Bills Fan Petition to Bring Back Sean McDermott Goes Viral After Firing

Bills fans aren’t taking the Sean McDermott news quietly.

A lifelong Buffalo fan Maria Maisonet started a change.org petition on Jan. 19 asking the Bills to bring McDermott back — and it’s already taken off. As of 8:50 p.m. ET Friday, the petition had 62,395 signatures, showing just how split (and emotional) this decision has made the fanbase.

In her petition, Maisonet said she’s been a Bills fan for more than 40 years and called the firing “heartbreaking and baffling,” crediting McDermott not just for winning games, but for how he represented the team and the city.

And it’s easy to see why people feel that way.

Before McDermott arrived in 2017, Buffalo was stuck in a 17-year playoff drought. In year one, he helped end it — and after a brief dip, the Bills became a yearly postseason team, making the playoffs seven straight seasons and owning the AFC East with five straight division titles from 2020–2024.

The main criticism has always been the same: Buffalo couldn’t get over the AFC hump. They reached the AFC Championship Game twice, but both runs ended against the Chiefs (2020 and 2024). Still, McDermott’s overall run was the best the franchise has had since Marv Levy, finishing 98–50 with an 8–8 playoff record.

Buffalo’s 2025 season ended in brutal fashion — a 33–30 overtime loss to the Broncos in the Divisional Round. Two days later, the Bills fired McDermott.

Then on Wednesday, owner Terry Pegula and GM/president of football ops Brandon Beane addressed the move and basically framed it like this: the Bills hit a “playoff wall” and needed a new direction.

But that explanation is exactly why fans are pushing back.

A lot of people are looking at the optics: Beane — who came in the same year as McDermott and even has ties to him from Carolina — got promoted, while McDermott took the fall. And when you zoom out, it’s hard to ignore how rare it is to find a coach who makes the playoffs eight times in nine seasons for a franchise that spent nearly two decades stuck in neutral.

Former players have also shown love publicly since the news, including Damar Hamlin and Dion Dawkins, which lines up with the reputation McDermott built in Buffalo.

The Bills are moving forward — that part is done.

But this petition is proof of one thing: a big chunk of the fanbase still sees McDermott as the guy who brought the Bills back to life… and they’re not ready to let that go.