Sean McDermott Plans to Take a Year Off From Coaching

Sean McDermott is taking a sabbatical from coaching this season. He was fired at the end of last season after nine years as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He told ESPN’s Rich Eisen on “The Rich Eisen Show” on April 22 that he plans to use this year to recalibrate and refocus on his family.

“It’s interesting,” McDermott said. “You get a year where you get a chance to get some rest, catch up on some rest, lean in on the family a little bit, and maybe go once or twice through the school drop-off line to drop the kids off. And now here comes the draft, and I’m starting to get a little bit like, ‘okay, I should be somewhere,’ right? And I’m in my living room at home, right? So yeah, it’s a little bit different right now.”

With the NFL Draft happening this weekend, Eisen asked McDermott what he would have been doing if he were still coaching.

“Well, normally, the work’s done, and the hay’s in the barn,” he said. “I mean, you do get—and mostly the GMs deal with this—the [trade] calls start coming in, if they haven’t come in already this time of week, and the strategy starts to be executed as it relates to the first round and maybe beyond. But as a coach, you’re really working with your own players, and evaluating them, and getting them going in the offseason program.”

McDermott spent the past nine seasons as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. In that time, he amassed a regular-season record of 98–50 and a postseason record of 8–8. He had only one losing season, in 2018. The Bills won the AFC East in 5 of those seasons; they made the AFC Championship Game twice, but lost both times to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In 2025, the Bills fell to the Denver Broncos, 33-30 in overtime. The pivotal moment came in the extra period, when Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks and Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian both went up for a pass, only for McMillian to come away with the ball on the ground. The play was ruled an interception, and the Broncos drove down the field and kicked the game-winning field goal.

Eisen asked McDermott if the Bills would have won the game had Cooks made the catch, to which he said they would have. Had they won the game, they would have faced the division rival New England Patriots in Foxboro. Eisen asked if the Bills could have won the game and made the Super Bowl.

“[I was] fully confident in our team,” he said.

He said he does not really think about that moment because it was beyond his control. But he does feel bad for Bills fans because it was such an emotional letdown.

Eisen then asked if he ever got closure or an explanation for why he was fired.

“No, you don’t. When you’re in this position that I’m in as a coach, you really don’t get an answer,” he said.

“You move forward, and listen, every setback in life is a chance for a comeback at the same time. And so that’s how I’ve always lived my life, and that’s how our teams played in Buffalo, and I take a lot of pride in that, and we had a lot of success there. But nine years, how many coaches really get a chance to be in one spot in professional sports, and particularly the NFL, for nine seasons? And we’re going to take a lot from that experience.”

McDermott has received some calls about potentially becoming a commentator. He has also been in contact with a few organizations outside of sports. But he wants to take the year to rest, reflect, and learn from his time in Buffalo, and grow into a new opportunity.

Eisen asked what McDermott missed about coaching.

“I think just being a part of something bigger, right?” he said. “Being a part of a team. … We all have been parts of teams since we were this tall. And you get a chance to do that for a job. And then now you’re in a year where, for myself, it’s a year off, right? But it’s also a year of opportunity in a lot of ways to grow and lean in on my family.”