6 Teams Who Should Rush to Hire Sean McDermott Right Now

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6 Teams Who Should Rush to Hire Sean McDermott Right Now

Andrew Buller-Russ · Sportsnaut

Mon, Jan 19, 2026 ·

4 min read

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On Monday, less than 24 hours after the Buffalo Bills were eliminated from the playoffs, ownership made a big decision by firing head coach Sean McDermott. They then followed that move up not by firing general manager Brandon Beane too, but instead by promoting him to team president.

Many thought that if the Bills were going to make a move, it would involve moving on from Beane. After all, he's drafted 56 players since selecting Josh Allen in 2018, and only two have become Pro Bowlers ( James Cook and Dawson Knox ).

Considering only four teams in NFL history (in the Super Bowl era) have ever won a playoff game in six consecutive seasons (as McDermott did), the work he did in Buffalo was pretty special. Surely, other teams will be in a rush to hire him. Here's who should make a concerted effort to hire the defensive specialist.

Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders have one of the NFL's best pass-rushers in five-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby . Yet, Las Vegas has only had a top-ten defense in points allowed once in his seven-year career. The other six times? The Raiders finished 24th or worse each and every time. Meanwhile, McDermott spent nine years as the Bills' head coach, and his defenses never ranked worse than 18th. The Raiders still need to find a QB, but unlike Pete Carroll, they can count on McDermott to get his defense under control.

Baltimore Ravens

McDermott would want to hire an offensive coordinator who can maximize Lamar Jackson 's skillset, but finding a fit for the two-time NFL MVP shouldn't be difficult. Meanwhile, if the Ravens could bring more stability to their defense, it could have a drastic impact on the offense too, by setting them up with better field position and winning the turnover battle.

The Ravens' defense figured things out after Week 5 when they allowed an average of 18.4 PPG. Before then? Baltimore allowed opponents to score an NFL-worst 35.4 PPG. Yet, McDermott could have this operation running smoothly from the jump instead of waiting until they fell to 1-5.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers already had one of the NFL's best head coaches in Mike Tomlin. John Harbaugh may already be gone, but Pittsburgh could still land on its feet by hiring another coach who has a history of annually leading his team to the playoffs. Plus, McDermott hasn't had a chance to coach a player as special as T.J. Watt , plus he'd have Jalen Ramsey too.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals had a bright defensive mind in Jonathan Gannon, but they could never get him the help he needed to develop Arizona into a consistent playoff contender. Yet, his defenses also finished 31st and 29th in two of his three seasons in Arizona (it ranked 15th in 2024). In other words, Gannon may not be as good a coach as McDermott, but now's their chance to right this ship.

Cleveland Browns

Who's better than Myles Garrett ? The answer is, no one. The NFL's new sack leader would easily be the best player McDermott has ever coached on defense. That alone should attract McDermott to Cleveland. Plus, the Browns have another stud in the making with defensive tackle Mason Graham . With two franchise cornerstones already in place on defense, McDermott would get a head start on his side of the ball. He'd just have to have confidence in general manager Andrew Berry getting the QB right.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins may only be a few pieces away from contending again. Figuring out what to do with Tua Tagovailoa will be paramount to their success. Yet, the Dolphins do have some intriguing pieces to work with on defense, including first-team All-Pro Jordyn Brooks , Minkah Fitzpatrick , Jaelan Phillips , and Kenneth Grant . That's a strong enough core to lure McDermott to Miami, where he'd get to face his old team twice per season. Then again, going toe-to-toe with Josh Allen may be something he wishes to avoid.

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