Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips has slammed his organization’s decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills confirmed the news on Monday morning following the playoff loss to Denver Broncos, blowing what many felt was the team’s best chance yet to get to a Super Bowl with Josh Allen as quarterback.
As the news broke, a furious Phillips hit out on social media, writing on Instagram: ‘This s*** here is so stupid, honestly sickening. The best coach I’ve ever been around.’
Phillips, 33, did not play in the loss to the Broncos due to an ankle injury that had ruled him out of the entirety of the postseason.
Phillips is the first Bills player to speak about McDermott’s exit, which has coincided with GM Brandon Beane controversially moving to a ‘President of Football Operations’ role.
McDermott signed Phillips three times during his tenure as head coach, establishing himself as an outstanding pass-rusher under McDermott’s guidance.
Buffalo Billsdefensive tackle Jordan Phillips was angry about Sean McDermott’s firing
Phillips branded the news ‘sickening’ and praised McDermott’s coaching capabilities
The opening to replace McDermott, head coach for nine seasons in Buffalo, will be of huge appeal to coaches across the NFL, given that it brings with it the opportunity to work with quarterback Allen.
He was in tears as he spoke to reporters after the game, saying that he felt he had let people down in a performance blighted by five turnovers. But it is McDermott who is paying the price for the loss.
‘It’s extremely difficult,’ Allen said. ‘I feel like I let my teammates down tonight.
‘It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended, and it’s gonna stick with me for a long time.’
McDermott is expected to return promptly to coaching with another team and there are as many as seven head coaching vacancies available at present.
The 51-year-old worked as a defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles before stepping up as head coach in Buffalo and could consider returning to that role next.
But either way, he is expected to stay involved in football for the 2026 campaign.
‘Sean has done an admiral (sic) job of leading our football team for the past 9 seasons,’ Bills owner Terry Pegula said in a statement on Monday.
McDermott was head coach for nine seasons in Buffalo but now, a new era beckons for the Bills
‘But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level… We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.’
McDermott’s firing also comes just days after John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski, two of the most in-demand free coaches on the market, accepted other jobs.
Harbaugh took over the New York Giants on a five-year deal, confirmed on Saturday, before Stefanski was later announced as the next coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
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