Is McD the most polarizing figure in Bills history?

[GerstAusGosheim]

I remember during the fierce Flutie vs Johnson debate, I let my emotions get the best of me and fired off a nastygram at a Johnson supporter, who simply responded, "You don't have many friends, do you?" and to this day it was one of the funniest replies I've ever received.

[Ayjent]

On 5/29/2026 at 2:51 PM, The Wiz said:

I'll still fight anyone that EJ Manuel would have been good if not for Marrone and Rex.

Doug W is that you?

[EssexBill]

On 6/1/2026 at 5:05 PM, GerstAusGosheim said:

Sean McDermott's defense couldn't even sack Rob Johnson.

Off topic, but the jets couldn’t intercept Nate Peterman 

[dhg]

Gregg Williams or Marone, and it's not even close IMHO. 

[colin]

4 hours ago, dhg said:

Gregg Williams or Marone, and it's not even close IMHO. 

 

were they controversial?  i thought everyone just hated them and they sucked.

[NoGameThisWeek]

It's questions and responses like these that make the Forum fun to read during the offseason. Thanks. 

 

I've been a fan since the 60s ( I was at the Rockpile when KC (who else?) beat us to get to the first Super Bowl). The answer, I think, is Flutie / Johnson and Wade Phillips / Ralph Wilson - all in the same 'division'. 

[dhg]

35 minutes ago, colin said:

 

were they controversial?  i thought everyone just hated them and they sucked.

Both 

[ExiledInIllinois]

No.

 

Ralph was.

[GerstAusGosheim]

6 hours ago, EssexBill said:

Off topic, but the jets couldn’t intercept Nate Peterman 

My favorite stat is that Rory McIlroy won the Masters twice since the Jets had their last interception

[mjt328]

On 5/29/2026 at 4:55 PM, TheBrownBear said:

Was OJ polarizing with the fan base?  Like, everyone loved OJ and had fond memories of him showcasing his talent here, but viewed the later murder of his wife and Ron Goldman as a horrible generally unrelated act and that he was a despicable person.  I don't really view that as polarizing.

 

I don't view McD as particularly polarizing. He was a good coach, maybe given too long of a leash and his time eventually came to an end like a lot of coaches. He won a ton and nothing really grating or problematic about his personality (unless you hold the clapping against him).  Rex, Manboobs and Saint Doug were more polarizing coaching figures to me.

 

So, I'll go with Flutie or Rob Johnson.  Kind of a two sides of the same coin type of thing.

 

 

Reading through the responses, this is exactly how I feel.

 

OJ Simpson was not polarizing.  Everyone loved him as a player, and later as an actor/announcer.  After the murder trial, everyone switched and hated him.  Maybe there were some at the time who were hoping he was innocent.  But as time went along and evidence came out, very little doubt remains about his guilt.

 

McDermott was definitely polarizing after 13 Seconds, but I don't think it was significantly more than most coaches.  There was only a small minority calling for him to be fired way back in 2021 after that loss, and it gradually increased over the next five seasons.  By the time it finally happened, I think the majority of Bills fans were ready to move on. 

 

In fact, I think keeping Brandon Beane (and then promoting Joe Brady) was a more polarizing issue than canning McDermott.  If the Bills had fired both at the same time, I think there would have been less arguing and fighting amongst fans.  By doing that, the Bills were basically placing all of the blame on one person.  That's what most of the controversy was about.

 

Now the Doug Flutie / Rob Johnson mess... that divided the locker room, the front office and the fans.  In many ways, it destroyed the legacy of Ralph Wilson as an owner.  To this day, many fans believe that benching Flutie directly led to the Music City Miracle playoff loss -- which then started the downslide into 17 seasons without playoffs.

[dorquemada]

the knives came out for Wade Phillips

 

some of you other elderly types might remember WADEMUSTGO, a website that (one of you, I suspect) someone created and had a picture of wade phillips with mspaint devil horns drawn on

 

lmao