Former Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott isn’t on the sidelines this season, but he’s been out at other teams’ NFL practices observing what is going on.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that McDermott is attending the Tennessee Titans vs. Bears joint practice and spending time with Chicago head coach Ben Johnson.
The Bills Fired McDermott After Nine Seasons
McDermott was spotted out in late July with the Los Angeles Rams during one of the training camp practices.
The former Bills head coach didn’t seem eager to get back on the sidelines this season after Buffalo fired him in January, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to go around and learn.
McDermott is still one of the best coaches in football and deserves another chance at being an NFL head coach. However, he may want to rethink some of what he is doing.
There are no better coaches to learn from than Rams head coach Sean McVay, who is one of the best in the sport with two Super Bowl appearances and a ring. Additionally, Johnson, who took the Bears to the divisional round in his first year last season, is another great example.
The Bills fired McDermott after he took Buffalo to the playoffs in eight of nine seasons, but they never reached the Super Bowl, falling in the AFC title game twice.
Buffalo had a good chance to reach the Super Bowl last season but couldn’t get past the Denver Broncos, which was one of the main reasons why the Bills decided to go in another direction.
McDermott Opened Up on Joe Brady Taking His Bills Head Coaching Job
The difficult aspect of the Bills firing McDermott is that they hired his offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, to take over his role. It’s bad enough to lose your job, but it must be even worse to see the person you brought in to coach alongside you take that position. Despite this, McDermott is rooting for Brady to succeed.
“I think Joe is going to do a great job,” McDermott said in Early August on the “Jim Rome Show.” “You know he was with us for four seasons on my staff. He had a chance to watch, learn, and grow. Joe came to us from a situation in Carolina. He is a College of William & Mary grad. I’m a William & Mary grad, and the information I got on Joe was that he was a hard worker and really smart, and those are two great qualities, as well as being a good person, so we snagged Joe up, and it was to our benefit. Joe is a heck of a coach, and I think he is going to do a great job.”
McDermott brought in Brady as the Bills’ quarterback coach in 2022, but he later became the offensive coordinator mid-season in 2023 after Buffalo parted ways with Ken Dorsey.
Brady did such a great job that the Bills made him full-time offensive coordinator in 2024, and he held that position for two seasons before Buffalo made him head coach this offseason.
Ex-Bills HC Sean McDermott Turns Heads With NFC Franchise