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

[Beck Water]

22 minutes ago, BillsDad51 said:

Peter King has a nice take on McDermott in this morning's FMIA.

 

Good find

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/fmia/news/nfl-cowboys-dak-prescott-eagles-chiefs-ravens-fmia-week-14-peter-king#l6

 

Quote

In this world, it’s usually wins and losses that decide a coach’s future. I believe that’s how McDermott’s will be decided in this disappointing season. McDermott’s team is just 7-7 since the morning of the AFC divisional nightmare loss to Cincinnati. If the Bills continue to rebound from bad losses to the Jets and Patriots and Broncos, with solid performances like Sunday’s, there won’t be any question about McDermott’s future being in Buffalo. But if the Bills divebomb down the stretch, his future could be in doubt, and probably should be.
 

But I don’t favor firing a person for saying something profoundly inappropriate and apologizing (in a heartfelt way, seemingly) the same day, then apologizing to the world when it surfaces years later. We’ve gotten to an off-with-his-head point of anger on dumb things said in this country, in all walks of life. I don’t think it’s healthy, except in the cases of unrepentant hate speech. McDermott erred, apologized, apologized again. Now he should be judged on football, not retribution.

 

Good take too IMO. 

[JohnNord]

15 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Good find

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/fmia/news/nfl-cowboys-dak-prescott-eagles-chiefs-ravens-fmia-week-14-peter-king#l6

 

 

Good take too IMO. 

He’s right and this is a societal problem, made worse by the angry mobs on social media.  
 

Another example are the comments Josh made in jest on Twitter as a teenager.  People still hold that against him this day 

Edited December 11, 2023 by JohnNord

[BillsDad51]

16 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

Good find

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/fmia/news/nfl-cowboys-dak-prescott-eagles-chiefs-ravens-fmia-week-14-peter-king#l6

 

 

Good take too IMO. 

Thanks for posting the link.

[JohnNord]

7 hours ago, folz said:

 

I pointed this out earlier in the thread, but thought it might need repeating:

 

I just think you need to read the article a little more critically (take off your "I think McD should be fired" glasses for just a moment and think about it as if this article were written about you or a family member). The reason I believe it to be a "hit" piece is not because Dunne shared a couple of embarrassing stories from former players (big deal), and its not because he used actual quotes from his sources that may not be flattering for McDermott, which of course just shows that Dunne is cherry-picking stories and quotes from disgruntled people to try to paint a particular narrative (already not the most noble endeavor for an "honest" journalist)...

 

It is a hit piece because the article is riddled with personal attacks from Dunne (not his sources) directed at McDermott. Tell me if the following phrases (none of which came from his sources, these are Dunne's own words) sound like good, honest journalism or just personal attacks. Dunne wrote the following things about McDermott (and this is just a small sample):

 

he's "tangibly nervous"

"He's quick to blame"

"he put Dorsey's head on a stick"

"the honeymoon is over" with players (i.e. he's lost the locker room)

he's always "pointing a finger at his breadwinning quarterback"

he "finds a way to deflect blame"

he's "a coaching relic routinely paralyzed by fear"

he's "forever horrified of what could go wrong"

he's "Oblivious to reality"

"the head coach...administers mass lobotomies on his team."

 

Is that someone just reporting what his sources told him, or is that someone with an agenda?

 

Do you not see how Dunne is using very emotional language to influence, that he blurs the line between what is his opinion and what are the opinions of the 25 interviewees. I mean, not one of those people said that McDermott was "a coaching relic" or "oblivious to reality", etc. None of the above are source quotes. But Dunne  makes you think that all 25 people he talked to basically concur with all of his final conclusions, which seem to just be a lot of personal attacks. How would you feel if someone wrote an article about you basically calling you a nervous, fearful, coward who is so clueless that he actually makes those around him stupid, and then intimate that you basically have 25 people to back that up, and the next thing you know you are being lampooned on a national comedy show. Would you still feel that this was just a truthful writer doing his job? This is the coach of a .500 win football team, not some presidential candidate with dirty laundry. Just because someone is in the public eye doesn't mean they are fair game to personal attacks. You can criticize the job they are doing, etc. but leave the name calling on the playground with the kiddies.

 

In the world of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, one only uses fallacies, such as ad hominem (personal) attacks, when they know their argument isn't actually that strong, and/or when they just want to destroy someone (revenge). I don't know if Dunne has a beef or is just trying to get subs, but this article is not just some honest journalist looking out for the good people of western New York who deserve to know the truth because they spend their hard earned money on this product. 

I can get this, but Dunne makes his voice and opinion clear in these articles.  So it’s not like we’re reading a completely objective news story.  It almost reminded me of reading a Jerry Sullivan column in the Buffalo News years ago. 

But I understand why you are saying.  It seemed like Dunne was approaching the article from the opinion that Sean McDermott was the wrong coach in Buffalo and he used some quotes to support his take.  
 

I didn’t mind his viewpoint.  He brought up some points that I felt were fair.  I just questioned the need to include some of those stories which I felt served no other purpose than to embarrass him.  

 

[Big Turk]

This might be the exact thing the Bills needed to galvanize them, give them an "us against the world" mentality, play for each other and their coach(who most players still here seem to actually love) and peak at the right time...make no mistake, if they get in the playoffs every team is hoping they won't be the ones having to play them.

[zow2]

Tyler Dunne tried to pin McDermott down, but like the good wrestler he used to be, Sean is fighting back.  Good to see.

[mjt328]

1 hour ago, BFLO said:

If you want the other side of the story, read the other 99.9% of McD coverage. Where's the criticism for that coverage not telling both sides of the story?

 

The Dunne article is the first time we've gotten this side of the story. We wouldn't need a Dunne article to balance the scales if the other reporters did their jobs. 

 

The purpose of this article was to tell us the side of the story we haven't already heard. Why waste any time in it fluffing up McD by repeating the stuff we've already heard 1000 times? 

 

In conclusion. You don't need to "tell both sides" in every piece of journalism, especially when one side of the story has already dominated the coverage of that subject, and you're telling the opposite side of the story. 

 

It's not Tyler Dunne's job to make up for other sports reporters supposedly not doing their jobs.  This kind of mentality is how our society ends up with conservative news stations and liberal news stations, both of which only give you a part of what is true.  Because both sides think their job is balancing against the other side, instead of just reporting fair and balanced themselves.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall a 1000 other fluffy news stories about Sean McDermott's giving awesome speeches or how he comes across in the locker room to the players and coaches.  As you stated before, most of sports journalism is just generic and boring.  To my knowledge, this was the first time anyone has heard about the 9-1-1 speech (for example). 

 

You said the goal of journalism is speaking TRUTH to power.  Reading this article, do you feel like Dunne's goal was to give a TRUTHFUL and ACCURATE portrayal of how McDermott is viewed by his players and the other coaches?  Several players spoke in McDermott's defense after the Chiefs game last night.  Why was he unable to find anyone beforehand who would speak something positive on behalf of the coach?

 

There is plenty of good journalism in the article.  But Dunne totally wastes it, because he's starting with the premise that McDermott is a bad coach and needs to be fired.  That's the message he's trying to send, and it undermines everything else he reports.  

 

[Wayne Arnold]

12 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I see your point.

What I've been saying is that sport is entertainment.  It's not politics.  Political reporting will always be brutal.  Sports reporting doesn't need to be.

But I haven't been saying Dunne shouldn't have written an article about McD or sat on the fruits of his research.   But I do think he could have contextualized them much better by, for one, providing counterbalancing views.   Ed Oliver said McD is a "great man" (and called the article "bullsh*t").  Micah Hyde professed his support for McD (and rightly pointed out the article does no good).  Mitch Morse said he'd do anything for McD.  Josh reportedly said he loved McD both as a coach and a human.  And so on.  Why is there is so little of that in the article?  

 

Attacking a man's character and reputation is serious business.  If Dunne wants to publish the negative comments, fine.  But he should have researched the positive as thoroughly as he researched the negative.    

 

There was plenty of positive comments in it. There were more negative comments because the point of the piece was to show that we may not have the right head coach leading the franchise.

 

 

[Beck Water]

14 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

There was plenty of positive comments in it. There were more negative comments because the point of the piece was to show that we may not have the right head coach leading the franchise.

 

 

 

What did McKenzie say?

[Wayne Arnold]

9 hours ago, folz said:

 

I pointed this out earlier in the thread, but thought it might need repeating:

 

I just think you need to read the article a little more critically (take off your "I think McD should be fired" glasses for just a moment and think about it as if this article were written about you or a family member). The reason I believe it to be a "hit" piece is not because Dunne shared a couple of embarrassing stories from former players (big deal), and its not because he used actual quotes from his sources that may not be flattering for McDermott, which of course just shows that Dunne is cherry-picking stories and quotes from disgruntled people to try to paint a particular narrative (already not the most noble endeavor for an "honest" journalist)...

 

It is a hit piece because the article is riddled with personal attacks from Dunne (not his sources) directed at McDermott. Tell me if the following phrases (none of which came from his sources, these are Dunne's own words) sound like good, honest journalism or just personal attacks. Dunne wrote the following things about McDermott (and this is just a small sample):

 

he's "tangibly nervous"

"He's quick to blame"

"he put Dorsey's head on a stick"

"the honeymoon is over" with players (i.e. he's lost the locker room)

he's always "pointing a finger at his breadwinning quarterback"

he "finds a way to deflect blame"

he's "a coaching relic routinely paralyzed by fear"

he's "forever horrified of what could go wrong"

he's "Oblivious to reality"

"the head coach...administers mass lobotomies on his team."

 

Is that someone just reporting what his sources told him, or is that someone with an agenda?

 

Do you not see how Dunne is using very emotional language to influence, that he blurs the line between what is his opinion and what are the opinions of the 25 interviewees. I mean, not one of those people said that McDermott was "a coaching relic" or "oblivious to reality", etc. None of the above are source quotes. But Dunne  makes you think that all 25 people he talked to basically concur with all of his final conclusions, which seem to just be a lot of personal attacks. How would you feel if someone wrote an article about you basically calling you a nervous, fearful, coward who is so clueless that he actually makes those around him stupid, and then intimate that you basically have 25 people to back that up, and the next thing you know you are being lampooned on a national comedy show. Would you still feel that this was just a truthful writer doing his job? This is the coach of a .500 win football team, not some presidential candidate with dirty laundry. Just because someone is in the public eye doesn't mean they are fair game to personal attacks. You can criticize the job they are doing, etc. but leave the name calling on the playground with the kiddies.

 

In the world of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, one only uses fallacies, such as ad hominem (personal) attacks, when they know their argument isn't actually that strong, and/or when they just want to destroy someone (revenge). I don't know if Dunne has a beef or is just trying to get subs, but this article is not just some honest journalist looking out for the good people of western New York who deserve to know the truth because they spend their hard earned money on this product. 

 

It's an opinion piece with evidence to support his opinion. We all have them but most don't have access to 25 former players/coaches. So I appreciate Dunne's work. You may not. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

[theRalph]

Tyler Dunne is a Bills fan. Was this an attack on Sean McDermott—or a brilliantly crafted vehicle to bring the Bills together?

[boater]

So I wonder...how does Dunne feel about the KC victory?

 

On one hand, I've heard he is supposedly a Bills fan. In which case he should feel pretty good.

 

On the other hand, the Bills won despite Dunne's hatchet job. The McDermott expose proved to be a non-factor to the players. The four year old 9/11 quote and other interview gotchas didn't sway the needle. Even the resulting Saturday Night Live hit on McDermott was met with meh response. (that show has sucked for decades--since Farley and Spade left)

 

Dunne.. I wonder how many new subscribers he got.

[JGMcD2]

28 minutes ago, DC Greg said:

That graphic they showed last night told the tale… since 2021, Bills are now 9-14 in one score games. 22-1 in all other games. The reason they suck in the clutch is bad coaching. It’s an unfortunate reality we’re stuck with.

Why is the cut off 2021? McDermott is 28-25 in his career and they're 14-15 dating back to 2020 when Josh Allen emerged as a premier QB.

 

That .483 (14-15) clip is trailing Harbaugh by one in the win column and better than McVay (5-1 Playoffs), Shanahan (4-2 Playoffs), Taylor (5-2 Playoffs) and Belichick (0-1 Playoffs). 

 

Tomlin (0-2 Playoffs), McCarthy (1-2 Playoffs), Reid (7-2 Playoffs), Stefanski (0-1 Playoffs) and LaFleur have been the best of the bunch. Tomlin and Stefanski is particularly impressive - QB situation in both places have been terrible. 

 

*McDermott has Josh Allen, he needs to win more!*

 

Well, 2nd most wins in the league dating back to 2020. 4-3 in the playoffs during that stretch. 

[Wayne Arnold]

29 minutes ago, boater said:

So I wonder...how does Dunne feel about the KC victory?

 

On one hand, I've heard he is supposedly a Bills fan. In which case he should feel pretty good.

 

On the other hand, the Bills won despite Dunne's hatchet job. The McDermott expose proved to be a non-factor to the players. The four year old 9/11 quote and other interview gotchas didn't sway the needle. Even the resulting Saturday Night Live hit on McDermott was met with meh response. (that show has sucked for decades--since Farley and Spade left)

 

Dunne.. I wonder how many new subscribers he got.

 

How can you say it was a non-factor? You could see how motivated they all were.

 

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks maybe Beane paid Dunne to put this out there to unite the team.

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

Just now, Wayne Arnold said:

 

How can you say it was a non-factor? You could see how motivated they all were.

 

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks maybe Beane paid Dunne to put this out there to unite the team.

Spain is possibly a person distraction and leaking things. When Bills moved on Dorsey. I think Spain posted something on wrong person. 

[Wayne Arnold]

2 hours ago, mjt328 said:

 

You said the goal of journalism is speaking TRUTH to power.  Reading this article, do you feel like Dunne's goal was to give a TRUTHFUL and ACCURATE portrayal of how McDermott is viewed by his players and the other coaches?  Several players spoke in McDermott's defense after the Chiefs game last night.  Why was he unable to find anyone beforehand who would speak something positive on behalf of the coach?

 

 

To answer your first question - yes.

 

To answer your second question - HE DID.

 

I've noticed that the people most upset about Dunne's work are those who obviously didn't even read it.

 

As for the rest of your post, it reminds me of the old saying "There is no truth or reality. Only perception." Dunne gave the public a perception of McDermott that people who worked with him have. Who are you to say that those perceptions are any less valid than the positive perceptions of McDermott?

[JohnNord]

2 hours ago, Beck Water said:

 

What did McKenzie say?

He referred to him as “dad” and had this to say:

 

“With Sean, it’s ‘Come to my office. Talk to me. Let’s sit down, let’s talk about this. You need a day off? OK, cool,’” McKenzie said. “With Sean, the person-to-person is so good that even though you may not like the way certain things are, you still want to play for him because he cares about you off the field.”

[JohnNord]

To everyone complaining that Dunne’s article was not a character attack, this is what his good friend and former BN co-worker Tim Graham had to write in his column Sunday:

 

Independent sportswriter Tyler Dunne, a former Bills beat reporter based in Western New York, published a three-part series called “The McDermott Problem.” Dunne’s analysis, heavily leaning on anonymous sources, called McDermott’s tenure “seven years of torture” and stated Buffalo’s coach is an incompetent fraud with pitiful communication skills, a choke artist who must be fired if Buffalo wants to maximize Josh Allen and win a Super Bowl.

 

You can understand why McDermott and the Bills took this personal.  It was clearly an attack on his character.

 

Also, note how Graham referenced “heavy leaning on anonymous sources?”  

[boater]

24 minutes ago, Wayne Arnold said:

 

How can you say it was a non-factor? You could see how motivated they all were.

 

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks maybe Beane paid Dunne to put this out there to unite the team.

Well, that's a unique perspective.

22 minutes ago, Buffalo Bills Fan said:

Spain is possibly a person distraction and leaking things. When Bills moved on Dorsey. I think Spain posted something on wrong person. 

Yeah. There is some muddy water out there regarding Spain. He was here during the 9/11 speech, and he has said negative things about McD.

https://billswire.usatoday.com/2023/11/17/buffalo-bills-quinton-spain-wrong-person-fired-sean-mcdermott-ken-dorsey-nfl/

[Beck Water]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

He referred to him as “dad” and had this to say:

 

“With Sean, it’s ‘Come to my office. Talk to me. Let’s sit down, let’s talk about this. You need a day off? OK, cool,’” McKenzie said. “With Sean, the person-to-person is so good that even though you may not like the way certain things are, you still want to play for him because he cares about you off the field.”

 

Thanks.

That fits with stuff McKenzie said on his podcast with Dunne.  Dunne asked, if he were in trouble, would it be harder to have a conversation with McDermott or Beane.  He unhesitatingly said McDermott, saying that McDermott was like going to talk to your Father "What were you thinking?  I raised you better than that!!!!" while Beane was like your "cool Uncle", where if you told him you stole a car he would say "Don't do that again,  But was it a good car at least?  Did you have fun?." (McKenzie said he never got in off-field trouble, has never drunk alcohol or used drugs, and "if it happens after midnight, I don't know because I'm not there")

On the other hand, it doesn't fit with the bit from the Chad Hall truck story where an unnamed assistant coach is quoted as saying of McDermott "He’s insecure. He wants the relationship that he can’t have with the players. Because he’s not physically, mentally, or socially able to"  and that he has "zero relationship" with any of the offensive players. 

McKenzie clearly felt a caring relationship, even though McDermott ruthlessly benched him after the fumbled KO return in the Colts game so he had as much reason to have a "beef" with McDermott as anyone.