The New England Patriots are in the midst of a playoff surge with the potential NFL Coach of the Year and MVP leading the charge. Meanwhile, in Buffalo, the Bills have just made the franchise-altering decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott, who has been at the helm since 2017.
Correlation is not always causation, but the failure of the Buffalo Bills in the postseason contrasted with the Patriots' rejuvenated success almost undoubtedly played a major role in this move, which many felt could happen if the Bills didn't at least get to the Super Bowl.
When the Tom Brady era ended for the Patriots, the Josh Allen era was really just getting underway for the Bills. And that window of time has now passed the Bills by, with the Pats already getting back to the AFC Championship Game in just the second year of the Drake Maye era.
Bills firing Sean McDermott as Patriots reach AFC Championship Game...again
The Bills have obviously been one of the NFL's best and most successful teams over the last eight years, going toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. But even though they've had a ton of regular season success, and Josh Allen has even taken home some significant hardware as the reigning MVP, they haven't been able to get over the proverbial playoff hump.
Even without Mahomes in the playoffs this year, the AFC West was a stumbling block for Allen and the Bills yet again. They turned the ball over five times in the Divisional Round against Denver, and wound up losing in overtime to the Broncos. The sting of that loss was felt immediately and the way McDermott came after officiating when the game was done really was the clearest indicator that he was on the hot seat going into the postseason.
Now, the Bills have moved on completely. They are keeping general manager Brandon Beane, who was even promoted by the team, and he will help conduct the search for the team's next head coach.
And while that Buffalo job should be considered one of the most attractive in the NFL, Patriots fans can puff their chests a little bit knowing that this team had a dynasty under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, needed a few years of discovery and struggling, and has now seemingly found long-term stability yet again with Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye.
It feels like the Bills had their shot, and they wasted it. Or squandered it. However you want to think about it. This move is the clearest indicator that they know it.