Bills’ Sean McDermott among NFL’s best head coaches

While there are questions about his long-term viability as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott is, by any measure, one of the best sideline coaches in the modern NFL.

He transformed a bottom-of-the-table player into a legitimate contender, inheriting a team in the midst of a 17-year playoff drought in 2017 and leading them to the playoffs in six of his seven seasons at the helm. He is already the second-winningest coach in franchise history (73 wins), with his .640 winning percentage putting him atop Buffalo’s record books in that statistic.

The Bills have posted five double-digit wins under McDermott, winning the AFC East title in four of those campaigns. There are valid concerns about the coach’s decision-making in key moments and his ability to get the team over the proverbial hump, but in terms of building a culture and a football team that succeeds every year, few players in Buffalo history have had more success than McDermott.

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That sentiment was echoed in CBS Sports’ recent NFL head coach rankings. Reporter Cody Benjamin put McDermott at No. 9 (in his first group of coaches), praising his success while questioning whether or not he’s the Bills’ long-term answer on the bench.

“McDermott has strong characteristics of a young Andy Reid, a true Reid disciple: The pressure is mounting for him to finally take an elite quarterback and annual contender to the promised land, and yet his track record as a calming voice is hard to deny, with six playoff attempts in seven years at the position,” Benjamin wrote. “Josh Allen’s ability to elevate a revamped offensive supporting cast could play a key role in his future.”

The comparison to Reid, whose family tree includes McDermott among several other notable coaches, is rather apt, as the now-legendary coach struggled to “get over the hump” in his first head coaching stint. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012, leading the team to the playoffs nine times and the NFC Championship five times. He won only one of those championship games, losing in that year’s Super Bowl to the New England Patriots.

The Eagles passed on Reid after the 2012 season, hiring college coach Chip Kelly to replace him. Reid was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs, who were coming off a 2-14 campaign; the move paid off for both franchises, as both teams have since won at least one Super Bowl (Kansas City has won multiple).

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McDermott hasn’t reached the same heights as Reid in Philadelphia, but the general sentiment remains the same: For Buffalo to take the next step as a franchise, does it need to introduce a new voice into the locker room? It’s a fair question to ask given McDermott’s inability, so far, to have big games; with Josh Allen still firmly in his prime but approaching 30, at what point do you have to run and hope things are different? This Is time becoming irresponsible?

That moment, if it ever comes, doesn’t seem to be right now, as the Bills seem to have confidence in McDermott at this point. He’s one of the NFL’s best at producing consistent regular-season success, and Buffalo’s offseason roster restructuring—based on a concerted effort to get younger—seems to suggest a confidence in McDermott’s ability to develop talent. It also suggests he has a pretty long “leash”; the Bills’ roster, on paper, isn’t as strong as it has been in recent years, and while the team will still be competitive, it may not be the world-beating team it has been (at times) in seasons past. McDermott could be left behind somewhat if Buffalo gets knocked out of the playoffs early this season, as making the playoffs with a ragtag passing attack and a revamped defense wouldn’t objectively be a bad outcome.

Despite his long-term security in Western New York, McDermott remains one of the NFL’s best coaches. Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, John Harbaugh, Matt LaFleur, Mike Tomlin, Jim Harbaugh and Dan Campbell are ahead of him on Benjamin’s list.

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