With two big moves, Sean McDermott is among NFL’s elite head coaching tenures

The Bills’ head coach is really high on the seniority list

Ding, dong, the witch is dead. The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick have agreed to part ways. Obviously, there will be on-field repercussions of the move for the Buffalo Bills — the Bills and Patriots have won every AFC East championship since 2009 and all but one since 2003 — but there are also some other milestones to consider.

Belichick, along with recently ousted Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, were among the longest-tenured coaches in the NFL. That moves Bills head coach Sean McDermott up the list.

McDermott now sits fourth on the list of longest-tenured NFL head coaches, barely squeaking in over Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. All three were hired in 2017. The only three ahead of them are Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, and Andy Reid.

You probably notice something about that group of six, too. They’ve all won a lot of games in the regular season and the playoffs. In fact, McDermott is the only one without a Super Bowl appearance and the only one without multiple conference championship game appearances.

• Tomlin has one Super Bowl victory, two total Super Bowl appearances, and three total conference championship game appearances
• Harbaugh has one Super Bowl victory, one total Super Bowl appearance, and three total conference championship game appearances
• Reid has two Super Bowl victories, three total Super Bowl appearances, and five total conference championship game appearances (during his tenure in Kansas City)
• McDermott has zero Super Bowl victories, zero total Super Bowl appearances, and one total conference championship game appearance
• McVay has one Super Bowl victory, two total Super Bowl appearances, and two total conference championship game appearances
• Shanahan has zero Super Bowl victories, one Super Bowl appearance, and three total conference championship game appearances

Full list of NFL coaching tenures

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers | January 22, 2007
2. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens | January 19, 2008
3. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs | January 7, 2013
4. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills | January 11, 2017
5. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams | January 12, 2017
6. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers | February 6, 2017
7. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers | January 8, 2019
8. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals | February 9, 2019
9. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys | January 8, 2020
10. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns | January 13, 2020
11. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions | January 10, 2021
12. Robert Salaeh, New York Jets | January 14, 2021
13. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles | January 24, 2021
14. Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears | January 27, 2022
15. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars | February 3, 2022
16. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins | February 6, 2022
17. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings | February 16, 2022
18. Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints | February 8, 2022
19. Brian Daboll, New York Giants | January 28, 2022
20. Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | March 30, 2022
21. DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans | January 31, 2023
22. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos | February 3, 2023
23. Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals | February 14, 2023
24. Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts | February 14, 2023

Vacant: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders