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The Buffalo Bills fired coach Sean McDermott on Monday following for not having more playoff success after reaching the playoffs eight times in nine seasons. This comes on the heels of Buffalo's deflating 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round, as the Bills again came up short in the postseason. General manager Brandon Beane holds onto his job, and actually receives the new title of president of football operations/general manager. He will lead Buffalo's coaching search.

The choice to part ways with McDermott is a controversial one. He went 98-50 in his nine years with Buffalo, but just 8-8 in his eight playoff appearances. Those eight postseason victories are the most by a coach without a Super Bowl appearance ever. The Bills' 73-27 record since 2020 ranks No. 1 in the NFL, as do their 29.0 points per game and 19.9 opponent points per game in that timeframe. They witnessed MVP quarterback Josh Allen blossom into one of the best playmakers in the game, but Buffalo just couldn't get over the hump and into the Super Bowl. Now, the Bills begin the search for the "Jon Gruden" to replace their "Tony Dungy." 

As you can imagine, there was plenty of reaction from around the league to this news, including from Bills players. Let's take a look:

DT Jordan Phillips

Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips spoke his mind on his Instagram story following the news of McDermott's firing, saying, "This shit here is so stupid honestly sickening. The best coach I've ever been around." 

Phillips would know, as he's been around a number of different coaches in his NFL career. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins, but also suited up for the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. The veteran defensive tackle has had three different stints with the Bills, all coming under McDermott.

DE Shaq Lawson 

Shaq Lawson is another Bill that had multiple stints with the franchise. He was selected by Buffalo with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but has also played for the Dolphins, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. 

"Damn shit don't make sense. He changed the whole culture," Lawson posted on his Instagram story.

S Damar Hamlin

Longtime Bills safety Damar Hamlin took a softer approach, thanking coach McDermott for everything he did for him on and off the field. 

DT DaQuan Jones

Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones seemingly took a shot at the Bills fans that wanted a change in leadership, posting on his Instagram story: "Don't make sense but ya got what ya wanted." 

Jones has been a member of the Bills since 2022.

Owner Terry Pegula

After making a controversial firing, the worst thing you can do is have a typo in the first line of your official statement. Bills owner Terry Pegula made that mistake, beginning his statement with "Sean has done an admiral job ..." Surely he meant "admirable."

"Sean has done an admiral job of leading our football team for the past nine seasons. 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. I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he showed for this team and the community. I wish Sean, Jamie and his family all the best." 

Jon Gruden

There are probably some Bills fans out there that would like to see Buffalo replace McDermott with Gruden, but that doesn't seem very likely after he exploded on the Bills organization for their decision. 

"Now I'm really glad they lost the game," Gruden said.