What Was Your Initial Reaction To Sean McDermott as Bills HC?

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I didn’t know a thing about him, but I could tell in the video when whales attempted to introduce him at TBD and Sean just dismissively strode right by, Doug was was a dead man walking. There wasn’t going to be any jockeying or power struggle, it was over. 
 

I liked they went with a new young guy over a retread.  The more I learned the more I liked. 
 

He’s now tops on my favorites list.  I didn’t really listen to Many levy pressers.  Chan seemed like a genuine guy, not head coach material. Jauron was just always apologizing.

 

All the rest of them were bums, for sordid reasons.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Over 29 years of fanhood

[78thealltimegreat]

2 hours ago, JohnNord said:

It’s almost 4 years to the day that the Bills announced the hiring on Carolina Panthers DC Sean McDermott.   It’s crazy to think that he’s probably the most successful Bills coach over his first 4 seasons.  
 

What was your initial reaction then to his hiring?

 

I was close to an all-time frustration level with the Bills - specifically with Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley.  I wanted them both fired and for Terry to start a clean.  Actually, I wanted the Pegulas to hire Bill Polian as President to hire his own GM and Coach.  I thought the Pegulas were clueless and that they needed an experienced executive like to Polian to turn the franchise around.  Foolish thinking.  
 

As for the McDermott hiring, I was pretty indifferent.  I didn’t really know much about him from Carolina other than the fact they had a great defense the year that they went to the Super Bowl.  
 

I also knew from the Rex experiment that sometimes hiring a retread coach is not always the best option.  At the time in 2015, I thought the Rex hire was a great move.  Little did I know....

 

So I guess I was sightly cautiously optimistic but was taking a “wait and see” approach.  I felt that the team would suck in 2017 but that a tank year would give them a shot at drafting a legit franchise QB which was what they needed.   I knew that if they found a legit franchise QB it would solve all of their problems and you can argue that’s kind of what happened, though McDermott’s coaching and defense helped a ton as well

I actually liked it a defensive minded coach who actually knew what he was doing unlike the other guy and his wife’s foot photos 

[Freddie's Dead]

Meh.  Never really heard of him, wasn't impressed with the hire.  Wasn't a fan of his game management at first, but he's done better as he's gone on.  We've beaten the crap out of so many teams this year that even when he makes the rare game management error, it doesn't hurt us.  He's gotten a ruthless streak lately, running it up on teams so that they can't come back like Houston did last year in the playoffs.  He seems determined not to repeat that mistake.

 

Where you cannot fault McD is his leadership.  He is a superb leader of men, and his organization this year in the face of Covid was nothing short of astonishing.  He had the Bills ready to play in every game except TEN, but can't blame him for that, the NFL jerked us around mercilessly.  I think we're lucky to have him, and if anyone can overcome the loss of Daboll, McD can.

 

I was wrong about him.  I take my crow medium well.

[billsfan89]

I liked the hire. I always prefer to go after an up and coming coordinator than a tired retread. In my years as a Bills fans I hated when they hired Jauron, Gailey and Rex all tired retreads (Although I liked Rex the most out of those three.) I know retreads like Billy B have done well but I tend to feel like retreads are bad hires more often than not. I liked when they hired Gregg, Mularky and Marrone and my opinion was similar for McD, I didn't know enough about him but it seems like he was a solid up and coming coordinator. I wasn't sure it would be a super successful hire but I thought it was the right type of hire philosophically.

[US Egg]

Sean who?

 

Oh geez, that's the best the Pegulas can find to coach here?

 

.....honestly.

[HappyDays]

I had no positive or negative reaction. Judging if a new head coach will be successful is arguably more difficult than scouting QBs. There's just nothing that compares to being an NFL head coach. I didn't care about anything he had done as a defensive coordinator. That doesn't tell you anything about a man's ability to lead an organization.

 

Knowing what I know now about McDermott I'm sure he blew away the Pegulas in his interview. We are lucky they interviewed him right after Rex Ryan. His personality in the interview room was probably a breath of fresh air.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

3 hours ago, njbuff said:

I thought he was the little in the first RoboCop movie.

 

That actor went on to play a surgeon on ER

[US Egg]

10 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

We are lucky they interviewed him right after Rex Ryan. His personality in the interview room was probably a breath of fresh air.

Rex and Rob had to have stunk up the place, they were always out chowing.

[Bubba Gump]

Who's this God fearing bald nerd.

[MJS]

He seemed smart. He had success as a coordinator. I was a little concerned that he was defensive minded rather than offensive minded, but he seemed like a step above the crappy hires I was used to (I hated the Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone, and Rec Ryan hires, even though I forced myself into hoping for the best with them).

 

The more I read about him the more I liked him. He seemed very hard working, well prepared, and also just seemed like a good, humble guy. His ability to turn around the defense so fast, especially with the Poyer and Hyde signings, had me confident that at least he was a really good defensive mind.

 

All in all, it was not hard for me to jump on board. He is the opposite of a coach like Rex Ryan. Rex is the type of coach I hate. All bluster and buffoonery, no substance, lazy, and too proud and stubborn to change and progress.

 

I love McDemott's approach to building a culture of a loving brotherhood where the guys truly care about each other, but also everyone works hard and prepares themselves well.

[machine gun kelly]

I did some hw. on him when it was reported he was interviewing.  I knew him from Carolina only because I live in one of the NFCS cities so get a lot of news.  He was a solid DC. I honestly didn’t remember him as well in Philly as I could care less about the NFC least.

 

I was very hopeful, but was hoping fir an offensive minded coach.  In the end, he did the right thing in bringing in an experienced OC in Daboll.  FWIW, I don’t remember a previous coach I was excited to see here in two decades.  I thought losing Phillips was a mistake, and hoped Chan would be decent.

[GunnerBill]

I wanted us to Fire Rex and hire Sean a year earlier. I was absolutely elated. I thought he was basically the best Head Coach in waiting in the NFL.

 

Now I don't have the best track record of wanting the right guy for the Bills the previous two hiring rounds (wanted Lovie in 13 and Hue in 15... can't remember who I wanted post Jauron.... just someone with a pulse!) But I was all in on Sean and I am delighted how it has worked out.

[JMF2006]

I hated the Wrex hire

 

I loved the McD hire

[streetkings01]

Definitely didn’t think he’d be the guy to take us to the playoffs 3 out of his 4 seasons while stripping the roster down to the bone year 1. I saw him as a Dick Jauron clone, he’s proven to be one of the top guys in the NFL.

 

The best part about what he’s done in Buffalo is he’s doing it with his guys, not inheriting a good roster from the last guy and living off that for a couple seasons like Rex Ryan did his first 2 seasons with Mangini’s roster.

[oldmanfan]

Guarded.  Looked like he had earned his shot but you never know if a coordinator can take that next step.  And so glad he’s here now.

[billsfan1959]

I was a fan of the hire at the time, and even moreso after they brought Beane on board. We are fortunate.

[HOUSE]

He struck me as a coach that would beat the Colts by 40 points

[eball]

I was so happy the Pegulas had fired Rex that I don’t think I really cared who they hired.  The only thing I recall thinking was that I hoped they would not bring in a retread.  I’m sure a part of me wanted an offensive-minded HC.  McD came across as a serious, well-intentioned guy and as I read more about him I warmed to the hire.  Like most of us I sort of laughed at all of the “respect the process” stuff at first, but as we’ve now seen it was a lot more than just a catch phrase.  At this point in time I believe McD’s greatest qualities are that he is constantly seeking to improve, and he is genuine.

[hemma]

I was hopeful because wrestling, especially at the level he achieved, requires extreme, ongoing discipline.

 

Rex made weight by laying down & having lap surgery. 

McDermott made weight by running 50,000 stairs.  Every week.

[SoTier]

9 hours ago, JohnNord said:

It’s almost 4 years to the day that the Bills announced the hiring on Carolina Panthers DC Sean McDermott.   It’s crazy to think that he’s probably the most successful Bills coach over his first 4 seasons.  
 

What was your initial reaction then to his hiring?

 

I was close to an all-time frustration level with the Bills - specifically with Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley.  I wanted them both fired and for Terry to start a clean.  Actually, I wanted the Pegulas to hire Bill Polian as President to hire his own GM and Coach.  I thought the Pegulas were clueless and that they needed an experienced executive like to Polian to turn the franchise around.  Foolish thinking.  
 

As for the McDermott hiring, I was pretty indifferent.  I didn’t really know much about him from Carolina other than the fact they had a great defense the year that they went to the Super Bowl.  
 

I also knew from the Rex experiment that sometimes hiring a retread coach is not always the best option.  At the time in 2015, I thought the Rex hire was a great move.  Little did I know....

 

So I guess I was sightly cautiously optimistic but was taking a “wait and see” approach.  I felt that the team would suck in 2017 but that a tank year would give them a shot at drafting a legit franchise QB which was what they needed.   I knew that if they found a legit franchise QB it would solve all of their problems and you can argue that’s kind of what happened, though McDermott’s coaching and defense helped a ton as well

 

Your reaction pretty much mirrors mine except that I was less optimistic, primarily because it appeared that the Ryan experiment had resulted in Russ Brandon gaining even more power.   I was a long-time critic of Brandon, and I figured that McDermott was just another mediocre HC in the mode of Brandon's previous hires: Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, and Doug Marrone.