Sean McDermott is no longer the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, and he is not currently coaching another NFL team.
The Bills fired McDermott on January 19, 2026, ending his nine-year run with the organization. He has since stepped away from coaching for the 2026 season while he evaluates his time in Buffalo and prepares for what could be his next coaching opportunity.
What happened to Sean McDermott
Sean McDermott’s time with the Buffalo Bills came to an end after the team suffered another disappointing playoff exit.
Buffalo lost 33–30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime in the AFC Divisional Round on January 17, 2026. The loss ended the Bills’ season and was followed two days later by the organization’s decision to fire McDermott.
McDermott had spent nine seasons as Buffalo’s head coach and had turned the Bills into a regular playoff team.
During his tenure, Buffalo went 98–50 in the regular season and made the playoffs eight times. However, the team never reached the Super Bowl during his tenure, despite several deep playoff runs.
The Bills’ decision was not presented simply as a reaction to one game.
Bills owner Terry Pegula said the organization needed “a new structure within our leadership” to give the team a better opportunity to take the next step.
The timing came after another playoff loss in which Buffalo had been unable to close out the game. Reuters noted that it was the fourth playoff loss since 2022 in which the Bills had lost a fourth-quarter lead.
Why did the Bills fire Sean McDermott
There was no single public statement saying that one specific incident caused McDermott’s firing.
Instead, the move came after years of regular-season success without a Super Bowl appearance.
McDermott helped end Buffalo’s long playoff drought and established the Bills as one of the NFL’s most consistent teams. Buffalo reached five consecutive AFC East titles from 2020 through 2024 and regularly entered the postseason as a contender.
But the standard became higher as the Bills continued to build around quarterback Josh Allen.
The organization ultimately decided that a change in leadership was necessary after another postseason elimination. Buffalo subsequently promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to replace McDermott as head coach.
That means McDermott’s departure was less about Buffalo becoming an unsuccessful team and more about the organization deciding to change its leadership after repeated postseason disappointments.
Where is Sean McDermott now
As of September 2026, Sean McDermott is taking a year away from coaching.
McDermott explained in April that he wanted to use the 2026 season to process his nine years in Buffalo, understand what worked and what did not, and think about how he could improve before taking another coaching job.
He has not retired from coaching.
McDermott has indicated that he expects to return to coaching after his break. The NFL reported that he is using the time away as a reset rather than treating it as the end of his coaching career.
He has also remained involved around the NFL.
In 2026, McDermott visited the Los Angeles Rams during training camp while taking his year away from coaching. In September, he appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and discussed the upcoming NFL season, including his former team.
Where does Sean McDermott coach now
Sean McDermott currently does not coach any NFL team.
He was previously the head coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2017 until January 2026.
Before Buffalo, McDermott spent five seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. He previously worked for more than a decade with the Philadelphia Eagles, eventually becoming their defensive coordinator.
His current status is therefore best described as a former NFL head coach taking the 2026 season off, rather than an active coach with another team.
Sean McDermott’s coaching career
McDermott began his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999 as a scouting administrative coordinator.
He gradually moved into coaching and eventually became Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator in 2009. After leaving the Eagles in 2011, he joined the Carolina Panthers and became their defensive coordinator.
McDermott’s Panthers defense helped the team reach Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season.
In January 2017, Buffalo hired McDermott as its head coach. He immediately became part of a major rebuilding effort that eventually transformed the Bills into one of the AFC’s regular playoff teams.
His Buffalo tenure lasted nine seasons.
He finished with a 98–50 regular-season record and eight playoff wins, but never reached the Super Bowl.
Who is Sean McDermott’s wife
Sean McDermott is married to Jamie McDermott.
The couple have three children named Maddie, Gavin and Kelly. The family spent McDermott’s Buffalo years living in Western New York and became involved in several community initiatives.
Jamie has largely stayed outside the national spotlight, although she has occasionally spoken about her husband’s development as a coach.
In an interview with The Athletic, Jamie described McDermott as becoming a more “multifaceted coach” during his time with Buffalo, compared with the more single-minded approach he had early in his tenure.
The McDermott family has also supported food-allergy awareness and skin-cancer awareness initiatives.
Two of their children have dealt with food allergies, which led Sean and Jamie to become involved in awareness efforts around food allergies and special dietary needs.
Their eldest daughter, Maddie, has also committed to play softball at the University of Notre Dame.
What is Sean McDermott’s net worth
Sean McDermott’s net worth is estimated at around $20 million by Celebrity Net Worth.
That figure is an estimate rather than a publicly verified financial statement, so it should not be treated as an exact amount.
A significant part of McDermott’s wealth came from his long NFL coaching career.
Reports have placed his peak annual salary with the Bills at approximately $8 million. He also had two years remaining on his contract when Buffalo fired him in January 2026, although the exact terms of his post-firing compensation were not publicly disclosed.
McDermott’s financial position also reflects his long career as an NFL coach, beginning with his work in Philadelphia before moving to Carolina and eventually becoming a head coach in Buffalo.
Where does Sean McDermott live now
McDermott has strong ties to both Western New York and North Carolina.
After leaving Buffalo, he and Jamie sold their Orchard Park home for $1.6 million in 2026. The couple had purchased the property after McDermott became Buffalo’s head coach.
McDermott also purchased a home in the Charlotte area for approximately $5.1 million in April 2026.
The move is notable because Charlotte was where McDermott previously spent five seasons as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator before becoming Buffalo’s head coach.
Will Sean McDermott coach again
McDermott has not announced a new coaching job for the 2026 season.
However, his own comments indicate that he views the current period as a break rather than retirement.
He has said that he wants to use the time away to evaluate his Buffalo experience and become a better coach before his next opportunity.
For now, the former Bills coach is watching the 2026 NFL season from outside the coaching ranks.
McDermott has also made it clear that he still follows Buffalo closely. In September 2026, he said he continues to root for the Bills and predicted a potential Super Bowl matchup between Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams.
Sean McDermott now
Sean McDermott’s current situation is therefore quite different from what many fans remember.
He went from being the longtime head coach of the Buffalo Bills to an NFL coach without a team in less than a week after Buffalo’s January playoff loss.
As of September 2026, he is living away from Buffalo, spending the season away from coaching, and using the time to reflect on his nine-year tenure.
McDermott has not announced his next coaching destination.
For now, the answer to “Where is Sean McDermott now?” is simple: he is not coaching a team in 2026, but he has not indicated that his coaching career is over.
