Bills coach Sean McDermott addresses controversial 2019 meeting and 9/11 analogy

ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who wasn’t scheduled to speak to reporters Thursday afternoon following practice, called reporters together to address an incident that occurred in 2019 training camp at St. John Fisher College.

On Thursday, sports writer Tyler Dunne published an explosive, deeply-researched three-part series on the nearly seven-year tenure of McDermott as the Bills’ coach.

All cards on the table, I am not a subscriber to Dunne’s “Go Long” newsletter and therefore did not have access to the expose except for the sections that were made available to non-subscribers. Even in those small snippets, it clearly puts McDermott in a very poor light for a variety of reasons.

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Dunne interviewed 25 coaches, players, personnel men and other Bills’ team sources who have worked at One Bills Drive since McDermott arrived in 2017 - from what I have been able to read, all of the sources were given anonymity “in order to speak freely without the fear of retribution” Dunne wrote.

Again, I have not read all that was written, but Dunne was told that McDermott apparently made an awkward analogy to the 9/11 tragedy during a team meeting.

“McDermott’s morning address began innocently enough,” Dunne wrote. “He told the entire team they needed to come together. But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection. One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood."

McDermott said he did not read the series of stories, but he was made aware of this part and he felt he needed explain what happened which is why he spoke to reporters Thursday.

“I’m not here to discuss the article that’s out there and the things that are mentioned other than this right here because this right here is very important to me and something I take very seriously,” McDermott said.

He then launched into his explanation of what happened.

“I’m going to reference a team meeting that has been brought up,” McDermott said. “My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team. I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day and I immediately apologized to the team. Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country’s history, but a day that I lost a good family friend.”

He was asked how the comment was received and whether it sparked a problem.

“What happened more than anything … I didn’t make my point clear enough,” he said. “So right then and there I said we’re getting together as a team and I’m going to address this with everyone. That was before practice. So we had a team meeting and within an hour - this is a few years ago - so within an hour, and it was actually at the start of practice, I brought everybody together and said, ‘This was the goal, this was the intent, and I apologize if anyone whatsoever felt a certain type of way coming out of that meeting. If anyone misinterpreted or didn’t understand my message, I apologize.’

“I didn’t do a good enough job of communicating clearly the intent of my message. That was about the importance of communication and that everyone needs to be on the same page, ironically enough. So that was important to me then and still is now.”

McDermott said that his sense at the time was that he had sufficiently clarified his intent with the players and coaches.

“That’s how I felt, and multiple players came up to me, some said ‘you didn’t even have to do that,’” McDermott said. “Others said ‘thank you for doing that.’ Like normally happens, there’s some people who feel a certain way and some people who … but even if there was one, that’s where it started. So as soon as I felt that way, ‘Hey, I need to go clear this up.’ And that’s what you do. That’s to me how you handle things. That’s what I did.”

Just in the small portions that are available to non-subscribers, there are clearly some hot button issues that have been raised by the people Dunne spoke to.

One in particular caught my attention. One source, a former coach, criticized what he believed to be McDermott’s refusal to take accountability for the “13 seconds” debacle in the January 2022 playoff loss to the Chiefs. This coach told Dunne that the day after the game, McDermott said in a meeting with his coaches, “You guys need to get away, recharge, reflect, and figure out what you can do better to avoid that happening again.”

The coach’s inference was that McDermott was blaming them for the colossal failure that night that began with the kickoff touchback, allowing the Chiefs to get in position for a tying field goal despite only 13 seconds remaining in regulation, and then the subsequent meltdown of the defense on the Chiefs’ game-winning TD drive that ended the Bills’ promising season.

“It’s narcissism,” the unidentified coach said. “Because narcissists are a unique conundrum. They want the attention, but they’re so insecure at the same time. And that’s him. The issue with the team is the guy at the top. It’s really nothing else. There are so many examples of his insecurity - and his bizarre leadership - that you could talk for days. He never takes accountability. For anything.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which comes out twice a week during the season, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Sean McDermott addresses controversial Bills meeting and 9/11 analogy