Bills’ Sean McDermott Addresses Report He Used Offensive 9/11 Reference in Team Meeting

The coach apologized for his reported comments in 2019.

Bills coach Sean McDermott addressed a concerning report Thursday that he once used the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists as an example of good teamwork in a 2019 meeting.

"My intent in the meeting that day was to discuss the importance of communication and being on the same page with the team,” McDermott said. “I regretted mentioning 9/11 in my message that day, and I immediately apologized to the team."

McDermott said he planned to address the situation with his current team Thursday afternoon after team meetings.

Sean McDermott just addressed the 9/11 meeting referenced by @TyDunne's article published today. He said he plans on addressing this with the team later today once they get out of meetings. Here's the first few minutes of his comments from moments ago @WKBW pic.twitter.com/lKBdGVd8GV

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) December 7, 2023

In that 2019 meeting, McDermott cited the 9/11 terrorists as a “group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection,” Go Long TD’s Tyler Dunne reported as part of a three-part series on the coach’s tenure in Buffalo.

McDermott opened his press conference Thursday with a statement addressing the report.

“Not only was 9/11 a horrific event in our country's history, but a day that I lost a good family friend,” he said.

The Bills coach declined to elaborate more on Dunne’s story.