Manner of exit would seem to manner. A game where the team seems woefully unprepared and the opponent wins by putting up 40 should raise serious questions. A hard fought game where the Bills have a four point lead with two minutes to go and the game is lost to to amateurish clock management issues should raise serious questions
the eventual winner might matter too. Seeing Zach Taylor Sean McVay or NIck Siriani win a second superbowl won’t be good. Broncos Chargers Commanders Vikings or Lions winning undercuts the narrative “how can anyone expect to find a Super Bowl winning coach”
The only losing outcomes to support the narratives to keep McDermott as the best possible option are Reid Tomlin or John Harbaugh winning. The sad part about that would be excepting we are in the second tier of AFC teams despite having Josh Allen.