Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, ESPN has published updated power rankings, with the Buffalo Bills landing at No. 7. The Bills have climbed one spot since the post-draft rankings, but the most noteworthy aspect of ESPN’s new list is the insight into the head coach’s position. ESPN suggests that head coach Sean McDermott may be under pressure, as indicated in the team descriptions accompanying the rankings. Reporter Alaina Getzenberg’s analysis points to the challenges the team is currently confronting rather than McDermott’s job security.
This isn’t about job security, instead it’s the challenge McDermott has on his hands in a different way this season,” Getzenberg wrote. “After winning the division the past four seasons, the Bills transitioned this offseason, reshaping a variety of areas. McDermott is entering 2024 with two new full-time coordinators, and many young players, while also dealing with quarterback Josh Allen being in the seventh year of his career and having only one AFC Championship Game appearance.
“On top of that, injuries are already in the mix on defense, notably with linebacker Matt Milano, but the coach has found success despite injuries in the past. The balance for the Bills of having success while also building for future years with Allen and guiding a changed roster is a unique challenge.”
McDermott has been forced to deal with adversity at several points throughout his tenure (notably during a 2022 NFL season in which things went awry at every turn), but this is perhaps the most upfront turmoil he’s dealt with since Allen’s rookie season in terms of the team seemingly being in a time of transition. The team moved on from long-time starters like Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer, Mitch Morse, and Stefon Diggs in the offseason and are now left with a generally young roster in search of a new leadership corps.
