Over the last five years, most of the drama in the AFC East, beyond the expected bad coaching leading to bad results with a team like the Jets, has almost exclusively surrounded the Patriots, mainly due to the revolving door of quarterbacks and the growing tension that eventually led to the firing of Bill Belichick.
Luckily, that appears to be a thing of the past in New England, and instead, a dark cloud is hovering over the Bills this week after they fired head coach Sean McDermott after a nine-year tenure. Fans did not receive it well, and it wasn't made any better when the higher-ups addressed it earlier this week.
At the first press conference since the announcement, team owner Terry Pegula and general manager Brandon Beane, who many Bills' fans believed should've been fired instead, made a mockery of the entire situation, putting their foot in their mouths throughout the entire presser.
That only emboldened the fans further, who took to social media to air their grievances with the team and to create an online petition demanding that Pegula reverse the decision.
Bills' fans are not taking Sean McDermott's departure very well
As of Thursday evening, the apparent petition has reached over 40,000 signatures, and it is expected to continue growing in the coming days.
It's the latest entertainment for Patriots fans, who are just glad the clown show isn't still happening in Foxborough.
An online petition to reinstate fired Bills HC Sean McDermott has reached over FORTY THOUSAND signatures 😳 pic.twitter.com/AHCrLZ1bgI
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) January 23, 2026
While it's fair for Bills' fans to be upset about McDermott's firing, particularly because he shouldn't have been the scapegoat for the team's failures in recent years, it's funny to think that after what was said in Pegula and Beane's presser, an online petition would change anything.
They clearly threw McDermott under the bus and attempted to rewrite history, particularly when it comes to WR Keon Coleman, who should demand a trade, by the way, and everyone around the NFL saw right through it.
It was an embarrassing display by an NFL franchise, and it's unfortunate that the diehard fans in Buffalo have to endure that for the foreseeable future.
But at the same time, something had to change, and even if that didn't necessarily include firing McDermott, change is coming whether they like it or not.
The Patriots are on the outside looking in as they prepare to take on the Broncos in the AFC Championship, a game the Bills failed to reach again this year. That's a much better situation to be in, especially after the last few years the team has had to deal with.