How the Sean McDermott Firing Could Impact the Dolphins Coaching Search

The NFL’s coaching carousel took another surprising turn Monday when the Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott, two days after the team’s playoff exit against the Denver Broncos.

Of course, this affects the Miami Dolphins in multiple ways. The Bills are a division rival, which means whoever the Bills hire, Miami will see them plenty. Additionally, Buffalo is a more desirable opening, which could affect the Dolphins’ coaching search.

However, the more immediate question is whether the Dolphins should at least reach out and gauge McDermott’s interest in their head coaching job.

Why the Dolphins Should Reach Out to McDermott

The reasons in favor of McDermott are pretty obvious — he’s got an incredibly successful resume. McDermott was 98-50 in nine years with the Bills, and he made the playoffs in eight of those nine seasons. The Bills also won five straight AFC East titles with McDermott.

Like the Dolphins, the Bills had a gigantic postseason drought before McDermott arrived. Obviously, getting Josh Allen in tow helped quite a bit, but McDermott did make the playoffs in his first season with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback.

The Bills’ defense has had some ups and downs under McDermott, but he’s generally regarded as a pretty good defensive mind. Since 2019, Buffalo hasn’t ranked lower than 12th in yards allowed.

There are a million other stats to pull from, where Buffalo’s defense had taken a step back, especially against the run, but McDermott coached some great defenses in Buffalo — don’t let the recent drop-off convince you he’s not a quality play-caller for his side of the ball.

From 2021 to 2024, Buffalo never finished lower than fourth in points allowed. The Dolphins had plenty of trouble dealing with the Bills’ defense during that stretch.

More importantly, the Dolphins are at a point where getting someone who can consistently get the team to the playoffs would be a huge upgrade.

McDermott isn’t the most modern or youngest head coach in the world, but he’s a proven winner in the division the Dolphins are trying to win. His previous experience also would make him the first Dolphins’ HC who isn’t a first-time NFL head coach since Dave Wannstedt.

If you’re looking at this from McDermott’s perspective, coaching in Miami could give him a chance to get revenge on the team that made him a scapegoat.

The Bills promoted GM Brandon Beane when McDermott was fired, despite Buffalo’s recent draft history being a significant reason McDermott’s teams struggled on the field. If the Dolphins need a tiebreaker for McDermott’s services, that’s a good one.

Why This Is Highly Unlikely to Happen

Although we believe the Dolphins would be foolish not to consider McDermott, it’s probably an unlikely outcome for a couple of reasons.

For starters, the Dolphins’ head coaching search appeared to be winding down. The team is already starting its second round of interviews Monday with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who is considered the favorite for the job.

If the Dolphins like Hafley, there’s a good chance they’ll try to hire him before he leaves the building. If not, he’s got a second-round interview scheduled with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday.

If Miami lets Hafley leave the building without a deal, he might get scooped off the market the following day. Tennessee also was a contender for John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski, who signed with the Giants and Falcons, respectively.

They're getting desperate and clearly like Hafley enough to make him a finalist for his job. The Dolphins stopping their process to engage with McDermott could cost them their best candidate.

Now, many of you are probably thinking that it wouldn’t matter because McDermott is a better candidate than Hafley. While that’s fair, NFL teams rarely undo their entire process at the last minute.

Plus, Hafley has a direct connection to new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, who has talked about building a long-term successful program since arriving in Miami. It’s hard to imagine that McDermott would push him off someone who he knows will run the program how he wants.

It’s been a crazy coaching carousel, so anything is possible, but Miami being so close to likely hiring Hafley makes McDermott coming to South Florida feel like quite the long shot.

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