The Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens hold the two most desirable open head coaching positions in the NFL. Both jobs come with elite quarterbacks, established infrastructure, and championship expectations.
Both also carry a unique pressure point: replacing the head coach who defined the most successful era of the franchise.
In Baltimore, there’s idle speculation about whether the future could ever include moving on from quarterback Lamar Jackson. I don’t see that happening, but I’m sure the possibility of it still sits with the fan base. In Buffalo, there’s no speculation needed. Quarterback Josh Allen is the franchise. He is the face. He is the constant. Without Josh Allen, the Bills are irrelevant again and, quite possibly, the least appealing job in the league.
That reality creates enormous pressure.
The pressure to remain relevant.
The pressure to open a brand-new stadium with momentum.
The pressure to build a roster with limited cap flexibility.
The pressure to avoid any kind of acclimation year.
Patience is gone.
Because of how head coach Sean McDermott was let go, the margin for error with the next hire is razor-thin. The fan base will not wait. The organization will not wait. The expectations are permanently set at “Super Bowl or bust,” and frankly, they should be. The infrastructure exists. This roster should be competing for a championship every single year.
Was Bills co-owner Terry Pegula’s decision to fire McDermott rash or emotional? Maybe. But what I’ve realized over the last few days is that my own emotional roller coaster, the coping, the venting, the eventual acceptance, is proof of something else: Pegula is human. And he’s running a business.
In the moment yesterday, after the press conference with Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane, I too feared Buffalo had just made itself unattractive — a narrative the media is now fully entrenched in. I worried that no coach would want to walk into this level of scrutiny and expectation. But with some distance, and after finally reaching the acceptance stage of the grieving process, I am ready to move on. Not only ready, but excited at the next steps.
So what’s the move? Do the Bills lean into familiarity? Someone Josh Allen already knows and trusts. A coach who speaks his language, understands his tendencies, and can hit the ground running immediately. Comfort. Continuity. Minimal disruption. Someone like Davis Webb, Brian Daboll, or Joe Brady?
Or do they go in the opposite direction? A young, innovative voice. Someone new. Someone unafraid to challenge norms and bring modern answers to an offense that has two of the most explosive players in the NFL or a defense that can keep opponents off the scoreboard. Someone who will develop talent and not keep it sidelined. Someone like Mike LaFleur, Klint Kubiak, Grant Udinski, Jesse Minter, or Chris Shula.
Or is the real answer something else entirely?
What if, what Josh Allen needs most is a veteran head coach? Someone who has been there. Someone who doesn’t flinch. Someone who doesn’t accept excuses. Someone willing to get in his face, push him, and demand more even from the reigning MVP?
Josh Allen might be the best player in the NFL. He is unquestionably the most valuable. But greatness doesn’t mean exemption from growth. It doesn’t mean immunity from criticism. It doesn’t mean comfort should outweigh accountability.
He still needs to learn.
He still needs honest, rational, and constructive feedback.
He still needs to be challenged to elevate not just himself, but the teammates around him.
The organization must give him help so he doesn’t feel like he has to wear the cape every Sunday. But just as important, Josh Allen needs to believe completely in the coaching and decision-making around him. And that confidence doesn’t have to come from his best friends on the sideline.
Sometimes, the coach who gets you over the wall isn’t the one who knows you best. It’s the one who refuses to let you settle. For the Bills, the right candidate might only exist in finding the perfect marriage of continuity, innovation, and confidence.
