On Monday, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula released a statement confirming that the front office had fired Sean McDermott after another season that ended with the same fate. No Super Bowl appearance. Owing to a “need of a new structure within our leadership,” Sean ended his reign as the HC of the Bills after nine seasons. The front office now looks forward to a new beginning, with a potential candidate who may only bring more troubles than a solution.

On paper, Mike Tomlin looks like a perfect fit with his track record, but “Question one is would the Rooneys [Steelers’ ownership] even trade Mike Tomlin to Buffalo,” said NFL insider Tom Pelissero on The Rich Eisen Show on January 20, kicking off a long list of roadblocks standing in Buffalo’s way.

Tomlin signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension with the Steelers in 2024. That keeps him under contract through the 2027 season. He stepped down with two years remaining, so the Steelers hold his coaching rights. Pelissero pointed out it’s a big if the Steelers agree to send him to Buffalo, a team that’s “one of their AFC rivals.” 

But let’s say Bills owner Terry Pegula pulls it off somehow; the difficulty level of the next task increases.​​

“Do the Bills want to go into the defensive-minded, 50-something-year-old coach bucket for a guy who, quite frankly, hasn’t had Josh Allen but has not had as much success over the last nine years as Sean McDermott has?” second issue Pelissero pointed out.

Tomlin’s coaching style is defensive and blitz-heavy, which could fit the Bills’ needs for a stronger defense. The Bills’ offense ranked first in the league in rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns during the 2025 season. A complete contrast from their defense. The Bills’ defense ranked near the bottom, allowing high rushing yards (28th) and touchdowns (31st). 

This defensive weakness was one of the key struggles under McDermott, letting opponents run all over them despite the team’s offensive firepower. Yet if the Bills somehow cross those first two barriers, they still face their biggest battle yet.​

“The third part of it is whether Tomlin is willing to listen,” Pelissero concluded.

Tomlin has not issued a formal statement about his coaching future after stepping away from the Steelers. There are reports of the former head coach completely taking time off from coaching, at least this year.​

“A member of Giants ownership, shortly after Mike Tomlin stepped down as the head coach of the Steelers, reached out to Tomlin and said, ‘Hey, would you have any interest in doing this?” The answer was, ‘I do not plan to coach in 2026,’” Pelissero revealed, adding that Tomlin isn’t in a “mental space where he wants to coach in 2026.”

That being said, McDermott did have an unforgettable career with the Bills. He’s the coach who broke the playoff drought for Buffalo and brought back the 90s winning era with consistent contention. But with him now gone, there are reports coming in about his work culture in Buffalo.​​ 

Inside Sean McDermott’s “Kremlin”

McDermott has been with the Bills since 2017. He took the reins of a 7-9 franchise and turned it into 9-7 with a playoff appearance in his rookie year, though they lost to the Jaguars in the wildcard round. With him now gone following a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos in overtime of the AFC divisional round, there are reports of him being too controlling with the media inside the Bills’ facility.​

“As years went on under McDermott, covering the Bills on the beat was similar to covering the Kremlin. Once, I took a photo of the team’s “ping pong leaderboard”… I was later asked to take the photo down. Outrageous paranoia,” Alex Brasky penned down on X on January 19.

The reporter revealed that earlier media personnel were allowed inside the building to “travel through their facility from the media room to the fieldhouse.” But once the piece of information went out that “McDermott was NOT happy” about, media access got restricted.

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“Ever since, Bills media was forced to walk outside from media room to fieldhouse,” Brasky added.​

With McDermott out, the top contenders for the Bills’ head coaching job include offensive coordinator Joe Brady, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, and Tomlin.

Tomlin stepped down to spend time with his family. But Pelissero says if there’s a position that “would be interesting” for Tomlin, it’s this one. With a quarterback like Josh Allen, they could “contend right away.​”