Sean McDermott speaks

[QB Bills]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7202400/2026/04/17/sean-mcdermott-buffalo-bills-interview-fired-year-off/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.blA.rKjc.p7u_REY-vGlx

 

 

[Augie]

 

He seems to be a very good man and I wish him all the best. 

 

 

Unless he’s coaching against the Bills. 

[Gregg]

That was a good article. I wish Sean well (except when he faces the Bills) and hope he does win a championship someday. I wish it was here but unfortunately that didn't happen.

[julian]

Excellent football coach, he was the right man at the right time for the job but it was time.

[gonzo1105]

Leadership I don’t think was his problem. His stubbornness to adapt his defense was it. That’s what he should be studying in my opinion 

[Virgil]

I find it interesting that he moved away without knowing where his next job would be.  Seems like a poor decision for the kids to pull them out of school, take them another school for a year, and then likely move again when he gets another job.

 

Unless he was worried about how the kids at school would be about their dad getting fired.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

A few lives might have been different had they assigned Russini to do the story instead of Jones. 🤔

[Rigotz]

I hope he gets another job coaching a team like the Browns or Raiders who need to reset culture and build a base to be competitive and make the playoffs. He's awesome at that.

 

He just doesn't seem to have a second gear. 

[MikePJ76]

1 minute ago, Virgil said:

I find it interesting that he moved away without knowing where his next job would be.  Seems like a poor decision for the kids to pull them out of school, take them another school for a year, and then likely move again when he gets another job.

 

Unless he was worried about how the kids at school would be about their dad getting fired.

He was standing up for Buffalo by Immediately moving.  All those talks about his kids and the community, oh well.  

 

Seems his two favorite things in the world are Carolina and Andy Reid.  I imagine he ends up the panthers coach in the future.

 

I am so glad I do not have to hear or read about the Andy Reid connection anymore.  The best part of mcdermott getting fired.

[Gregg]

3 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

I hope he gets another job coaching a team like the Browns or Raiders who need to reset culture and build a base to be competitive and make the playoffs. He's awesome at that.

 

He just doesn't seem to have a second gear. 

 

I would rather he go to the NFC. Definitely don't want him in the AFCE.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Really good article. A lot to take away from it. It does strike me as odd that after 9 years of running his own football team the area he feels he needs to focus on is being a leader.

 

I also think that the article showed him (especially early in the article) as a slave to his own process. I felt while he was here he would get locked onto things being done in one way, but life doesn't really work that way most of the time. He says he's focused on making some changes yet is still showing he's locked into "growth mindset" and doing things the way he always has. 

 

As usual, the article does a great job painting him as a great person. 

4 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

He was standing up for Buffalo by Immediately moving.  All those talks about his kids and the community, oh well.  

 

Seems his two favorite things in the world are Carolina and Andy Reid.  I imagine he ends up the panthers coach in the future.

 

I am so glad I do not have to hear or read about the Andy Reid connection anymore.  The best part of mcdermott getting fired.

No, now we get to hear about Joe Brady and the Sean Payton connection. Media follows the same script year after year. 

[Rigotz]

3 minutes ago, Gregg said:

 

I would rather he go to the NFC. Definitely don't want him in the AFCE.

 

Personally, I would be fine with him going to any AFC team.

[thenorthremembers]

I've always found Sean's approach to life and coaching inspirational.   Seeing how he handled the Bills has had a big impact on me as a Youth and High School Coach.    While it was time, I wish the guy the absolute best.  True class act. 

[Gregg]

Just now, Rigotz said:

 

Personally, I would be fine with him going to any AFC team.

 

Despite not winning a Super Bowl he is still a good coach. Better off he goes and improves an NFC team. He would definitely be extra motivated to beat the Bills if he were in the AFC and in particular the AFCE. At least in the NFC the Bills would only have to face him once every four years unless it's in the Super Bowl.

[transient]

I found the initial paragraph interesting in that I did not realize that he came into the league in a scouting/personnel role, and progressed as a hybrid coach/personnel guy initially (not in the article, I Googled out of curiosity). FWIW.

 

McDermott was a good coach who accomplished a lot... he may be a better coach in his second stint, but without a QB on par with Allen it may not show up in the W-L record as gaudily. Also, unless he can break his tendencies in high leverage moments in the playoffs, all the leadership seminars in the world aren't going to make a difference.

[Urban Achievers]

[The Firebaugh Kid]

Nothing but class.

Was his defensive strategy outdated/good...but not good enough? Time will tell.

All the best to the droughtbreaker. 

[BillsShredder83]

29 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

He seems to be a very good man and I wish him all the best. 

 

 

Unless he’s coaching against the Bills. 

Same. I was ready to move on 2+ years ago, team was stagnant and he probably was in his career too.

 

I honestly believe this is better for him too. He can get to the root, without devoting all his time and resources keeping the team treading water. He needed it as much as we did.

 

Really hope to see him get a chip elsewhere

[SCBills]

That 3rd and long, when he had Nix rattled with pressure, calls off the dogs and gives up a no pressure easy pitch and catch for a first down. 
 

Amazing to think what could have been if he didn’t turtle up. 
 

Unfortunately that’s his MO.  
 

He’s a good coach, great man and we’ll see if he can get things sorted in high leverage situations, but he likely won’t have the best QB in the NFL at his next stint. 

[Sierra Foothills]

“I could go visit people I know, but I already know what they’re about and what they believe in,” McDermott said, via Mike Jones of TheAthletic.com. “But [I’m] visiting some people that do things a little bit different than maybe I’ve done. . . . It’s this guy that seems to have had success, or this gal’s had success and their personalities may be a little bit different than mine. So, I’d like to get in on the ground floor and just see how they handle the day in and day out and how it translates to the NFL. I don’t think it’s healthy to stop just in sports, but to talk to people in the corporate world, those that are high-level performers, even though it doesn’t directly overlap, there’s correlation. . . . I think going outside of football is healthy and productive and powerful.”