​The Buffalo Bills will take the field for their first regular-season home game at new Highmark Stadium when they host the Detroit Lions for “Thursday Night Football” in Week 2.The matchup will also mark Buffalo’s first home game since the 2016 season where Sean McDermott will not be the team’s head coach.McDermott and the Bills parted during the 2026 NFL offseason after nine seasons together. Buffalo promoted Joe Brady, who served as the team’s offensive coordinator for two-and-a-half seasons, to replace McDermott, making the 36-year-old the NFL’s youngest current head coach.And so, Brady will seek his first home win as the Bills’ head coach in the key, intraconference clash with the Lions. Meanwhile, McDermott will remain out of football as he awaits his next NFL opportunity.Here’s what to know about McDermott’s departure from the Bills and what could be next for him.What happened to Sean McDermott?McDermott was fired by the Bills following the 2025 NFL season after Buffalo lost to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs.Bills owner Terry Pegula announced the decision in a statement on Jan. 19.”Sean has done an [admirable] job of leading our football team for the past nine seasons,” the statement read. “But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level. We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.””Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team,” Pegula added. “I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he showed for this team and the community.”Why did the Bills fire Sean McDermott?Pegula later clarified in a news conference with reporters on Jan. 21, that his decision to fire McDermott was directly tied to Buffalo’s playoff loss to Denver.”It was where does the leadership of the team, on the field and in the locker room, where [do] we go from that moment, another playoff failure?” Pegula told reporters. “That’s why I decided Sean had to leave.”McDermott’s firing came on the heels of a 12-5 season during which the Bills made the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season. Many believed Buffalo would have a chance to enjoy a quality postseason run with the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs all missing the playoffs, but the Bills only made it to the divisional round.While McDermott led Buffalo to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, he only posted an 8-8 record across those postseason appearances. The Bills never made it to the Super Bowl under his tutelage and only twice made it as far as the AFC championship game, which was part of what led Pegula to go in a different direction ahead of the 2026 season.Sean McDermott career recordMcDermott posted a 98-50 regular-season record with the Bills across his nine seasons with the team. They only had one losing season across his tenure, but he only posted an 8-8 record