The Buffalo Bills chose their replacement for Rex Ryan on Wednesday, hiring former Eagles and Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to become their new head coach.

McDermott started his NFL career in Philadelphia as a scouting coordinator in 1999. He worked his way all the way up to defensive coordinator, but his time was short-lived in that position.

Unable to sufficiently fill the void left by the late Jim Johnson, McDermott was let go in 2010. The Eagles defense was worse after McDermott was shown the door.

McDermott left Philadelphia with the 11th best defensive DVOA in the entire league. Just two years after his firing, the Eagles defense was 26th in the NFL in DVOA.

They won 21 games in the two years when McDermott was in charge of the defense, and just 12 in the two years after he was fired. McDermott went on to Carolina, where he’s been the defensive coordinator for six years.

McDermott’s defensive unit in Carolina was a big reason why the Panthers went to the Super Bowl in 2016. Despite his success, the Eagles didn’t even interview him to be their head coach after firing Chip Kelly.

Instead, they focused on a different Andy Reid disciple, Doug Pederson. Pederson has had his ups-and-downs as his first year as a head coach, but he deserves time to establish his offense and find his rhythm as a primary play caller.

Patience in Philadelphia is basically non-existent. Fans and select media have already called for the firing of Pederson after one year. The pressure on Pederson to figure it out in year two is high.

With McDermott getting a head coaching job elsewhere, there’s now additional pressure on Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.

McDermott was with the Eagles organization for 12 years, then went to Carolina and coached a formidable defense. If McDermott ends up being a successful head coach in Buffalo, Lurie will have some explaining to do.