When Josh Allen walked into the Bills' latest media session, fans didn't expect an admission about the former head coach Sean McDermott.

On Thursday, during Joe Brady’s introductory press conference, Allen stated he felt responsible for not making it to the Super Bowl, a deciding factor in McDermott’s firing.  

"I'm sitting in my house, I wake up to a call from Mr. Pegula, telling me what had transpired... And I called Coach McDermott immediately, and I've got nothing but love and respect for Coach McDermott. The last eight seasons, eight years of my life, he's been through ups and downs of me as a player, as a person. He's seen me grow up in a sense.”

In his eight years, McDermott had a 98-50 regular-season record, the second-best winning percentage among coaches. And while the Bills didn't win a Super Bowl, McDermott was key to Allen's development. Perhaps that's why Allen felt McDermott's firing came partly due to him.

"I’m sitting here saying that, you know, I feel like I had part in it, because if we made — if I make one more play [during] that game in Denver, we’re probably not having this press conference right now. We’re probably not making a change, and honestly, we’re probably getting ready to play another game."

Allen was talking about the Divisional Game, when the Broncos won 33-30 against the Bills, which was also McDermott's final game. Of the Bills' five turnovers, four came thanks to Allen. Two fumbles in the first half came from the Broncos' pass rush.

However, the interceptions were from the second half. First was a pass attempt coming from the Broncos 40. Later in OT, what seemed like a completed pass was taken away from Brandin Cooks to make it into another interception. The loss ended one of the Bills' best chances to reach the Super Bowl.

And despite his regrets about the game, Allen is focused on the future.

Josh Allen Talks About the Bills' New Coach

Taking over from Sean McDermott will be Joe Brady, who served as the offensive coordinator for the team.

Talking about the new coach, Allen went on to say, "I’m looking forward to Joe and everything that entails with him becoming the head coach, and guys getting behind him and rallying behind him and understanding his vision, because I do believe in it... I can go on and on about how good of a coach I think Joe is, but he’s also a great human being. He’s a family man, he’s a leader. And I think that our guys will respond positively to this."

Brady has been at the Bills since 2022, starting as the QBs coach. When the team fired Ken Dorsey in 2023, Brady became the offensive coordinator. Could he be the head coach who makes their Super Bowl dream come true? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar