the New York Giants, the Bills were penalized only seven times in their 14–13 victory over the Titans. In the end, the Bills finished a middling 8–8, missing the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season, the longest active streak in major professional sport (after the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays broke their then-22-year streak). In 2016 Kathryn Smith became the first woman to be a full-time coach in the NFL, when she was hired by the Bills as a special teams quality control coach. The start of the 2016 season was marred by long-term injuries to both of the team's top draft picks, first-rounder Shaq Lawson and second-rounder Reggie Ragland (who will miss his entire rookie season). On December 27, 2016, Rex Ryan was fired after compiling 15–16 record in 2 seasons along with his brother Rob which made the Bills the third team in the NFL to fire a coach in-season (along with the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars who both fired Jeff Fisher and Gus Bradley), Anthony Lynn was promoted to interim coach. After winning four straight games from weeks 3–6, they only won three more games to finish 7–9. Though Ryan was hired as a defensive-minded coach, the Bills defense ironically declined during his tenure, as compared to the Doug Marrone era, though the offense improved significantly. 2017–present: The McDermott / Allen era 2017 On January 11, 2017, Sean McDermott was hired as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. McDermott had previously spent the past six seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Along with McDermott, Brandon Beane, the Panthers' assistant general manager, replaced Doug Whaley as the Bills' general manager. Many of the players that Whaley had added or extended, including receiver Sammy Watkins, cornerback Ronald Darby, and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, were traded away before or during the season. During the 2017 offseason, McDermott popularized the term "Respect the Process" when questioned if he was rebuilding the team. The tandem of McDermott and Beane have since been referred to by fans as "McBeane". Despite low expectations for McDermott's first season, the Bills played surprisingly well aside from a 3-game midseason slump. On December 31, 2017, the Bills secured a playoff berth for the first time in 17 seasons with a win over the Miami Dolphins (concurrently with a Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cincinnati Bengals). Their season ended on January 7, 2018,