Bills fire coach Sean McDermott after 9 seasons of falling short of reaching the Super Bowl

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Sean McDermott arrived in Buffalo in 2017, envisioning the day of looking out his office window and seeing a throng of fans celebrating a Super Bowl victory.

That possibility ended on Monday, when McDermott was abruptly fired by team owner Terry Pegula following a nine-year tenure in which the coach transformed the Bills into perennial contenders but fell short of reaching the Super Bowl.

The move came two days after a heart-wrenching 33-30 overtime loss at Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team,” Pegula said. ”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.”

The new structure features general manager Brandon Beane being promoted to president of football operations. Beane will oversee his first coaching search since arriving in Buffalo five months after McDermott, who replaced Rex Ryan following two seasons in Buffalo.

Beane is expected to target an offensive-minded coach to spur an offense in which quarterback Josh Allen was too often asked to carry the burden.

McDermott issued a statement through the NFL Network, in which he thanked the Pegula family, the Bills organization and fans, and referred to Buffalo “as a special place."

“For nearly a decade I have had the opportunity to wake up every morning as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, which has truly been a gift,” McDermott said. “God gave me and my family an incredible opportunity, one that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Yet we know that HE has a plan. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your head coach.”

Despite a seven-year playoff run and Allen setting many franchise passing and scoring records and earning AP NFL MVP honors last season, the Bills advanced no further than the AFC championship game, which they lost both times to Kansas City in the 2020 and ’24 seasons.

Buffalo became the league’s first team to win a playoff round in six consecutive years but not reach the Super Bowl.

McDermott was aware of the shortcomings and addressed them in August.

“We take a lot of pride in what we’ve done here. And nobody has more internal drive and internal expectations than I do or we do. And very confident in who we are,” McDermott said. “There’s one thing that remains. We know what that is. But you can’t get there tomorrow.”

Tomorrow never came.

The Bills went 12-5 in the regular season and had their five-year run atop the AFC East end, finishing second behind the New England Patriots.

McDermott’s firing is the latest in what’s become a seismic shift in the NFL’s coaching ranks this offseason. He became the 10th head coach to lose or step down from his job, joining a respected group that includes Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin. Harbaugh has since been hired by the New York Giants.

The 51-year-old McDermott finished with a 98-50 regular-season record and was 8-8 in eight postseason appearances, ranking second on the team in wins behind Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy (112-70, 11-8). McDermott’s eight playoff wins are the most by any NFL coach to not include a Super Bowl berth.

To his credit, in McDermott’s first season, Buffalo sneaked into the postseason on the final day to end a 17-year drought that stood as the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional leagues.

Allen arrived a year later as a first-round draft pick to raise the franchise’s national profile to among one of the NFL’s elite.

There is increasing urgency in Buffalo to win with Allen turning 30 in May, and with the team now moving into a newly built $2.1 billion stadium across the street from its old home.

Allen was nearly inconsolable following the loss at Denver. Choking up several times and wiping tears from his eyes, Allen stood at the podium and took the blame following the loss in which he threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.

“I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” Allen said. “It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended, and that’s going to stick with me for a long time.”

McDermott rallied to Allen’s defense. He then let his emotions show in questioning the officials’ ruling on Allen’s second interception, which ended Buffalo’s lone possession in overtime.

Receiver Brandin Cooks came down with Allen’s deep pass, but had it wrestled out of his hands by Ja’Quan McMillian. Officials ruled McMillian had the ball before Cooks was down by contact, and Denver was awarded the turnover at its 20.

“I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I’m standing up for us,” McDermott said, noting he was particularly dismayed by how little time the league took to review the play.

Each of Buffalo’s past three playoff losses have been decided by three points. And three of McDermott’s playoff losses ended in overtime.

That includes a 42-36 loss to Kansas City in the 2021 divisional round that’s become dubbed “13 seconds” — the amount of time Patrick Mahomes had to complete two passes for 44 yards and set up Harrison Butker’s tying, 49-yard field goal on the final play of regulation.

McDermott, otherwise, led a team that won 10 or more regular-season games over seven straight seasons.

He also was credited with guiding the Bills through some difficult moments. The worst came in January 2023 when safety Damar Hamlin nearly died after collapsing and needing to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati.

Hamlin was one of several current and former players to express their support for McDermott following his firing. He posted a note on X referring to McDermott as “A True Leader of Men.”

Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips described the firing as “stupid honestly sickening.” Former center Eric Wood posted a note that read: “Sean is a great man and will be a great hire for another organization, and I hate we couldn't get over the hump with him as HC in Buffalo."

McDermott moved up the NFL ranks as a defensive specialist, and was hired by Buffalo following six seasons as Carolina’s coordinator, and where Beane worked in a front office role.

Together, McDermott and Beane provided the Bills with stability before fractures began showing this past season.

Without mentioning Beane specifically, McDermott seemed to question several personnel decisions by referencing Buffalo’s depleted secondary and a receiver group that lacked a downfield threat.

Allen's 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns passing were his fewest since 2019.

The defense struggled in part because of a transition to youth and a rash of injuries. Though Buffalo’s defense finished ranked seventh in the NFL this season, the unit had difficulty stopping the run.

It’s in the playoffs where the defense was criticized for collapsing too often. Buffalo allowed 30 or more points in four of its playoff losses.

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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott responds to questions during a news conference after an NFL divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott leaves the field after an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Denver Broncos, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott responds to questions during a news conference after an NFL divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott reacts during the second half of an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Denver Broncos, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/RJ Sangosti)

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott leaves the field after an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Denver Broncos, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least four cultural and historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, raising alarms about the impact of the widening war on protected landmarks that are important to Iranian identity and world history.

The speed and extent of the damage have so concerned Iran and Lebanon that they sent a request to the United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, this week to add more sites to its enhanced protection list.

UNESCO confirmed that it has verified damage to the lavish Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran as well as the 17th century Chehel Sotoun palace and the Masjed-e Jāme, the country's oldest Friday mosque, both in Isfahan. There also was verified damage at buildings close to the Khorramabad Valley, which includes five prehistoric caves and one rock shelter providing evidence of human occupation dating to 63,000 B.C.

At Golestan Palace, shattered glass from the mirrored ceilings blanketed the floors alongside broken archways, blown-out windows and damaged molding scattered below its glass-mosaic walls, according to Associated Press video taken March 3.

UNESCO said it provided all parties to the conflict with the geographical coordinates of the heritage sites ahead of time, “to take all feasible precautions to avoid damage.”

The impact to cultural sites has not been isolated to Iran but has been felt across the Middle East and beyond, with UNESCO tracking damage to the White City in Israel, Tyre in Lebanon and elsewhere.

Collateral damage to such places has been part of the fabric of war for decades, including in conflicts between Russia and Ukraine as well as Israel and Hamas, in which dozens of sites have been damaged or destroyed.

“What is happening is clear to all: In these increasingly modern conflicts, it’s civilians who pay the price, it’s civilian infrastructure that pays the price, and we’ve all seen the destruction of priceless historical heritage,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said this week.

Human rights advocates are echoing that sentiment, warning that the Iran war not only has killed more than 1,000 people but upended the institutions and historical places that communities rely on.

“It causes harm to civilians because it damages or destroys a piece of their history that can be significant both to the world and also to a specific region or community," said Bonnie Docherty, senior researcher in the arms division at Human Rights Watch. “It undermines the sort of shared identity of a local community, which can often be important for bringing people together.”

Arash Azizi, who grew up in Iran before moving to the U.S. as an adult, said that because his family couldn't afford to travel abroad when he was a child, they visited historical sites across the country. This, he says, is how he learned about his cultural identity and history.

“At times where school kids are killed, when human life is at stake, when the stakes are very high, people might think, ‘What are a couple of broken tiles or broken glasses?’” the 38-year-old New York resident said.

“I think this is the wrong attitude," he added. "We need a cultural context. We need to know who we are, and where we come from, and what does it all mean?”

For Shabnam Emdadi, a 35-year-old Iranian American also in New York, the damage to the Safavid-era Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan is deeply personal. She traveled there with her dad a few years before he died.

“Those Iran trips with him were my most fond memories of him at his happiest, where he felt most at home and alive, and I’ll never forget them,” Emdadi said. “Which is why every day when I see the damage of these sites that are the core of my memories, I feel like I am also losing a piece of him.”

It was unclear if it was U.S. or Israeli strikes that caused the damage. The Pentagon did not provide comment. The Israeli Defense Forces said it was “unfamiliar” with claims of damage to UNESCO sites.

One nonprofit group pointed to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying last week that America’s approach to the war would not include “stupid rules of engagement.”

“That’s an extremely important statement because it’s those rules of engagement that embody international humanitarian law, which is not just the protection of cultural heritage, but the protection of all civilian populations and structures, including your hospitals, your schools, etc.,” said Patty Gerstenblith, president of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, an international organization dedicated to protecting heritage in conflict, disaster and crisis.

The affected sites are among the nearly 30 Iranian sites designated as under special protection as part of UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Other notable landmarks on the list include the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty.

The agency's World Heritage Committee annually designates sites considered “of outstanding value to humanity” and intervenes when sites are in danger of destruction or damage. The program provides countries with technical assistance and professional training to preserve the sites.

The Trump administration announced last July that it would once again withdraw from UNESCO as it distances the U.S. from some international organizations.

The White House cited similar concerns as it did in 2018, saying it believes U.S. involvement is not in its national interest and accusing the agency of promoting anti-Israel speech. The decision won’t go into effect until December.

Associated Press writer Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

Damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran is seen at the Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. (ISNA via AP)

Damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran is seen at the Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. (ISNA via AP)

Damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes is seen on the facade of the Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran, Iran, March 3, 2026. (ISNA via AP)