The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott on Monday, just days after another disappointing playoff loss. At the same time, it was shared that general manager Brandon Beane would stay on in his role and lead the head coach search. Not only that, the Bills promoted Beane to president of football operations. That likely signals that the new head coach will report to Beane whereas McDermott had reported directly to owner Terry Pegula.
This has not sat well with a lot of Bills fans, who blame Beane
for the team’s shortcomings in 2025. Beane’s post-draft rant about the wide receiver position on a local radio show was particularly troubling for many Bills fans, as that position group turned out to be an Achilles heel of the team the entire season. It was made worse at the trade deadline when he pursued receivers but ultimately came away empty.
Separating Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott’s roster contributions
Separating Beane and McDermott isn’t something we as fans should feel we have a great grasp on. Where does one begin and the other end in terms of roster construction?
Beane’s job is to scout and rank players for McDermott’s systems on offense and defense. It’s his job to negotiate and finalize contracts and manage the salary cap based on what the coaches say they need. It’s not like Beane puts together the roster without input from the coaching staff, and I think that nuance has been lost in this conversation. And then after they are here, it’s the coaches’ job to put them in a position to succeed and grow.
The Bills have rolled plenty of defensive lineman through the rotation with not much to show for it. Von Miller and Joey Bosa had mediocre seasons with the Bills after good seasons elsewhere. Rookies on the DL didn’t develop consistently. Signings at the position would have down years in Buffalo before rebounding elsewhere. Poona Ford has had good seasons in Los Angeles with the Chargers and Rams since leaving the Bills. He’s not a bad player, but he wasn’t utilized in Buffalo. The Bills spent three picks on the defensive line early in the 2025 NFL Draft because of the revolving door at the position, which in turn saps them of assets for addressing other needs.
Bills’ wide receiver depth was a symptom of another problem
The Bills chose to invest in the defensive line and at cornerback because they’ve been rocked in the playoffs on defense, specifically. Josh Allen was asked to carry the offense with a great OL, costly tight ends, and a league-leading running back. You can’t invest equally in every position, which brings us back to the wide receiver conversation. The Bills were able to glue together a WR corps throughout the season despite Keon Coleman’s setbacks. It wasn’t ideal, but they had legitimate depth at wide receiver without the top option a lot of fans were clamoring for.
Beane has added gems all over the roster, as well. Brandin Cooks, Gabe Davis, Jordan Poyer, Jordan Phillips, Matt Prater, Tyrell Shavers, and Shaq Thompson all played major roles for the Bills in 2025 not to mention re-adding Tre’Davious White. You have to appreciate the good alongside the questionable.
Brandon Beane has managed the Bills’ salary cap situation well
The final piece I wanted to hit on here was that of the salary cap. Bills fans wanted Beane to go “all in” on 2025 as a last gasp before Josh Allen’s salary cap number started to balloon. Beane has already been leveraging contracts to keep the team competitive over the last several years. Signing players and pushing bonus money into the future catches up with you quickly. Just ask the New Orleans Saints who still haven’t dug out of their Drew Brees window.
The Bills are projected to be over the 2026 salary cap as it is. They don’t have 40% of their starting offensive line under contract for 2026. Two of their top three defensive ends are free agents (again) along with the majority of their defensive tackles including DaQuan Jones. Matt Milano, Tre White, Damar Hamlin, Shaq Thompson, and Jordan Poyer are all free agents. Beane saw the looming shift that needed to happen and didn’t mortgage everything in 2025 and didn’t panic.
As Brandon Beane takes over the vision for the Bills’ football team, it’s clear he isn’t going anywhere. Whether Bills fans like it or not.
