Brian Daboll was one of the first names that came up as a possible hire when the Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott and he’s now officially in the mix for the job in Buffalo.
The Bills announced that they have completed an interview with Daboll for the position. They have also interviewed their own offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
Daboll was the offensive coordinator for the Bills from 2018-2021. The Bills had one of the best offenses in the league during Daboll’s final two seasons on the job and that propelled him to the head coaching job with the Giants. Daboll wasn’t able to repeat that kind of success and he was fired during the 2025 season. He was 20-40-1 with the Giants.
The Bills will still have to conduct more interviews to comply with NFL hiring rules. Should any of those candidates wind up with the job, Daboll is expected to be a top offensive coordinator candidate around the league.
Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski is scheduled for an interview with the Bills for their head coaching job.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Udinski is set to meet with the team on Sunday. The Bills fired Sean McDermott in the wake of last weekend’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Udinski is also in the running for the head coaching job in Cleveland. He’s slated for a second interview with the Browns on Friday.
Udinski was hired by the Jaguars after Liam Coen took over as the team’s head coach in 2025. He worked with Coen to construct an offense that helped the team finish sixth in the league in points scored and win the AFC South.
In the aftermath of the firing of Sean McDermott, Vic Carucci of WGRZ.com reported that McDermott privately expressed concern during the season about the quality of the roster, and that owner Terry Pegula and G.M. Brandon Beane did not appreciate that opinion.
During Wednesday’s lengthy (not in a good way) and revealing (not in a good way) press conference, Pegula was asked about the report.
“I don’t know where that came from, but we met all the time, you know, [I] talked to Sean every day,” Pegula said. “Yeah, we talk about being dissatisfied with this, being happy with that, and whatnot, but we communicated all the time, and I don’t know where that came from.”
It wasn’t a direct or clear denial. Pegula simply said he doesn’t know where the report came from.
If his position is that it didn’t happen, all Pegula had to say was (wait for it) it didn’t happen.
Beane wasn’t asked about the report, and he didn’t affirmatively address it.
The balance of the press conference makes it clear that the Bills are sensitive to the perception that the issue has been talent, not coaching. And that Pegula believes the team is good enough to win a Super Bowl.
McDermott didn’t. Whether McDermott is right will depend on the efforts of the next coach.
The situation also invites close scrutiny of what the Bills will do in the coming offseason. Will they take a big swing via trade or free agency, doing something out of character to boost the roster? Or will they stay the draft-and-develop course?
The NFL has announced the finalists for this year’s most valuable player award.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford have been seen as the two favorites for the award for some time and both men make their expected appearance on the list of five finalists. The award will be handed out at the NFL Honors event during Super Bowl week.
If Maye and Stafford both lead their teams to wins this weekend, they’ll square off in the Super Bowl days after finding out if they were named this season’s MVP. Stafford beat Maye out in first-team All-Pro voting and that’s usually predictive of the MVP vote. One exception came last year when Bills quarterback Josh Allen won MVP after Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was voted All-Pro.
Allen is a finalist again this year. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey round out the group of finalists.
The firing of Bills coach Sean McDermott has provoked plenty of reactions. Former Cardinals and Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians recently gave a frank assessment of the situation.
“This one baffles me,” Arians told Pat McAfee, via JoeBucsFan.com. “How [Bills General Manager] Brandon Beane got elevated [to president of football operations] and Sean McDermott got fired, that just blows my mind because they didn’t have any damn players.
“I mean the guy’s one of the best coaches in the league and a great leader of men. He’s taken that team as close as you can get, couldn’t beat [Patrick] Mahomes. [McDermott] didn’t throw any damn interceptions. And the referees screwed him bad and he gets fired. C’mon man. And Brandon Beane gets a fucking raise? I don’t get that one. That one blows my mind.”
Plenty of Bills fans surely feel the same way. And Wednesday’s press conference likely didn’t change many, if any, minds.
But only one person’s vote counts. Owner Terry Pegula decided it was McDermott’s fault. And that Beane not only merits no blame but deserves credit for building the team that McDermott couldn’t get to a Super Bowl.
