Tyler Dunne story on McDermott - 3 parts, 25 interviews, one damning conclusion

[PBF81]

4 hours ago, jlgarsh said:

Kromer is well regarded, and Shula, but that’s about it (on offense). Though I like Brady.

 

Distinguished though?

 

The only reason that Shula's here is bc he took was on Carolina.  

 

To early to tell with Brady.  Need more games, a bigger body of work to evaluate.  

 

So far so good, but hardly distinguished at this point.  

 

 

[GunnerBill]

24 minutes ago, 4th&long said:

He’s been a reporter for as long as I have known about him. God bless him for trying to do it for himself. Hating on him don’t change what is going on at obd. 
The only thing that I care about all this is how it affects the bills on the field. 
 

these are all things we have seen bits and pieces of over the years and now they are just being laid out in full. It is obviously having an affect on the team during games. The proof is in the record. 
 

Is it a big deal that he used terrorists as an example? I’ll let you decide but we see how his mind works and he chokes under pressure late in games.

 

I haven't disputed what he said about OBD. That is a separate issue.

 

But Tyler Dunne is now essentially a blogger asking you to pay for his opinions. That is what he has done taking himself out of the mainstream. And I don't blame him for quitting journalism I made that decision myself.

 

You can make money as a content creator. Good luck to him. But that is what he is now. A content creator asking us to pay to see his bits. 

[Royale with Cheese]

12 minutes ago, Bob Jones said:

I’m certainly no fan of McD, but the 9-11 thing is being blown WAY out of proportion. Was it dumb and insensitive? Yes. But that in and of itself is no reason to fire him. Everybody, at one time or another, says something dumb and insensitive in their lives, but not everybody is scrutinized for everything they say. Plus, he was right about the terrorists teamwork. 😉

 

If the Bills somehow manage to get in to the playoffs, and then win a couple games, and not lose a game because of his buffoonery, he probably deserves another year at the helm.

Yep.

 

Very interested to see how the team responds.  I think that is going to determine his fate.  If the team plays flat the 5 games, he has to go.  If they play hard and we win, like you said make the playoffs…probably deserves another year.

[PBF81]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

Just the fact that it wasn't leaked until four years later is amazing to me.  Especially in the age of social media where everyone has a voice.

 

Props to the players for keeping certain things private I suppose.  

 

This entire thing is way overblown IMO, but yet it is another tile in the grand mosaic of McD's character flaws that lead to his inadequacies as a head coach.  

 

I mean what's next, if Von Miller did assault his GF, using that as pitch for loyalty bc at least he went back to her despite that she was only a GF and not his wife or something.  

 

It definitely raises judgement issues, which are a huge part of where his coaching has gone off the rails.  

 

Just my two cents.  

 

 

[Niagara Dude]

21 hours ago, Roundybout said:

https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-mcdermott-problem-part-i-blame?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
 

 

A very long read, and the other parts are only for paid subscribers, but his sources paint a picture of McD as a narcissistic control freak who won’t take accountability for anything. 
 

 

Do with this what you will. 

Not surprised to hear that McDermott is looked as some narcissistic control freak,  that is why I don't believe Dorsey was all to blame of offence falling backwards after Dabol left.  McDermott wants caveman football and that means running the ball more. 

[BuffaloRebound]

This Dunne person is basically lighting himself on fire and so is every person used as a source in this article.  I’m sure guys like Beasley and Feliciano don’t care.  But guys like Levi Wallace probably shortening their careers because every NFL coach knows this could happen to them too.  End of the roster guys who run their mouths ain’t worth it.  

[mjt328]

41 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

McDermott really F’ed up with his 9/11 example.  It has made me change my opinion on him.  Not that I don’t think he’s a good or genuine person, his thought process really concerns me now.

 

Come on.  

Do you really believe Sean McDermott was trying to praise the hijackers of September 11?  Does he really seem like the type of person that would sympathize with terrorists that killed thousands of people?

 

He was clearly trying to make a point about being organized and working together as a team, and didn't think enough beforehand about how his comments were going to be taken.  Once he realized his mistake, he apologized to the entire team, and then everyone moved on.  Considering this happened 4 years ago, it clearly had zero affect on the team's performance.

 

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to believe McDermott is not the right coach to take a team to the Super Bowl.  Embarrassing locker room speeches are not one of them.  Being a control freak about sneakers is not one of them.  His decision to fire under performing coordinators, just like every other head coach does in the NFL, is not one of them.

 

But yeah.  It's pretty awesome this guy decided to release his article 3 days before the biggest game of the season.  The team goes on a much-needed bye, needing refocus and get ready to win-out the last five games.  Instead, they come out with two major off-field distractions.  

 

[Niagara Dude]

21 hours ago, Roundybout said:

https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-mcdermott-problem-part-i-blame?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
 

 

A very long read, and the other parts are only for paid subscribers, but his sources paint a picture of McD as a narcissistic control freak who won’t take accountability for anything. 
 

 

Do with this what you will. 

If this stuff is all true then I prefer him to be replaced because the Bills will never win with a guy like that in charge. 

[4th&long]

8 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I haven't disputed what he said about OBD. That is a separate issue.

 

But Tyler Dunne is now essentially a blogger asking you to pay for his opinions. That is what he has done taking himself out of the mainstream. And I don't blame him for quitting journalism I made that decision myself.

 

You can make money as a content creator. Good luck to him. But that is what he is now. A content creator asking us to pay to see his bits. 

I get that

 but he was a reporter first. He has made lots of contacts etc. as a reporter which separates him from the millions of content creators. 
 

My son is a content creator (blogger), in fact one of his tweets was posted in this article. The is a huge difference between my son and Tyler Dunn. 
 

The bills turned down my son for press credentials also because they said the don’t give them to reporters. That is why these people who say he has an ax to grind because he got turned down are off base. They have to be like that with Dunn because they are like that with the rest of them and Dunn knows it.

[Punch]

This is all so weird and sad. 

 

If McDermott really "associates being liked with weakness" then in his mind, he's the strongest one there is. 

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, 4th&long said:

I get that

 but he was a reporter first. He has made lots of contacts etc. as a reporter which separates him from the millions of content creators. 
 

My son is a content creator (blogger), in fact one of his tweets was posted in this article. The is a huge difference between my son and Tyler Dunn. 
 

The bills turned down my son for press credentials also because they said the don’t give them to reporters. That is why these people who say he has an ax to grind because he got turned down are off base. They have to be like that with Dunn because they are like that with the rest of them and Dunn knows it.

 

There is also a huge difference between a journalist employed by a credible organisation and Tyler Dunne. 

 

He now has much more in common with your son than he does with proper journalists. 

 

Hence almost nobody is paying $8 a pop to read his opinions. He needs to try and make people pay that money. Hence he figuratively flashes his bits like the Only Fans model. 

 

Again - I have said repeatedly that I don't doubt there is a basis of truth in what he has written about OBD. But it isn't a balanced journalistic piece. It is a one sided hit job that in the end hurts McDermott but will hurt Dunne in the long term too. 

[aristocrat]

mcd is a Shane Gillis fan confirmed 

[Niagara Dude]

21 hours ago, Roundybout said:

https://www.golongtd.com/p/the-mcdermott-problem-part-i-blame?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
 

 

A very long read, and the other parts are only for paid subscribers, but his sources paint a picture of McD as a narcissistic control freak who won’t take accountability for anything. 
 

 

Do with this what you will. 

This seems very weird to see this investigation done up during this season.  Why now?  is this Pegula's people behind it to lay the foundation out before firing this guy.  Like why is Dunn doing this,  does he really want to start a war with the HC of Bills?  Unless he thinks or knows the chances are very slim that McDEMOTT is the HC next season. Winning out and making the playoffs could change the vibe but if that does not happen and the BILLS miss the playoffs then this report from behind the scenes will get repeated and read by others in national media.

 

Pegula may seem like a softy but you don't make the kind of money he has made because your stupid. The 9/11 report and this is not good and this season has had so many heart breaking defeats.

 

I still think that no matter what media or fans think or say the one guy that can tell Pegula it's time to move on is Allen still in his prime.  I do believe the description of being narcissistic just based on naming himself the new DC. Has he accepted or admitted the defence has failed miserably late in games so many times after the offence has given them late game leads. 

[Beast]

I remember Marv Levy told his teams Germany didn’t prevail in WW 2 because Hitler couldn’t win on the road.

 

Did people freak out about that comment?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Some people are just not designed to be contemporaneous speakers.

[JohnNord]

16 minutes ago, Punch said:

This is all so weird and sad. 

 

If McDermott really "associates being liked with weakness" then in his mind, he's the strongest one there is. 

Can someone tell me who Victoria Zellner is?

[Straight Hucklebuck]

So the biggest stories are referencing 9/11 and the Chad Hall car situation?

 

My big takeaway is McDermott is a controlling micro-manager?  
 

Okay what else am I getting for $8?

[JohnNord]

18 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

There is also a huge difference between a journalist employed by a credible organisation and Tyler Dunne. 

 

He now has much more in common with your son than he does with proper journalists. 

 

Hence almost nobody is paying $8 a pop to read his opinions. He needs to try and make people pay that money. Hence he figuratively flashes his bits like the Only Fans model. 

 

Again - I have said repeatedly that I don't doubt there is a basis of truth in what he has written about OBD. But it isn't a balanced journalistic piece. It is a one sided hit job that in the end hurts McDermott but will hurt Dunne in the long term too. 

I think a lot of people are aware of this conflict as well, and had the article been written by - say a Tim Graham - it would have carried more weight.  

[Strethor]

10 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

It would be brutal for McDermott to come back to Buffalo after a loss.  Fans would stay on him.

I will say the deck is stacked against him and the teams response is out of his control. In the sense of they could come out flat vs KC and it will be held against McD not the players as far as media. The narrative will be much more amplified because of this national story. I think it was a mistake owning up to the 9/11 story because it gives the article credibility. But also he couldn't deny it because of the inter-office joke esque nature of what that speech has become in the locker room. There is a lot of behind the scenes dynamics that are playing in the background of this story. I hope the team can find strength through this

[SinceThe70s]

10 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Some people are just not designed to be contemporaneous speakers.

 

Did you mean extemporaneous? 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

Did you mean extemporaneous? 

 

 

 

 

 

See what I mean! 😁

Thank you.

(Anyone else remember Norm Crosby?)

Edited December 8, 2023 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[mjt328]

8 hours ago, BFLO said:

No. The purpose of the article is to shame and humiliate Terry into firing this clown. 

 

And that's a problem.

News articles shouldn't have that kind of agenda.

 

If Tyler Dunne had 25 sources, he should have worked harder to get (at least some) of them to reveal their identities, instead of being anonymous.

He should have specified whether these sources were current or former coaches and players, which is important context.

He should have talked with people who actually like Sean McDermott, and gotten some positive quotes to contrast all the negative.

 

There is no balance to the article.  McDermott comes across like a control-freak, and that rubs a lot of people wrong.  But there are lots of NFL coaches who are also control freaks and succeed BECAUSE of that character trait.  Not to mention that his predecessor Rex Ryan was the complete opposite, and mostly failed because he didn't run a tight-enough ship.

 

[GunnerBill]

9 minutes ago, JohnNord said:

I think a lot of people are aware of this conflict as well, and had the article been written by - say a Tim Graham - it would have carried more weight.  

 

I give Ty one thing, he can write. And as a piece of writing it is compelling. He is a really talented writer. It is why I find it slightly ridiculous that he is hawking his wares around on a blog nobody reads, then showing just enough ankle to try and get you to pay to go behind the paywall rather than working within the admittedly more restrictive conventions of traditional media. 

[MILFHUNTER#518]

36 minutes ago, Punch said:

This is all so weird and sad. 

 

If McDermott really "associates being liked with weakness" then in his mind, he's the strongest one there is. 

Chad Hall truck story?

[4th&long]

30 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

There is also a huge difference between a journalist employed by a credible organisation and Tyler Dunne. 

 

He now has much more in common with your son than he does with proper journalists. 

 

Hence almost nobody is paying $8 a pop to read his opinions. He needs to try and make people pay that money. Hence he figuratively flashes his bits like the Only Fans model. 

 

Again - I have said repeatedly that I don't doubt there is a basis of truth in what he has written about OBD. But it isn't a balanced journalistic piece. It is a one sided hit job that in the end hurts McDermott but will hurt Dunne in the long term too. 

I laugh at the one sided hit job. First there was some positive in there on him. And if macdermott gave him something positive to talk about maybe he would have. But that is not macdermotts personality. The guy is a narcissist control freak. That is what the article is about. This team is tanking and it shouldn’t be. This is a big reason why it is. Dunn laid that out for us. This team is tighter than a nuns wowo and it it’s a reflection of the head coach.

[Billsfan1972]

41 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

Come on.  

Do you really believe Sean McDermott was trying to praise the hijackers of September 11?  Does he really seem like the type of person that would sympathize with terrorists that killed thousands of people?

 

He was clearly trying to make a point about being organized and working together as a team, and didn't think enough beforehand about how his comments were going to be taken.  Once he realized his mistake, he apologized to the entire team, and then everyone moved on.  Considering this happened 4 years ago, it clearly had zero affect on the team's performance.

 

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to believe McDermott is not the right coach to take a team to the Super Bowl.  Embarrassing locker room speeches are not one of them.  Being a control freak about sneakers is not one of them.  His decision to fire under performing coordinators, just like every other head coach does in the NFL, is not one of them.

 

But yeah.  It's pretty awesome this guy decided to release his article 3 days before the biggest game of the season.  The team goes on a much-needed bye, needing refocus and get ready to win-out the last five games.  Instead, they come out with two major off-field distractions.  

 

It basically tells you only an idiot would use that analogy and think it appropriate.

 

Now a comedian trying a joke in a club "Let me tell you, you really need to applaud the coordinated efforts of those terrorists on 9-11, that was some serious sh!t and went pretty much according to plan until those Americans on flight 93 screwed up the plan and fought back" and yep watch it bomb.  But the head coach to think this is a good teaching moment????

[GunnerBill]

Just now, 4th&long said:

I laugh at the one sided hit job. First there was some positive in there on him. And if macdermott gave him something positive to talk about maybe he would have. But that is not macdermotts personality. The guy is a narcissist control freak. That is what the article is about. This team is tanking and it shouldn’t be. This is a big reason why it is. Dunn laid that out for us. This team is tighter than a nuns wowo and it it’s a reflection of the head coach.

 

It is a one sided hit job. That doesn't mean the points have no merit.  But it is still a hit job. Written by a blogger. But the team is tight, no question about that and it is a reflection of the Head Coach in that sense, I agree. 

[yall]

3 minutes ago, MILFHUNTER#518 said:

Chad Hall truck story?

They basically didn't renew Chad Hall because the receivers liked him and bought him a truck.

[Bob Jones]

3 minutes ago, yall said:

They basically didn't renew Chad Hall because the receivers liked him and bought him a truck.

That was a nice truck too! Looked like a high end Ford F-series SuperDuty. 😉

[MILFHUNTER#518]

5 minutes ago, yall said:

They basically didn't renew Chad Hall because the receivers liked him and bought him a truck.

WTF?! This cannot be true

[Royale with Cheese]

53 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

 

Come on.  

Do you really believe Sean McDermott was trying to praise the hijackers of September 11?  Does he really seem like the type of person that would sympathize with terrorists that killed thousands of people?

 

He was clearly trying to make a point about being organized and working together as a team, and didn't think enough beforehand about how his comments were going to be taken.  Once he realized his mistake, he apologized to the entire team, and then everyone moved on.  Considering this happened 4 years ago, it clearly had zero affect on the team's performance.

 

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to believe McDermott is not the right coach to take a team to the Super Bowl.  Embarrassing locker room speeches are not one of them.  Being a control freak about sneakers is not one of them.  His decision to fire under performing coordinators, just like every other head coach does in the NFL, is not one of them.

 

But yeah.  It's pretty awesome this guy decided to release his article 3 days before the biggest game of the season.  The team goes on a much-needed bye, needing refocus and get ready to win-out the last five games.  Instead, they come out with two major off-field distractions.  

 

 

I wasn't saying he was praising the hijackers.  It's 100% his decision making.

 

He doesn't come up with this pep talk on the whim, he thought this out and in this process, he thought it was acceptable.

 

It's the obliviousness that concerns me.   

[nucci]

8 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

It basically tells you only an idiot would use that analogy and think it appropriate.

 

Now a comedian trying a joke in a club "Let me tell you, you really need to applaud the coordinated efforts of those terrorists on 9-11, that was some serious sh!t and went pretty much according to plan until those Americans on flight 93 screwed up the plan and fought back" and yep watch it bomb.  But the head coach to think this is a good teaching moment????

 

[DrDawkinstein]

5 minutes ago, MILFHUNTER#518 said:

WTF?! This cannot be true

 

It's not that direct. It could also be that Chad chose to leave because of the way McD reacted to the players buying him a truck.

 

Either way, it was a weird, petty move by the HC to have an issue with the WRs buying their coach a car. He doesnt want coaches to be friends with the players, and to some extent that makes sense. But you also have to know when to step back and let them show appreciation.

 

Here's the story:

 

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by DrDawkinstein

[ddaryl]

We have a Sean McDermott problem. Its pretty obvious IMO

[wettlaufer]

2 hours ago, ComradeKayAdams said:

 

Apparently he’s an independent football journalist who was born and raised in WNY, went to college in Syracuse, and now currently lives in WNY. Curiously enough, he has been a Green Bay Packers fan since childhood…

 

Dunne seems to have many personal connections with players, coaches, and staff members who would have good career-related reasons for seeing Coach McDermott go down in flames (Doug Whaley and Jim Monos being the most prominent such names).

 

Dunne has also expressed personal grievances against the Bills franchise for restricting his media access with the team.

 

Furthermore, Dunne’s particular business model would stand to benefit greatly from generating controversy that drives online clicks.

 

You don’t have to be a McDermott apologist to question Dunne’s motives. If you see this person roaming the streets of WNY, please ask him why he chose to release his article a few days before the most critical game of our beloved team’s season:

 

 

 

You could have made this a lot shorter by simply saying "I don't know how journalism works."

 

He also doesn't have a grievance with the Bills' media policies. He has just stated them as facts.

 

Do you know how long it takes to interview that many people, write, and edit the piece? He didn't time it for release with any particular circumstances in mind.

 

Dunne's business model depends on good journalism, not BS empty rumors. I'm sure you didn't read the article, but it had observations (good and bad) from 25 different firsthand people, not all of whom are McDermott detractors.

 

Your complaint is total speculation and addresses zero in a well-produce piece of work by a real journalist and not most of the homers who simp for the Bills in return for their press credentials.

[Niagara Dude]

54 minutes ago, BuffaloRebound said:

This Dunne person is basically lighting himself on fire and so is every person used as a source in this article.  I’m sure guys like Beasley and Feliciano don’t care.  But guys like Levi Wallace probably shortening their careers because every NFL coach knows this could happen to them too.  End of the roster guys who run their mouths ain’t worth it.  

I see someone in the Bills organization wanting McDermott to be fired or Dunne does not do this right after Philly game.  Maybe Pegula's people,  maybe Diggs's people or maybe Allen's people.  This story never happens unless someone goes to Dunn and gives them the receipts or tell Dunn who to call. 

 

Why did we not see this story come last season? How soon before ESPN is writing this story up?  Not good and the pieces all add up,  McDermott accepted no responsibility after 13 secs and so many other heart breaking defeats.  A well coached team with a talented roster and op 4 OB do not lose to the Jets/Pats/Broncos

 

 

[DrDawkinstein]

11 minutes ago, Billsfan1972 said:

It basically tells you only an idiot would use that analogy and think it appropriate.

 

Now a comedian trying a joke in a club "Let me tell you, you really need to applaud the coordinated efforts of those terrorists on 9-11, that was some serious sh!t and went pretty much according to plan until those Americans on flight 93 screwed up the plan and fought back" and yep watch it bomb.  But the head coach to think this is a good teaching moment????

 

McDermott's pregame speech this week:

 

[zow2]

Can the team move past this distraction today and maybe give themselves the best chance to win on Sunday?  I'm not sure if they meet with reporters any more this week before Sunday night.  It would be good if they don't have to do any media.

[Niagara Dude]

1 hour ago, BuffaloRebound said:

This Dunne person is basically lighting himself on fire and so is every person used as a source in this article.  I’m sure guys like Beasley and Feliciano don’t care.  But guys like Levi Wallace probably shortening their careers because every NFL coach knows this could happen to them too.  End of the roster guys who run their mouths ain’t worth it.  

You really think Dunne does this story listening low end people/players.  I think someone high up came to him right after Philly loss,  he does not do this unless he was getting information from someone high up.  This is destroying his relationship with the team, 

[Royale with Cheese]

21 minutes ago, Strethor said:

I will say the deck is stacked against him and the teams response is out of his control. In the sense of they could come out flat vs KC and it will be held against McD not the players as far as media. The narrative will be much more amplified because of this national story. I think it was a mistake owning up to the 9/11 story because it gives the article credibility. But also he couldn't deny it because of the inter-office joke esque nature of what that speech has become in the locker room. There is a lot of behind the scenes dynamics that are playing in the background of this story. I hope the team can find strength through this

 

For a HC, I think it's better to be viewed by your team that you will hold yourself accountable regardless of what the national media's opinion is.

 

We don't know what the behind the scenes is like.  Lets see how this team responds when their coach is under this much scrutiny.  

3 minutes ago, Niagara Dude said:

You really think Dunne does this story listening low end people/players.  I think someone high up came to him right after Philly loss,  he does not do this unless he was getting information from someone high up.  This is destroying his relationship with the team, 

 

This or after the Philly game, Dunne was done with McDermott and he was going to spark it with this article.  

 

If we were lets say 9-3, I don't think this comes out until after the season.