Getty Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott coaches against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football.
In his four years as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott has done a lot of things right.
He’s developed a culture that has transitioned from “Playoff Caliber” to “Championship Caliber” and he’s brought the Bills from the depths of the NFL and placed them back at the top of the league. On Saturday, they make their third playoff appearance in three years.
But this season has been different for Buffalo.
McDermott along with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and quarterback Josh Allen have created an offensive juggernaut that has blown teams out of the water. Buffalo’s defense has also come a long way this season and they are starting to play their best football just as the playoffs approach.
But all this has taken time. McDermott had to learn what made the Bills special and what made those old Bills teams, the ones that went to four straight Super Bowls, tick.
On a recent episode of The Jim Rome Podcast, former Bill Steve Tasker, who was a special teams expert on those 90’s Bills teams, shared a story about how McDermott used the old Bills greats as a resource to build their current team.
“Maybe a month or two after he was hired, he had that group of guys to dinner in Buffalo and the team brought all of those guys in,” Tasker said on the episode. “We sat around the dinner table with Sean McDermott in a private room and he asked us really pointed questions about why that team was what it was. Why was it special? Why was it successful? Why was it able to sustain success? Why was it able to bounce back from so many crushing defeats in Super Bowls? A couple of bottles of wine into it he got some pretty straight answers.”
While McDermott was listening and taking in the great memories that the former Bills players, like Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, and others shared, Tasker said one moment about the night stood out.
“Sean is a completely class guy and during the conversation, he pulled out his phone and it looked like he was texting,” Tasker said. “He goes ‘Guys, don’t think I’m texting friends or I’m not giving you my attention. I’m actually taking notes on what you are saying. I’m writing these things down.’ We were actually flattered by that and whatever it was he was writing down, and whatever insight he got from those guys, he’s certainly surpassed it.”
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McDermott Has Been Building an AFC East Champion
During his conversation with Rome, Tasker shared several things that made those Bills teams special. Obviously, the talent of those teams had a lot to do with it, but Tasker said it also took time for those players to come together and manifest into what they did become. Guys needed time to get to know each other and develop an identity within the franchise.
The same has happened with McDermott’s team. They made the playoffs in 2017 for the first time in 17 years with a team full of veterans that were looking to prove themselves. Then, they took their lumps during Allen’s rookie year as he became accustomed to life in the NFL. But, over the past two years, the Bills have built a bully in Buffalo and won their first AFC East title in 25 years, and are looking to make another run to the Super Bowl this season.
Bills Looking to Finish It Off In the Playoffs
The Bills have had one of their best regular seasons in a long time, but they aren’t done yet. They know none of their success this season matters unless they continue it in the playoffs. That’s exactly what they are looking to start on Saturday when they take on the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the AFC playoffs.
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