Sean McDermott Wife: Who Is Jamie McDermott and How Many Children Do They Have?

Sean McDermott spent nearly a decade as one of the most recognizable coaches in the NFL, but away from football he has maintained a considerably quieter family life with his wife, Jamie McDermott. The couple have been together since their younger years and are parents to three children, Maddie, Kelly and Gavin.

Jamie, whose maiden name is Hershberger, generally avoids the sports spotlight. She does not have the same public profile as her husband, but she became a familiar figure within the Western New York community during Sean’s years coaching the Buffalo Bills.

Their family has supported several community causes, including food allergy awareness, which has a personal connection because two of their children live with serious food allergies.

Sean’s professional life changed significantly in January 2026 when the Bills ended his nine-season run as head coach. The change gave the McDermott family something they had rarely experienced during his long NFL career: an extended period away from the weekly demands of coaching.

Who Is Sean McDermott’s Wife?

Sean McDermott is married to Jamie McDermott, formerly Jamie Hershberger.

Unlike many spouses connected to professional sports, Jamie has made an effort to maintain a relatively private life. She is not known for building a public social media presence around her husband’s career and has generally kept family matters away from the constant attention surrounding the NFL.

That does not mean she was disconnected from Sean’s career.

Jamie was beside him through years of coaching moves and demanding NFL seasons. Sean worked his way through the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers organizations before Buffalo hired him as head coach in 2017.

Those moves affected the entire family, making Jamie an important part of the stability behind his coaching career.

Sean and Jamie McDermott Have Known Each Other for Years

Sean and Jamie’s relationship goes back long before his days as an NFL head coach.

The two knew each other during their younger years in Pennsylvania and have built their relationship through the different stages of Sean’s football journey.

Sean attended William & Mary, where he played college football as a safety and earned a degree in finance. Instead of pursuing a career connected with his degree, he eventually moved into coaching.

His early coaching career required the kind of long hours and frequent uncertainty that comes with professional football.

Jamie remained alongside him as his responsibilities increased.

Sean eventually became an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles before establishing himself as one of the league’s respected defensive coaches with the Carolina Panthers.

Buffalo then provided his first opportunity to become an NFL head coach.

How Many Children Do Sean and Jamie McDermott Have?

Sean and Jamie McDermott have three children together.

They are parents to two daughters, Maddie and Kelly, and a son named Gavin.

The NFL has officially identified Sean and Jamie as parents of three children, although the couple has generally avoided putting their kids heavily into the public spotlight.

That approach appears consistent with Jamie’s own preference for privacy.

The children occasionally became part of stories surrounding Sean’s life away from football, particularly as they grew older and developed their own interests.

Their eldest daughter, Maddie, has attracted attention through athletics.

Maddie McDermott Is a Softball Player

Maddie has developed into an accomplished young softball player.

She committed to continue her softball career at the University of Notre Dame, giving the McDermott family another connection to high-level competitive sports.

For Sean, watching one of his children pursue athletics offers a different perspective from standing on an NFL sideline.

His coaching career was built around competition, preparation and discipline, qualities that naturally overlap with the demands placed on college athletes.

Still, Maddie’s accomplishments are her own.

Rather than simply being known as the daughter of a longtime NFL coach, she has been developing her own athletic path through softball.

Kelly and Gavin have remained more private, with relatively little detailed information about their everyday lives made public.

Food Allergies Became Personal for the McDermott Family

One of the most meaningful causes connected with Sean and Jamie involves food allergy awareness.

Two of their three children reportedly live with serious food allergies.

That personal experience helped turn food allergy education and support into something much more than a general charitable interest for the family.

Sean and Jamie became involved with community initiatives in Western New York designed to increase awareness and provide assistance to families facing similar challenges.

For parents, severe food allergies can affect everything from school lunches and restaurants to travel and ordinary social events.

The McDermotts understood those concerns firsthand.

Their advocacy allowed them to use Sean’s visibility as an NFL coach to draw attention to an issue that directly affected their household.

Jamie Became Part of the Buffalo Community

Sean’s job brought the McDermott family to Western New York when he became Buffalo’s head coach in 2017.

What followed was a nine-season relationship with the organization and community.

Jamie participated in charitable activities and community visits while continuing to keep much of her personal life private.

The couple visited patients and supported local initiatives, while also becoming involved with fundraising efforts.

Buffalo eventually became much more than simply another stop in Sean’s coaching career.

His tenure lasted from 2017 through the conclusion of the 2025 season, giving the family years to develop connections throughout the region.

Sean also helped transform the Bills into a consistent playoff team after the franchise had experienced a long postseason drought before his arrival.

Jamie Supported Sean Through the Pressure of NFL Coaching

Being married to an NFL head coach comes with a lifestyle that can be difficult to separate from the sport.

The football calendar is demanding, and head coaches spend enormous amounts of time preparing for games, studying opponents, managing players and working with staff.

Every decision is also analyzed publicly.

Jamie experienced that side of Sean’s career throughout his years in Buffalo.

The couple generally avoided making their marriage a public storyline, but Jamie’s support remained an important part of the family structure behind his professional life.

Sean’s coaching responsibilities frequently placed him in the public eye while Jamie helped maintain a more private environment around their children.

That balance became particularly important as the Bills developed into regular postseason contenders and expectations surrounding the team increased.

Sean McDermott’s Buffalo Career Ended in 2026

A major chapter for the family closed in January 2026.

The Buffalo Bills relieved Sean of his head coaching duties after nine seasons. Team owner Terry Pegula credited him with helping change the organization’s mindset and turning Buffalo into a perennial playoff team.

Sean finished his Buffalo tenure with a 98-50 regular-season record and took the team to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons.

The dismissal meant an abrupt change for someone who had lived according to the NFL coaching calendar for decades.

Sean later revealed that he planned to spend the 2026 season away from coaching.

He described the break as an opportunity to evaluate his time in Buffalo, learn from the experience and prepare himself for whatever coaching opportunity might eventually come next.

The change also created more time for his family.

Family Life After the Buffalo Bills

Sean has indicated that his break from coaching is not necessarily permanent.

After spending so many years immersed in professional football, he appears interested in eventually returning to the sideline. For 2026, however, he chose to step away and use the year as a reset.

That gives Sean, Jamie and their children a different family routine from the one they experienced throughout his Buffalo tenure.

NFL coaching can dominate almost every part of the calendar. A season away creates opportunities to spend more time together and follow the children’s activities without the same weekly professional pressure.

For Jamie, it is another transition in a relationship that has already moved through several stages of Sean’s football career.

Sean and Jamie McDermott’s Life Together

Sean McDermott’s professional accomplishments have naturally received most of the attention surrounding his name, but Jamie McDermott has been beside him throughout much of that journey.

The couple built their family while Sean progressed from assistant coaching roles to becoming one of the NFL’s longest-tenured head coaches at the time his Buffalo run ended.

Together they are raising Maddie, Kelly and Gavin, while maintaining considerably more privacy than many families connected with professional sports.

Their community work has also reflected issues that matter personally to them, especially food allergy awareness.

Sean’s departure from Buffalo in 2026 changed the professional side of their lives, but it did not erase the family’s deep connection to Western New York after nine seasons with the organization.

For people searching for Sean McDermott’s wife, Jamie is more than simply the spouse of a former NFL head coach. She has been his longtime partner through coaching moves, family milestones, community work and the pressure that came with leading one of football’s most closely followed teams.