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Despite the difficult season the Buffalo Bills are experiencing and reports that he cited the 9/11 terrorists as an example of good teamwork, head coach Sean McDermott’s job is safe.
According to The Athletic, McDermott’s job is safe even though the Bills are unlikely to win the AFC East for the first time since 2019.
As for McDermott’s bizarre comments about looking at people who murdered thousands of Americans as the bastion of teamwork, they’re apparently “old news” to the Bills front office and “don’t move the needle.”
Furthermore, the Bills organization is so familiar with McDermott’s 9/11 analogy that “it has become a running interoffice joke.”
I'm told the 9/11 anecdote is "old news" within One Bills Drive, to the point it has become a running interoffice joke. Not that the metaphor was even remotely OK, but it's been digested and processed (pun intended, I suppose) and a distant memory that's been learned from (2/)
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) December 8, 2023
The Athletic then slightly refutes its report by saying the incident is a “distant memory that’s been learned from.” However, if the Bills had learned from it, then they certainly wouldn’t be joking about it.
Here is what McDermott was reported to have said, via The Athletic:
“He told the entire team they needed to come together. But then, sources on hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection.”
“One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood.”
Currently sitting at 6-6, the Bills face a must-win game against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who also find themselves in a bit of a rut.
The Bills also have games against the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins remaining on their schedule.