Getty Micah Hyde #23 of the Buffalo Bills underwent surgery for a herniated disc in his neck.
Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde was one of the first players to join head coach Sean McDermott when he took the reins of the team in 2017, and now the All-Pro safety is coming to his head coach’s defense.
Go Long’s Tyler Dunne published a three-part series on the Bills head coach on December 7 titled “The McDermott Problem” that quoted several former players and members of the coaching staff who raised concerns about McDermott’s coaching style and personality. The series included a story about McDermott using the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as a part of a motivational speech to players.
Hyde spoke out about the report on December 8, defending his head coach and saying it was a “low blow” for the players to question McDermott’s character.
Micah Hyde Steps Forward to Support Coach
Bills receiver Trent Sherfield said Hyde spoke out during the team’s meeting on Friday, saying the safety and team captain decided to publicly offer his support after McDermott asked the team if they had any questions.
“Micah kind of broke the silence,” Sherfield said, via ESPN. “He was just like, ‘Sean, like, we know who you are,’ and everybody was just kind of in agreement, and that was it.”
Hyde reiterated his support of McDermott while talking to reporters, saying he believed the story was unfair and that the sources quoted may have had an axe to grind.
Micah Hyde with a strong statement of support for Sean McDermott just now.
“I think it’s a low blow to question Sean’s character … So for guys to do that, it’s kind of messed up in my eyes. I’m pro Sean McDermott.”
“But to me, I think it’s a low blow to question Sean’s character. And I don’t think there’s any good coming out of that,” Hyde said. “I think a lot of us are, would, not to knock on you guys, but the media reporting the story, but I think in the locker room and stuff, we’re all here to lift each other up. So, for guys to do that, it’s kind of messed up in my eyes. You know me, I’m pro-Sean McDermott. I trust in everything that he’s done around here, and what he’s going to continue to do, and I’m going to back him any day of the week, twice on Sunday.”
Some former players had taken public shots at McDermott in recent weeks, even before the article was published. After the team fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, former lineman Quinton Spain took to social media to take a shot at McDermott.
“That the wrong person,” Spain wrote while sharing a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter regarding Dorsey’s firing.
General Manager Backs Head Coach
Other players joined Hyde in offering public support for McDermott, and general manager Brandon Beane noted that the team is fully behind their head coach.
“Everyone is 100 percent behind Sean,” Beane said. “… Everyone is truly focused; it’s been a good week of practice. I know we’ve had a couple hiccups here that we’ve had to deal with off the field, but out there, you wouldn’t know it. I was out there for every bit of that practice. And just to watch that and see it. The guys are going to rally. There’s two things you can do. You can divide, or you can rally. And I expect this team to rally.”
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Bills Captain Calls Out Former Players for Trashing Sean McDermott