A Different Vibe from McDermott

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, Augie said:

 

How many rings does Vrabel have? I’m told that’s all that counts. (Don’t worry, it was rhetorical.) 

 

 

THREE. How many does McD have?

[FireChans]

10 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Vrabel not only builds culture like McD, but also has what McD lacks. He is a Belichick disciple and knows the rule book forwards and backwards, and has beat BB at his own game using loop holes and angles to squeak out wins when his players need him most, and is great at in-game decisions. He lead a team with Ryan freaking Tannehill at QB to the #1 seed twice. Imagine what he could do with Josh Allen making it all that easier.

 

As far as rolling the dice on a first time HC... McD was never a HC before Buffalo either, and now you refuse to even consider getting rid of him.

 

My man, you are abslutely being a McD apologist. We've laid out a bunch of very good replacement candidates and you poke a single hole in each one and cling to it. I dont believe that you'd fire him if we had a better shot with someone else. That's just a convenient line since EVERYONE is a maybe.

 

McD isnt a maybe tho. He's proven he cant get it done. No blind hate or frustration here. Just calmly looking at the reality of recent history.

You are wasting your time FWIW. 
 

wait a week and he will be posting about how nobody can name any other HC candidate. It’s Groundhog Day.

[T.E.]

3 minutes ago, Augie said:

People can and do grow in their jobs. That’s a real thing. I don’t see a point in starting over unless it’s a clear upgrade. 

He hasn't grown, though. At all. Still runs the same defense that folds every year in the playoffs, still calls the same stupid timeouts, still can't figure out when/when not to challenge, still has the team playing tight in big games, etc.

 

He is who he is. If they don't get to the Super Bowl this year (and I don't believe they will), you have to try something different. You can't just keep him forever and underachieve because you're worried that the NFL will never again have a new HC that ends up being good.

22 hours ago, Rockinon said:

These players love playing for their coach and that speaks volumes and IMHO is way more important than all of the hot takes I keep reading from armchair GMs.

This is irrelevant unless we're talking about a tee-ball squad.

[Augie]

14 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

THREE. How many does McD have?

 

Obviously, as a HC was the question, so ZERO. And the only thing relevant here. It was brought up, bragged about even, that he got a #1 seed before the Chiefs came to dominance. Whoopee. What did he do with it? 

 

I don’t think hours before the opener is the appropriate time to waste mental energy on this. 

 

GO BILLS! 

 

.

Edited September 7 by Augie

[HamptonBillsfan]

On 9/3/2025 at 8:50 PM, PoundingDog said:

I know you don't get much from McDermott, the prototypical coach speaking guy. But somehow I detect a different tone starting this year's first Wednesday presser. Notice how he repeated the theme of looking to get better as the season goes along. I believe he said it 4 times in this single presser. Not much of the type he typically says like "in order to win, you have to have the fundamentals" blah blah. You can take it two ways. For those looking for positives, you can say McDermott matured in that it really does not matter how you start, it's how you finish, as in playing your best going into the playoff and having injury stuff lining up for you. For those looking for negatives, you may say McDermott is already preparing us for a loss coming Sunday because he's focusing on the big picture of finding the right guys and preparing the young guys, especially rookies that we have to count on, for later in the playoff.

 

 

 

McDermott is a good coach, not great, but with a transcendent QB that has gotten us  to a high level of production and then our championship hopes have leveled off. He’s a defensive minded head coach whose defense has been the reason why we’ve not gotten to the big game. His game time decision making has been suspect and the draft selections in concert with Beane have been underwhelming. I’m in the camp of fans that believe a good motivator and a defensive oriented coach will not be able to maximize arguably the best QB in the sport. When he tries to temper expectations that’s a sign that this team has weaknesses that he does not have real fixes for. He looked like a coach who is doing a lot of wishing and hoping after protecting starters from injuries and seeing depth players struggle mightily in the preseason. If he struggles out of the gate and gives up home field expectations , that’s a sign that his time is coming to an end and even if they don’t want a big change with the new stadium coming, he’s a dead man walking.

[DrDawkinstein]

8 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Obviously, as a HC was the question. And the only thing relevant here. It was brought up, bragged about even, that he got a #1 seed before the Chiefs came to dominance. Whoopee. What did he do with it? 

 

I don’t think hours before the opener is the appropriate time to waste mental energy on this. 

 

GO BILLS! 

 

Super Bowl experience is Super Bowl experience and it's obviously rubbed off on him as demonstrated by his coaching.

 

And we have 8 hours to burn so strap in!

 

Go Bills! 

[Augie]

7 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Super Bowl experience is Super Bowl experience and it's obviously rubbed off on him as demonstrated by his coaching.

 

And we have 8 hours to burn so strap in!

 

Go Bills! 

 

Oh, come on now and be serious. Playing in a Super Bowl and being the head coach is like being a baggage handler at the airport who does such a good job they make him the pilot. I’ve been to a SB. I’d like to apply! I have experience! 

 

I’d be embarrassed to say that’s how I’d choose my HC. 

 

I’ll be in the lot soon, and my experience is that people expose themselves more on the internet than they do in person. Kinda looking forward to that. 

[boater]

24 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

...people expose themselves more on the internet than they do in person. Kinda looking forward to that. 

 

Well, that's not a good visual.

[Augie]

2 minutes ago, boater said:

 

Well, that's not a good visual.

 

True, especially if you’ve witnessed those characters. I apologize for any bad dreams I may have caused, but the cost of therapy is on you. 

[Since1981]

Sean isn’t breaking news—he’s just saying what we’ve all seen. The last few playoff runs have been wrecked by key injuries. That loss? A quarter of Elam as a shaky backup and a defensive plan that left him stranded without safety help. That’s how the game slipped. The message is simple: build the roster with the 19th game in mind.

[Einstein's Dog]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

How many rings does Vrabel have? I’m told that’s all that counts. (Don’t worry, it was rhetorical.) 

 

And we have paid the price breaking in a new HC already. People can and do grow in their jobs. That’s a real thing. I don’t see a point in starting over unless it’s a clear upgrade. None of those fit the bill for me, but then I don’t take it as personally and emotionally as some here.  

Personally, I don't see even considering this elusive "clear upgrade" until the team does poorly.   Teams that were the 2 seed and played in the Conference championship game don't "start over".  There's pretty much 28 other teams in the league hat wish they could do that.

 

It's only the true McD haters that can even discuss such a ridiculous move after the past excellent season out of the Bills.  They beat expectations, took down what was supposed to be the up and coming brillantly coached Broncos, and then eliminated the hot Ravens.  Losing a close AFCCG on questionable officiating is not a fireable offense.  In reality McD was closer to COY than any imagined hot seat.

 

I kind of feel bad for these people - they lost their true shot at replacing McD the year Dorsey got fired.  If the Bills hadn't made the playoffs there could be an actual case for a change.  That turnaround had to hurt them. 

 

But now entertaining discussions of replacing McDermott seems like engaging in internet talk with people who are mentally unbalanced.

[DuckyBoys]

27 minutes ago, Since1981 said:

Sean isn’t breaking news—he’s just saying what we’ve all seen. The last few playoff runs have been wrecked by key injuries. That loss? A quarter of Elam as a shaky backup and a defensive plan that left him stranded without safety help. That’s how the game slipped. The message is simple: build the roster with the 19th game in mind.

His defensive philosophy  leads to injuries  Cant ask a small defense to play bend don't break all year and hold up  Asking dbs to do as much tackling and having undersized linebackers your gonna have guys hurt.  Curious how many injuries we get just from getting worked by a bigger more physical Ravens team tonight

[GoBills808]

49 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

Personally, I don't see even considering this elusive "clear upgrade" until the team does poorly.   Teams that were the 2 seed and played in the Conference championship game don't "start over".  There's pretty much 28 other teams in the league hat wish they could do that.

 

It's only the true McD haters that can even discuss such a ridiculous move after the past excellent season out of the Bills.  They beat expectations, took down what was supposed to be the up and coming brillantly coached Broncos, and then eliminated the hot Ravens.  Losing a close AFCCG on questionable officiating is not a fireable offense.  In reality McD was closer to COY than any imagined hot seat.

 

I kind of feel bad for these people - they lost their true shot at replacing McD the year Dorsey got fired.  If the Bills hadn't made the playoffs there could be an actual case for a change.  That turnaround had to hurt them. 

 

But now entertaining discussions of replacing McDermott seems like engaging in internet talk with people who are mentally unbalanced.

i feel bad for people who don't understand what 'starting over' means

[Avisan]

11 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

i feel bad for people who don't understand what 'starting over' means

New culture, new schemes, new player preferences, etc.

 

Many coaches like having increased control over personnel decisions, too. That was reported to be a factor for Vrabel after his Tennessee stint, for example.

 

Josh Allen would remain constant, which obviously helps, but in every other way it would likely be starting over.  The QB is a huge part of the equation, but it isn't the only thing, and very recently we saw how wrong things can go even with our unicorn under center with Dorsey as OC.

 

Coaching changes bring large organizational and roster shifts.  Starting over is a pretty accurate way to describe it.

[Einstein's Dog]

14 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

i feel bad for people who don't understand what 'starting over' means

That's it, congratulations on trying to keep your irrational thoughts alive. 

 

You can help lead this outlier group in an echo chamber and pretend you have a large backing and are engaging in normal behavior.

[DrDawkinstein]

29 minutes ago, Avisan said:

New culture, new schemes, new player preferences, etc.

 

Many coaches like having increased control over personnel decisions, too. That was reported to be a factor for Vrabel after his Tennessee stint, for example.

 

Josh Allen would remain constant, which obviously helps, but in every other way it would likely be starting over.  The QB is a huge part of the equation, but it isn't the only thing, and very recently we saw how wrong things can go even with our unicorn under center with Dorsey as OC.

 

Coaching changes bring large organizational and roster shifts.  Starting over is a pretty accurate way to describe it.

 

We've "started over" 3 times on Offense now with the change to Daboll, then Dorsey, then Brady. Won the division and made the playoffs each time. We're about to lose Brady and will be forced to "start over" there again as well.

 

So all you're really telling me is we might have to start over on Defense. And that is just further selling the idea to most of us, since it's been the Defense that weighs us down.

 

You guys have only convinced me more that we should be ready to move on from McD when the Defense lets us down again this year. Start thinking of your excuses now. 

[Buffalo Boy]

4 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I’m not impressed by your list or your thinking. Harbaugh is a maybe, but he wears out his welcome fairly quickly. BB is a joke, Vrabel might build culture, but we have that. What has he won as a HC? I don’t think taking the risk of rolling the dice on a guy who has never held the job of HC is a wise gamble. Hell, you have Brady on there and he’s only been a coordinator for one year. 

 

To be clear, I’m not a McD apologist. I’d fire him this morning if we had a better shot with someone else, but I don’t see that guy out there, just a bunch of maybes. I’m not blinded by hate and frustration. 

That is all well and good but stop acting like the answer hasn’t been offered repeatedly……McD Bromancer😉😜

Edited September 7 by Buffalo Boy

[GoBills808]

51 minutes ago, Einstein's Dog said:

That's it, congratulations on trying to keep your irrational thoughts alive. 

 

You can help lead this outlier group in an echo chamber and pretend you have a large backing and are engaging in normal behavior.

gladly

 

the fact that you can't discuss the topic w out lobbing insults speaks loudly enough 

[DrDawkinstein]

7 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

gladly

 

the fact that you can't discuss the topic w out lobbing insults speaks loudly enough 

 

The only argument the McD apologists have is personal insults. Telling.

[boyst]

43 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

We've "started over" 3 times on Offense now with the change to Daboll, then Dorsey, then Brady. Won the division and made the playoffs each time. We're about to lose Brady and will be forced to "start over" there again as well.

 

So all you're really telling me is we might have to start over on Defense. And that is just further selling the idea to most of us, since it's been the Defense that weighs us down.

 

You guys have only convinced me more that we should be ready to move on from McD when the Defense lets us down again this year. Start thinking of your excuses now. 

You forgot dennison,