Undeterred in Super Bowl pursuit, Bills coach Sean McDermott says ‘when, not if’
INDIANAPOLIS: The pictures suddenly materialized above Sean McDermott’s shoulder only a minute into the conversation. While these weren’t the worst lowlights ESPN could have broadcast at the time, they were nevertheless somewhat unsettling.
McDermott responded, “Oh, geez,” when it was brought up. His fake chuckle resembled a moan more than anything.
The closed hotel lobby bar provided seclusion on Sunday morning, if solitude is possible among the NFL bright lights. The biggest games from the previous season were being counted down on the TVs.
The second was the heartbreaking playoff loss at Highmark Stadium for the Buffalo Bills.
McDermott remarked, his voice faltering, “It’s painful.” He took a brief look at it. This time, Tyler Bass’s kick also missed the uprights. “A man is weeping,” McDermott whispered. He flinched and gave a little shake of his head upon seeing a Bills supporter, covering his eyes with a winter cap and breaking down in tears.
“Again, what was the question?”
McDermott, who is this week attending his ninth NFL Scouting Combine as the head coach of the Bills, has grown tired of answering the same questions over the offseason. He has yet to lead his squad to the Super Bowl. The Bills have lost in the second round of the playoffs for three years running. Some angry supporters believe McDermott is wasting quarterback Josh Allen’s abilities and want to move on.
It’s something McDermott knows. He also knows that while they were both with the Philadelphia Eagles, similar criticism was directed at his mentor-turned-perennial AFC roadblock, Andy Reid. McDermott was sacked by Reid, and the Eagles subsequently fired Reid, who seems to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, has since won three Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It isn’t a question of whether. The only question is when,” McDermott said of winning a Lombardi Trophy. “That is the relentless pursuit.”
The Buffalo Bills have lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and have yet to reach the Super Bowl in the Josh Allen and Sean McDermott era.
But the head coach believes the team’s time is coming.
“It’s not a matter of if. It’s just a matter of when,” he told The Athletic’s Tim Graham in regards to winning a title. “That is the relentless pursuit.”
In McDermott’s seven seasons as head coach, the team has reached the playoffs six times, including a berth in the AFC Championship Game in the 2020 season. That team fell to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who have now knocked the Bills out of the playoffs in three of the past four years.
Still, the Bills went from 17 straight seasons without a playoff appearance before McDermott to becoming a perennial contender that has won four straight AFC East titles. He’s 73-41 during the regular season as a head coach.
But the team is in Allen’s prime years and hasn’t been able to win a title, while Mahomes and the Chiefs have claimed three. That’s become cause for concern in Buffalo, with fans wondering if McDermott is the right man for the job.
“You can’t listen,” he told Graham. “I believe we’re doing things the right way. You only fail if you quit, and I’ve never done that. I’ve never been about that. Whatever it is, you always figure it out. You always find a way to get there.”
“The only thing left to do for us at this point is win an AFC championship and win a Super Bowl, which is pretty darn good,” he continued. “There’s not too many organizations that can say that over the last seven years. We’ve done everything else you can do, and that is what gets us out of bed in the morning.”
But the NFL is an all-or-nothing business, and the Bills are at the point where anything less than a trip to the Super Bowl and a title will feel like a letdown. But McDermott feels like the team is close.
“Man, come on. I know that we’re doing things right,” he said. “I know we’re right on the edge.”
