping what happened in 2019 when Adam Gase became New York Jets head coach within days of the Dolphins firing him,” Poupart wrote.
“One big difference is that McDaniel wouldn’t inherit a struggling team, but rather one that’s been a force in the AFC since the start of the 2020s and one that always has to be considered a contender as long as Allen performs at an MVP level. While he did have a mediocre performance in Buffalo’s crushing overtime playoff loss at Denver last weekend, Allen still helped the Bills score 30 points against one of the best defenses in the NFL and he also is among the finalists for MVP honors after winning the award last year.”
Bills Looking at Two With Connections to Josh Allen
The Bills have conducted several interviews, including two who have forged close ties with Allen. One was offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who has led the team’s offense since taking over for the fired Ken Dorsey during the 2023 season.
Brady crafted a strong passing attack based around his “everybody eats” philosophy, spreading the targets out to a wider group after the team traded Stefon Diggs in 2024. That approach faltered this season, however, as many of the team’s receivers struggled to gain separation and opposing defenses put increasing pressure on Allen.
The Bills also brought back former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who was fired as head coach of the New York Giants during the season. Daboll also has close ties both to Allen and the city, having grown up in Buffalo.
Allen is expected to play a major role in the hiring decision, with the team including him in interviews. He has not yet spoken to media since the team’s firing of McDermott on Monday, but is expected to hold a press conference after a new coach is hired.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills Make Surprise Decision on Mike McDaniel for Sean McDermott’s Job appeared first on Heavy Sports.