The Buffalo Bills are searching for their next head coach, but the process isn’t as straightforward as lining up candidates and running interviews. With Josh Allen firmly in his prime, any hire is going to be filtered through the quarterback who defines this era of the franchise. And as Brian Daboll’s name continues to circle back to Buffalo, a recent development from someone who knows Allen well has added weight to a reunion that’s been lingering in the background….. and that’s good news for the former New York Giants HC.

Former Bills receiver Tanner Gentry offered insight into Allen’s perception of Brian Daboll: “Best offensive mind I’ve been around, 17 [Allen] loves him, great motivator and cares about his players.”

Daboll, who most recently served as head coach of the New York Giants, has already completed his interview with Buffalo for the vacant job. He hardly needs an introduction in Orchard Park. Daboll was the Bills’ offensive coordinator from 2018 through 2021, years that coincided directly with Allen’s rise from raw prospect to franchise quarterback and culminated in Buffalo’s lone AFC Championship Game appearance of the Allen era.

“Coach Daboll WANTS to be in Buffalo and bring a Super Bowl to the city he grew up in. This is on top of everything I mentioned that he brings to the table as a coach. Why bring a brand new face in that knows nothing about the organization or how much the organization means to WNY?” Gentry added. And that perspective matters because…

Having been on the Buffalo‘s practice squad through parts of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he had a firsthand view of the daily interactions between Allen and Daboll, making his praise more than just outside speculation.

The first four seasons of Allen’s NFL career were spent under Daboll’s watch. Those years defined the quarterback. The peak came in 2020, when Allen put together what many still consider his best passing season, throwing for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns while firmly establishing himself among the league’s elite.

“In terms of the path of my career and getting better, he was probably the most influential one,” Allen said. “He’s a guy that I [would] talk to each and every day.”

Their relationship wasn’t limited to football, either. They went through difficult moments together, supporting each other during the death of Allen’s grandmother in 2020 and then the loss of Daboll’s grandmother the following year. That shared history has resurfaced at a time when Allen himself appeared visibly broken following Buffalo’s latest playoff exit, openly weeping at the podium after Saturday’s overtime loss to Denver.

Allen is expected to have a meaningful voice in the hiring process, and these personal connections could weigh heavily in Daboll’s favor during the hiring process.

“The starting quarterback will be part of the team to help select the new coach,” Pegula said. “[Josh Allen] is going to be working with us. Anything else, his feelings, I want to keep them private.”

Pegula later clarified that while Allen had no role in Sean McDermott’s firing, the quarterback’s input would be central moving forward, a notable shift for a franchise conducting its first head coaching search in nearly a decade.

While the front office moves forward and Daboll’s candidacy continues to build momentum, not everyone in Buffalo is ready to turn the page just yet.

The Bills Mafia’s unwavering loyalty to Sean McDermott

The Bills finally made the call to move on from Sean McDermott after nine seasons, a decision rooted less in failure than in what never quite happened. Saturday’s 33–30 overtime loss in Denver was the breaking point. It marked Buffalo’s eighth playoff appearance in nine years under McDermott, and once again, it ended without a Super Bowl trip, extending a streak that made the Bills the first team in the Super Bowl era to win playoff games in six consecutive seasons without ever reaching the league’s final stage.

And yet, the response from Bills fans wasn’t universal agreement. A petition on Change.org calling for the team to reinstate McDermott picked up steam quickly.

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By Thursday night, more than 40,000 fans had added their names. The petition was started by Maria Masionet, a Buffalo resident, who claimed she created it after realizing McDermott wouldn’t get the chance to coach the team in its new stadium.

That kind of loyalty doesn’t come out of nowhere. Before McDermott arrived in 2017, the Bills hadn’t reached the postseason since 1999. He changed the tone of the franchise almost immediately. Over nine seasons, McDermott went 98–50 in the regular season and 8–8 in the playoffs. That’s a pretty good record for most HCs.

But Buffalo’s situation isn’t most situations. With a once-in-a-generation quarterback in Josh Allen, the standard changed. The front office wanted what never came – a Super Bowl.

McDermott’s legacy is statistically impressive. His .650 winning percentage (including postseason) ranks first among active coaches with over 100 games, and he led the Bills to seven straight seasons with 10 or more wins.

Yet Pegula made clear that consistency alone was no longer enough. With Allen nearing 30, the inability to even reach a Super Bowl ultimately forced his hand. “What is success?” Pegula asked. “Is it being in the playoffs seven years in a row with no Super Bowl?”

The situation becomes even more layered when you look at what happened after McDermott’s former offensive coordinator left town. Brian Daboll departed Buffalo to become head coach of the New York Giants in 2022 and was named Coach of the Year after a 9–7–1 season.

Then it all went downhill. Since the start of the 2023 season, the Giants have gone 11–33. New York fired Daboll this year after a 2–8 start, marking the third straight season in which the team won just two of its first 10 games.

That contrast, Daboll’s struggles as a head coach elsewhere versus his undeniable impact on Allen’s development, sits at the heart of Buffalo’s current dilemma.

Maybe that’s part of why so many are still clinging to McDermott. Maybe they believe that, despite the postseason shortcomings, he remains the safer option. Or maybe it’s just blind loyalty. Either way, if Daboll ends up getting the job, he won’t be walking into a clean slate. He’ll have to win the Bills Mafia over, and he’ll have to do it quickly.