On Monday, the Buffalo Bills decided to fire head coach Sean McDermott — but not general manager Brandon Beane.
The move came as the Bills once again came up short in the postseason. There were controversial calls, but nonetheless, Buffalo lost to the Denver Broncos in overtime of their divisional round matchup. The loss moved McDermott to 8-8 in the postseason and marked another year he didn't reach the Super Bowl.
Given the franchise's continued falling short of expectations, there was a chance the head coach's firing signified that Buffalo would clean house. Instead, Beane was retained. In team owner Terry Pegula's statement about McDermott's termination, it was revealed that Beane would actually be getting a slight promotion to President of Football Operations/General Manager.
Here is more on why the Bills elected to retain Beane instead of firing him with McDermott.
MORE: Why did the Bills fire Sean McDermott?
Why didn't Bills fire Brandon Beane?
Buffalo chose not to fire Beane with McDermott. Instead, he received his promotion.
In Pegula's statement about McDermott's firing, he cited that "Brandon [Beane] will oversee all facets of our football operation, including the oversight of our coaching staff. I have full faith in and have witnessed Brandon's outstanding leadership style and have confidence in his abilities to lead our organization."
The #Bills make it official: Sean McDermott is out pic.twitter.com/1IJZrWiXh6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2026
MORE: What's next for Sean McDermott after Bills firing?
Brandon Beane picks
Beane was hired as the Buffalo GM ahead of the 2017 season. Since then, he has had nine draft classes. Some of them have been full of hits like in 2018 when he drafted Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, Harrison Phillips, Taron Johnson and Wyatt Teller.
Other drafts, like 2021, were rough outings for Beane as half of the class ended up playing fewer than two seasons in the NFL.
2017
- 1 -- CB Tre'Davious White, LSU
- 2 -- WR Zay Jones, East Carolina
- 2 -- OG Dion Dawkins, Temple
- 5 -- LB Matt Milano, Boston College
- 5 -- QB Nathan Peterman, Pittsburgh
- 6 -- LB Tanner Vallejo, Boise St.
2017 is a pretty solid example of what Beane brings to the table. He hit on White, who has gone on to play 109 career games, with 98 of them coming with the Bills. Dawkins has spent all of his nine-year career with Buffalo and has developed into one of the more reliable offensive linemen in the league. Guys like Jones and Peterman spent more time in their careers away from the Bills as opposed to with them.
2018
- 1 -- QB Josh Allen, Wyoming
- 1 -- MLB Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech
- 3 -- DT Harrison Phillips, Stanford
- 4 -- CB Taron Johnson, Weber St.
- 5 -- CB Siran Neal, Jacksonville St.
- 5 -- OG Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech
- 6 -- WR Ray-Ray McCloud, Clemson
- 7 -- WR Austin Proehl, North Carolina
This has been one of Beane's best draft classes. Buffalo took Allen with the No. 7 pick and he has developed into their franchise quarterback and has won an MVP Award. Edmunds spent five years with the Bills before signing with the Chicago Bears. Similarly, Phillips played out his rookie deal with the Bills and signed elsewhere in free agency. Teller played only one year in Buffalo before he was traded to the Cleveland Browns.
2019
- 1 -- DT Ed Oliver, Houston
- 2 -- OT Cody Ford, Oklahoma
- 3 -- RB Devin Singletary, Florida Atlantic
- 3 -- TE Dawson Knox, Ole Miss
- 5 -- LB Vosean Joseph, Florida
- 6 -- CB Jaquan Johnson, Miami
- 7 -- DE Darryl Johnson, North Carolina A&T
- 7 -- TE Tommy Sweeney, Boston College
This was a problematic class for Beane and the Bills. Oliver was a great start and remains with Buffalo after seven years, as does Knox. Ford was in Buffalo for three years, Singletary for four, Johnson for four (has been out of the league since), Johnson for two, Sweeney for three (has been out of the league since) and Joseph never played. Outside of Oliver and Knox, this class lacked longevity in Buffalo.
MORE: Ranking the greatest Bills of all time
2020
- 2 -- DE A.J. Epensea, Iowa
- 3 -- RB Zack Moss, Utah
- 4 -- WR Gabe Davis, Central Florida
- 5 -- QB Jake Fromm, Georgia
- 6 -- K Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern
- 6 -- WR Isaiah Hodgins, Oregon St.
- 7 -- CB Dane Jackson, Pittsburgh
This was a good draft class for Beane. Epenesa continues to be a solid defender for Buffalo, as does Jackson. Davis has had solid seasons, as has Bass though both have struggled recently. The big misses from this class were Moss and Fromm, who didn't last long in Buffalo.
2021
- 1 -- DL Gregory Rousseau, Miami
- 2 -- DL Boogie Basham, Wake Forest
- 3 -- OL Spencer Brown, Northern Iowa
- 5 -- OL Tommy Doyle, Miami (OH)
- 6 -- WR Marquez Stevenson, Houston
- 6 -- DB Damar Hamlin, Pittsburgh
- 6 -- CB Rachad Wildgoose, Wisconsin
- 7 -- OL Jack Anderson, Texas Tech
Rousseau remains in Buffalo and has 32 career sacks, and Brown continues to be a starting member of the offensive line when healthy. Basham only lasted two seasons with the Bills, while Doyle, Stevenson, Wildgoose and Anderson have all played fewer than two seasons in the league. Hamlin has been a productive depth piece after being drafted in the sixth round.
2022
- 1 -- CB Kair Elam, Florida
- 2 -- RB James Cook, Georgia
- 3 -- LB Terrel Bernard, Baylor
- 5 -- WR Khalil Shakir, Boise St.
- 6 -- P Matt Araiza, San Diego St.
- 6 -- DB Christian, Benford, Villanova
- 6 -- OL Luke Tenuta, Virginia Tech
- 7 -- LB Baylor Spector, Clemson
The 2022 draft was another solid one for Beane and Buffalo. Cook, Bernard, Benford and Shakir remain starters when healthy. Cook has developed into one of the best running backs in the NFL, and Shakir led the Bills in receiving in 2025.
Elam was a pretty big miss. He played in 29 games over three years and had just two interceptions before being cut ahead of the 2025 season. Araiza had off-field issues arise and never played for the Bills. He has since returned to the NFL, but is the punter for the Kansas City Chiefs. Tenuta never played with the Bills and Spector is a depth piece still on the roster.
MORE: When is the last time the Bills won a Super Bowl?
2023
- 1 -- TE Dalton Kincaid, Utah
- 2 -- OL O'Cyrus Torrence, Florida
- 3 -- LB Dorian Williams, Tulane
- 5 -- WR Justin Shorter, Florida
- 7 -- OL Nick Broeker, Ole Miss
- 7 -- DB Alex Austin, Oregon St.
This was the fewest number of picks that Buffalo had in a draft in Beane's tenure. Kincaid remains the starting tight end when healthy. Torrence has started all but one game since the Bills drafted him. Williams remains a depth linebacker for the Bills, but Shorter, Broeker and Austin never played a game for Buffalo and are all on different teams if they are still in the league.
2024
- 2 -- WR Keon Coleman, Florida State
- 2 -- S Cole Bishop, Utah
- 3 -- DT DeWayne Carter, Duke
- 4 -- RB Ray Davis, Kentucky
- 5 -- OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Georgia
- 5 -- LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington
- 5 -- DE Javon Solomon, Troy
- 6 -- OL Tylan Grable, Central Florida
- 6 -- CB Daequan Hardy, Penn State
- 7 -- OT Travis Clayton
Coleman won the hearts of Bills fans in his opening press conference, but by his second season was already being listed as a healthy scratch for disciplinary reasons. Bishop started all 17 games for the Bills in 2025, but Carter missed the entire season due to a torn Achilles tendon in the preseason.
Davis is the primary backup running back for Cook. The others are mainly depth pieces, but Hardy and Clayton are no longer on the team.
MORE: Inside Keon Coleman's timeline of trouble in Buffalo
2025
- 1 -- CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
- 2 -- DT T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
- 3 -- DE Landon Jackson, Arkansas
- 4 -- DT Deone Walker, Kentucky
- 5 -- S Jordan Hancock, Ohio State
- 5 -- TE Jackson Hawes, Georgia Tech
- 6 -- CB Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech
- 6 -- OL Chase Lundt, Connecticut
- 7 -- WR Kaden Prather, Maryland
Prather is the only member of this draft class who didn't appear in a game in their rookie season. Only Walker and Hawes saw action in all 17 games. Hairston had two interceptions and 18 tackles, while Sanders had seven tackles and a sack, with both expected to take a step forward in 2026.
When was Josh Allen drafted?
Allen was drafted with Buffalo's first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was selected seventh overall and was the third quarterback drafted in the class. Baker Mayfield was chosen first by the Cleveland Browns, and the New York Jets took Sam Darnold third. Allen was the third of five quarterbacks drafted in the first round that year, along with Josh Rosen (10th) and Lamar Jackson (32nd).
MORE: Inside Sean McDermott's career coaching timeline
Brandon Beane free-agent signings
If GMs aren't able to hit in the draft, their next option is to sign free agents. The Bills have been scrutinized recently for not paying for a dominant wide receiver for Allen to lean on in the offense, but that isn't the only miss for their recent years of free agency.
Best free-agent signings
Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde
Beane made a splash in the 2017 offseason bringing in a pair of safeties on huge contracts. Hyde was signed to a five-year deal worth $30.5 million, while Poyer inked a four-year, $13 million deal. They developed into a dominant safety tandem, that played together through the 2023 season when Hyde retired.
Connor McGovern
McGovern was a big signing for Buffalo as the offensive lineman was signed to a three-year, $22.35 million deal. He played in all but two games for the Bills over the course of the deal and should be a player that Beane and Buffalo want to re-sign for the 2026 season and beyond.
MORE: Revisiting the Bills' four consecutive Super Bowl losses
Worst free-agent signings
Von Miller
Beane and the Bills signed defensive end Von Miller to a massive six-year, $120 million deal ahead of the 2022 NFL season. The pass-rusher was 33 years old at the time, and the contract was expected to have him in Buffalo through his age 39 season. Miller had eight sacks in 11 games in 2020 before tearing his ACL. He only had six sacks over his next 25 games. Miller was released after three years.
Curtis Samuel
The Bills have been unable to lock down a top-end wide receiver for Allen. To add wide receiver depth, Buffalo signed veteran wide receiver Curtis Samuel to a three-year, $24 million deal ahead of the 2024 season. Injuries have derailed his Bills tenure, but he has played in 20 games over the last two seasons and has combined for 334 yards and two touchdowns.
Mario Addison
Addison was signed to a three-year, $30.45 million deal ahead of the 2020 season. The then-33-year-old played in two seasons with Buffalo and had 59 tackles with 12 sacks. He was released after the 2021 season and signed with the Houston Texans.