Buffalo Bills

Reading Between the Lines of Sean McDermott's Press Conference

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:38 p.m. ET

Fansided, Daniel Hahn/FanSided via BuffaLowDown

Sean McDermott was introduced as the 20th head coach in Buffalo Bills history. A stark change from the past two years, but enough was said to get excited about the future.

Buffalo Bills fans are getting pretty used to these introductory press conferences.

Every new coach introductory press conference allows the fans to hear the same three things. The Owner/President will say something about how this was the best long-term move for the franchise, and “passionate fans” deserve this hire.

The General Manager will say this is the person they wanted from the start, but they did their due diligence and this is best choice. Probably a remark that during the interview, all the interviewers came away impressed and kept coming back to this coach. Last, we get to hear from the coach himself. A few thank you’s to the people who hired him, and then a comment about the passionate fan base.

Overall the goal is to talk for awhile without saying much of substance. McDermott didn’t even commit running a 4-3 defense, even though that’s his background, and Leslie Frazier’s background. Maybe we won’t be “fully pregnant” this year, but I doubt you hear that term at OBD ever again.

This post isn’t to get you less excited about Sean McDermott. It’s to try and level set. We should be filled with optimism, and we should be excited about all the new coaches coming in.

Tthe negativity around the team is real, but it will dissipate in time. This press conference, while not splashy with headlines (which will lead to a few negative articles), was back to the norm and still informative when you read the subtle messages.

Oct. 14, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of a Buffalo Bills helmet and footballs on the sidelines against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Attention to Detail

Every question asked to Sean McDermott was met with a pause to really think before he spoke. While a simple thing to do, isn’t as easy as it can appear. I try to teach my staff to do the same in meetings, and we just had two years of Rex Ryan who spoke as he thought. When I think of a person who is careful with their words, and thinking before talking, I will be assuming he will think before acting.

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McDermott mentioned his attention to detail in the press conference. He has researched the Buffalo Bills, from a roster standpoint, organizational standpoint, city perspective, and probably salary cap perspective. It’s clear he took this job, because he thought it to be a fit, not because it’s a last resort.

Still Sour on Marrone

Until coaches are officially signed, the Bills can’t say who their coordinators are, such as all the rumors of Leslie Frazier coming in as Defensive Coordinator. That said, if a coach is already on the staff, you can speak about them. So McDermott did announce that Special Teams Coordinator Danny Crossman will remain on the staff.

Rumors from Jacksonville were that Doug Marrone was trying to lure Crossman to his staff. Rex Ryan made it a point to take a couple shots at Marrone when he was introduced, and the Bills managed to do it again today with the announcement of Crossman’s retention. It also helps that Crossman is a really good coach too.

Dec 24, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) before a game against the Miami Dolphins at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrod Taylor — Buffalo Bill, Or Not?

The other thing we know, and you should expect from these press conferences, is no major roster decisions are going to be announced. The Bills have until March to make decisions, and they will take until March to decide.

What we did learn was a bit interesting, McDermott has met Taylor and spoken to Taylor on different days since being announced head coach. So they are communicating, and Taylor is actively seeking McDermott out.

What’s clear is Tyrod Taylor wants to be a Bill. What won’t be clear is if the Bills still want Taylor for 3 more years. McDermott did go into a bit of a rant that he knows what a championship quarterback “looks like”, and it may have been a Freudian slip that, that person isn’t on the roster.

The Bills will not keep Taylor if he doesn’t pass McDermott’s vision for what a quarterback should be. Also, how could he make a final decision if he doesn’t have an offensive coordinator yet.

Organization Structure

During the end of the Rex Ryan’s tenure, the so called dysfunctional organization structure has gained a lot of headlines, even forcing Terry Pegula to speak multiple times about the alleged iissues’ It was said today, everything remains the same as when Ryan was head coach.

I had to say this, because of the amount of attention the organization structure has gotten recently, however, who cares? If the Bills win, they can have any structure style on Earth. If they lose, we will look for excuses. The bottom line is that McDermott will be focusing on coaching, Whaley on the roster, and once a week they’ll have a conference call with the owner.

Do you care? I don’t, I just want wins and a championship. We can start a BuffaLowDown conference call if it leads to a Super Bowl too. Or we won’t, and because we haven’t for the past 17 years somebody can blame us for the Bills lack of success.

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detailed view of Buffalo Bills helmet during the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

My Conclusions

This is 100 percent my opinion, and not necessarily what I want to see happen.

The vibe that I got from that press conference was that Tyrod Taylor will be in a different uniform next season. While I didn’t expect a commitment, the second question on the subject (which asked if Whaley would allow McDermott to keep Taylor, should he want him), let a lot out about what a franchise QB looks like. It didn’t sound a lot like Taylor, or at the very least, like he knows it’s not Taylor.

There will be more articles to this coming out, but the fact is that with the Bills cap situation they have to make hard decisions on the long term futures of Stephon Gilmore, Tyrod Taylor, Robert Woods, Lorenzo Alexander, and Zach Brown. They can’t keep them all and have to choose priorities. Losing Anthony Lynn all but assure the offense will change, and long-term decisions may be easier on the defensive side.

Be excited, have optimism, and enjoy (as much as you can) this process. One day, one hire, it will be the last time we have to go thru this for a long time. I am hoping Sean McDermott is around for a very long time in Buffalo.