The Buffalo Bills' inability to get over the playoff hump has some questioning Sean McDermott.
Star quarterback Josh Allen isn't one of those worrying about his head coach.
"Extremely confident," Allen said Monday when asked his level of confidence in McDermott's ability to lead the Bills to the Super Bowl.
Allen and McDermott have been an extremely successful regular-season duo but continue to fall short in the postseason. Sunday's defeat in K.C. dropped them to 0-4 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Kansas City's win allowed Andy Reid to become the first head coach to defeat another head coach at least four times in the playoffs in NFL history.
"I'm just so proud of coach," Allen said, via the team's official website. "I don't know why he's not recognized more in the awards stuff. … Time in and time out, he's got us in position. ... He gives his life to this. ... And to see him adapt and really grow as a coach has been fun to watch."
The latest playoff loss stings, but in context, McDermott got more out of his club than was expected entering 2024. Buffalo revamped its offense and defense last offseason, getting younger on both sides of the ball. In a year that could have been viewed as a rebuild, the Bills still won the AFC East and wound up in the AFC Championship Game. Allen received most of the credit for carrying Buffalo with no regular-season fall-off. The star quarterback thinks his coach deserves some of the flowers as well.
"From my first year here to now and the way that he's kind of let players be them, really give us the keys to the team and lead it from down in that locker room," Allen said, "it's not easy to do that and I respect the hell out of coach."
