Where Josh Allen and Sean McDermott Rank in NFL Head Coach-QB Duo Rankings

There are several factors that contribute to creating lasting success in the NFL, the most important of which are continuity on the coaching staff and consistent excellence at the quarterback position. The Buffalo Bills have the chance to check both of those boxes; Head coach Sean McDermott enters his eighth year at the helm of the team, while former All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen is coming off an NFL-record fourth consecutive season in which he totaled over 40 touchdowns.

And Buffalo, in turn, has had success in the recent past; the team has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last five campaigns, winning at least one playoff game in the last four postseasons. The Bills have won four straight AFC East titles, tying a franchise record set from 1988 to 1991. McDermott has been named NFL Coach of the Year multiple times, while Allen has earned MVP votes in the NFL in three of the last four years.

The two are a clearly successful combination, a sentiment reflected in Sports Illustrated’s recent NFL Coach-QB Duo rankings. SI’s Matt Verderame places the duo at No. 8 in his rankings, praising Allen while expressing doubt about McDermott’s ability in clutch moments.

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“The Bills appear to be undergoing a soft reset, having parted ways with a host of veterans,” Verderame wrote. “Still, with Allen in charge, Buffalo is a dangerous team. The main uncertainty is whether McDermott can make the right decisions in key moments, which has been his bugaboo to make his job safe, the Bills probably need to win at least one more playoff game, and maybe more.

Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid should be at the top of the Verderame rankings, with no glaring pairing ranked above Allen and McDermott. No. 8 seems like a good spot for the duo; they had success with each other, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. The concerns Verderame raised about McDermott are also valid; Although he led Buffalo to one of its most successful periods in franchise history, he experienced a number of mental lapses in big games, leading many to wonder if he was the coach the team needed to lead them to the proverbial promised land.

What’s a bit egregious, however, is how the media ranks Allen and McDermott among their respective peers. Allen ranks third among quarterbacks — which is fair — while McDermott ranks 18th among NFL head coaches.

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In No In this world – certainly not the one we live in – McDermott is a head coach in the bottom half of the league. He won 64 percent of the regular season games he coached, posting double-digit victories in each of the last five seasons. For proof of his excellence as a leader, look no further than the latter part of the team’s 2023 season; Sitting at 6-6 and out of the AFC playoffs during their Week 13 bye, the Bills have reeled off five straight wins, including victories over the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, to win another division title.

The 2022 season is also a microcosm of McDermott’s excellence; the adversity the team faced that year – several season-ending injuries, moving a game due to a snowstorm that shut down the area, and Damar’s situation Hamlin, among several other events – was almost unprecedented, and the team still won 13 games.

McDermott, yes, has not yet succeeded in overcoming the obstacle, and it is possible that he never will; That said, it is simply unjustifiable to say that there are 17 best head coaches in the NFL.

Either way, the ranking of the McDermott and Allen duo seems fair. Both will look to climb the rankings further with another productive season in 2024.