Sean McDermott was fired by the Buffalo Bills after last season, after having failed to reach the Super Bowl with a strong roster yet again. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady took the reins, and McDermott took to the exit, and is currently without a job. After logging a spectacular 98-50 record over nine years, McDermott has some interesting thoughts about his time in Buffalo.
Sean McDermott Nods to Andy Reid, Pete Carroll As He Looks to the Future
McDermott’s run with the Bills marked his first stint as an NFL head coach. As such, he learned a lot along the way, including how his run compares to another coaching legend’s.
On Sirius XM, he shared his outlook for the road ahead, expressing his excitement about the opportunity to apply what he’s learned.
“That’s what I’m excited about, it’s definitely a unique situation,” McDermott said. “So, now you have this situation that says, ‘Hey, we’re gonna seize the moment and take advantage of this.'”
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was McDermott’s mentor at the Philadelphia Eagles for more than a decade. Reid and McDermott’s stints in their first head-coaching jobs mirror each other, with similar success but no Super Bowl wins.
However, McDermott finds much optimism in that comparison, as Reid went on to win three Super Bowls with his next team, the Chiefs. In 2018, he built the team’s offense into a monster, earning a 95.8 PFSN Offense Impact score, which historically ranked fourth-best since 2000.
“You look at Andy [Reid’s] career in Philadelphia — I worked with Andy for the better part of 12 years — he leaves Philly, [then takes the Kansas City job],” McDermott said. “You know, our careers — his career in Philadelphia and my career in Buffalo — kind of run parallel to one another. It’s ironic that I worked with him for 12 years.”
McDermott’s story is nothing new under the sun. Plenty of head coaches have initially failed, only to succeed with subsequent teams.
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“All the people you’ve mentioned, they’re students of the game, and when they have opportunities, you better watch out because they’re gonna take advantage of it, and they’re gonna be ahead of the game when they come back,” the former Bills head coach said. “All the ones — Tom Coughlin — all the coaches you’ve mentioned. Pete Carroll, I mean, look what he did when the time he left New England, USC, and then back to Seattle. I mean, he wins World Championships.”
Coughlin also struggled to find long-term playoff success with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But he took a one-year break from the NFL in 2003 before going on to win two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
Carroll similarly failed to establish a career with the New England Patriots, but he ended up with the Seattle Seahawks 10 years later, in 2010, where he won a Super Bowl.
“You know, for those who have the ability, skill, and desire, they’re gonna take advantage of that opportunity and make the most of it, and that’s what I plan on doing,” McDermott concluded.
Admirers of McDermott’s coaching style will closely watch his next professional move.
