Bills Central

Three ways Bills disrespected Sean McDermott after firing longtime head coach

The Bills gave McDermott a swift kick on the rear-end on his way out the door on Monday.
Alex Brasky|
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on during warmups before the game against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on during warmups before the game against the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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No respect. No respect at all.

For a man who gave his blood, sweat and tears to an organization that was an utter laughingstock before he took over, the Buffalo Bills treated Sean McDermott’s firing as coldheartedly as possible.

To begin with, the Bills offered a bland statement on behalf of Owner Terry Pegula, and just five words into the lengthy dissertation, a grammatical error appeared: the word “admiral” was used instead of admirable. But the public relations team’s failure to proofread such an important, some would say, historical document was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the organization's perfunctory dismissal of its former leader.

RELATED: Explaining why time was right to fire Sean McDermott as Buffalo Bills head coach

Sean McDermott
Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula (left), head coach Sean McDermott, owner Kim Pegula and general manager Doug Whaley (with football) after a press conference at AdPro Sports Training Center. | Kevin Hoffman-Imagn Images

The statement

Despite the error in Pegula's statement, describing the job McDermott did over a near decade as admirable leaves plenty to be desired.

Six straight playoff appearances, five straight division titles, two AFC Championship Game appearances, pulling the team out of a 17-year playoff drought, making the organization viable again — those accomplishments are all left on McDermott's Bills’ track record. And while, for the sake of the franchise, it appeared to be the right time to let him go, he should have been praised much more so by the owner for his success during his tenure.

But instead, Pegula failed to deliver as usual. We'll see if he can be bothered to hop in front of a microphone and answer questions in the coming days, something he hasn't done in the presence of the Bills' media in years.

MORE: Bills fire Sean McDermott after 9 years, playoff disappointment

Empty farewell

Typically, when a coach of McDermott’s caliber departs, one way or another, an organization, the team takes it upon themselves to immediately post a goodbye on social media, beyond an owner’s statement. But not the Bills.

Hours have passed since McDermott was fired, and the only post beyond Pegula’s empty words is one announcing the signing of 12 players the team has signed to reserve/future contracts.

It’s truly laughable.

RELATED: 7 head coach candidates Bills can target to replace Sean McDermott

Outside sources

Finally, rather than the team posting McDermott’s farewell statement on their team account, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the one who shared the former Bills’ head coach’s personal address to Bills fans. The team did not repost the statement.

For a comparison to all of this, look no further than the Baltimore Ravens, who, after firing Head Coach John Harbaugh, posted Harbaugh’s statement directly through the team's X account and followed it up with a post that thanked him for his 18 years of service to the organization.

The way the Bills handled this whole thing is baffling, and that isn’t to mention the fact that, through it all, General Manager Brandon Beane somehow got a promotion.

We will see if there are additional plans to honor McDermott in the coming days. But for now, the Bills should be ashamed of the way they tossed their former head coach to the curb.

Sean McDermott
Bills head coach Sean McDermott during a training camp practice in 2019. | JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Alex Brasky
ALEX BRASKY

Alex Brasky is editor of Bills Digest and host of the Buffalo Pregame podcast. He has been on the Bills beat the past six seasons and now joins Sports Illustrated hoping to expand his coverage of Buffalo’s favorite football team.

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