Four head coaching vacancies are still present around the NFL. Sean McDermott would no doubt be among the top candidates on the market, but he has not yet been linked to a hire during the waning stages of this year’s hiring cycle. 
That may remain the case for some time. The recently-fired Bills head coach “has not engaged” with any of the teams currently in need of a new HC, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes (video link). Buffalo has yet to hire his replacement, while the Cardinals, Browns and Raiders still have an opening on the sidelines.
Many of the other vacancies around the league have been viewed as more attractive than those in Arizona, Cleveland and Las Vegas. Certain candidates – such as Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter (Browns) and Kevin Stefanski (Raiders) – have withdrawn from those teams’ searches. Klay Kubiak, meanwhile, recently took himself out of the running for all remaining HC positions.
Nothing is final at this point, but Rapoport names McDermott as a candidate to join those staffers by avoiding any of the gigs he could receive consideration for. A return to defensive coordinator duties could be possible, but Rapoport adds McDermott received positive reviews when speaking to others who spent one year out of coaching after a lengthy spell with one team came to an end.
As such, it is currently “likely” McDermott will be out of the league for 2026, per Rapoport (contrary to a recent report which stated he intended to immediately resume his career). The 51-year-old entered the NFL in 1999 with the Eagles; his first coaching role came about two years later. McDermott worked his way up to defensive coordinator as a longtime member of Andy Reid‘s staff. After two years in that role, he spent six leading the Panthers’ defense. McDermott then joined Brandon Beane in moving from Carolina to Buffalo.
The Bills made the postseason eight times in McDermott’s nine years coaching the team. Buffalo advanced to at least the divisional round of the postseason on each of those occasions, but an inability to reach the Super Bowl increasingly became an issue. Owner Terry Pegula opted to promote Beane while moving on from McDermott, who sports a .662 winning percentage in the regular season (something which will no doubt make him a coveted staffer when he chooses to return).
Once the conference title games wrap up, further clarity on the remaining HC vacancies will emerge. McDermott is free to speak with interested suitors at any time, but that may not take place barring a shift on his stance regarding the 2026 campaign.