5 reasons Sean McDermott will lead Buffalo Bills to AFC Playoffs
By John Buhler
Sean McDermott has been named the next head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Here are five reasons he will be the guy that gets the Bills into the AFC Playoffs.
On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills became the third team to hire a new head coach this offseason. Hours after the Denver Broncos made Vance Joseph their guy, Buffalo hired Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to be their next head coach.
McDermott had been the Panthers defensive coordinator since 2011 and was the defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2009 to 2012. He has served under head coaches Andy Reid and Ron Rivera and looks to be ready for his first head coaching gig.
Buffalo is known for being the NFL franchise with the longest active playoff drought, going on 19 years. The Bills’ last playoff game was the Music City Miracle game against the Tennessee Titans in the 1999 AFC Playoffs. No need to fear, here are five reasons that McDermott will be guy that lead Buffalo back into the AFC Playoffs.
5. Clearly aligned with Doug Whaley
This is important. While they did not enter the Bills organization at the same time, McDermott wouldn’t have gotten the job or taken the job if he did not believe that he could work with incumbent general manager Doug Whaley.
Whaley has been with the Bills organization since 2010 and Buffalo’s general manager since 2013. The Pegula Family has entrusted Whaley to execute the coaching search and he seems to have found a solid one in McDermott. While he has flown under the radar this season, keep in mind that McDermott was a hot head coaching candidate last season when the Panthers went 15-1 en route to Super Bowl 50.
Though the Bills have hovered around .500 the last few years, Whaley has done a good job in terms of drafting and signing personnel. However, quarterback seems to be the one position that success has evaded him.
McDermott has seen first hand the nature of the enigmatic Cam Newton with the Panthers since 2011 and the entire Donovan McNabb era of Eagles football (1999-2009). The both know defensive personnel, but will have to be even more focused on getting this team a franchise quarterback. For better or worse, McDermott and Whaley are in this together. They will sink or swim together in Orchard Park. It is in their best interest to get Buffalo playoff bound soon.