I havent heard the audio clip with Jerry Sullivan yet. At first instinct I think to myself that maybe mcdermott is not as honest and accountable for things as he seems to make himself be, 'team first message' for example.. I'm presuming it's about controlling a message that is coming out of OBD.
When I think about it though, does a coach have to be a nice person and not be a control freak? Belichek is a 'control freak'. It all matters if you deliver and the team is motivated and delivers. Like another poster says alot of it comes down to winning really.
Sullivan is a glass half empty kind of guy who can make fair points but is skeptical by nature. Mcdermott has a winning record as a coach. Doug Marrone was not liked but was a decent coach for the bills, someone made a point about what makes a good coach and it was a point against marrone at the time.. As an offensive coach his offence were poor. Mcdermott as a defensive coach has put great defences on the field consistently since being here. That and the winning are what matters.
The 'history of poor decision making' comment from mcdermott a few weeks ago was an example of McDermott/Beane controlling the narrative out of OBD.
A very intentional thing to say.