‘The culture starts with Sean’: How the coach’s voracious learning habits are rubbing off on the Bills (Athletic article)

[BillsFan4]

https://theathletic.com/999287/2019/05/29/the-culture-starts-with-sean-how-the-coachs-voracious-learning-habits-are-rubbing-off-on-the-bills/

 

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At the age of 45, McDermott has become a voracious reader.

“I don’t like going through a day and not learning something,” McDermott later said back at One Bills Drive.

 

It’s easy to peg McDermott as the self-improvement type. He has talked about the “process” and “growth mindset” constantly since he arrived in Buffalo in 2017. He works out harder than some players.  “To be at the higher levels in the world of your profession, you always have to evolve,” McDermott said. “The guys who don’t like change won’t like being irrelevant even more.”

 

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The only books he reads are ones that he believes will help him improve as coach and leader of the Bills. Sometimes, he’ll be reading four or five books at once, taking notes on his phone that he can sync to his office computer.

 

People around the building have picked up on it, too. The other day, a public relations staffer sent McDermott an article about the Milwaukee Bucks and how they turned around their culture. The strength staff is always passing along articles that could be of use, including most recently one on the training tactics in cycling. Days later, a cycling quote was on the TV in the hallway of the facility. McDermott’s neighbor recently put the book “Discover Your True North: Becoming an Authentic Leader” in his mailbox. “I can’t read quick enough,” McDermott said.

 

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What McDermott reads isn’t just information he absorbs and stores on his computer for personal use. Much of what he picks up on in books becomes material in team meetings, an idea for a team-building activity or even a quote on the wall in the facility. Any content sent to him gets sorted and filed by his assistant for future use.

McDermott finds himself passing along this reading material to players individually. He’ll print out an article to leave at someone’s locker or take a picture of a passage in a book and text it to a player. His coaching staff will get suggested books from McDermott, as well. One that came to mind for defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was “Mastery of Teaching.”

 

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The McDermott who stands in front of the team today is different than the one who stood in front of the team for the first time in 2017. That’s his goal. Frazier, who spent time as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, has noticed how McDermott has evolved since the two arrived more than two years ago. The meetings are different and so is McDermott’s demeanor. He seeks feedback from players and is more apt to apply it.

“To see where he was when he took this job to where he is now is night and day,” Frazier said.

“He’s a lot different than when he got here,” Haushcka said. “He’s really seeing things well right now.

 

 

Excellent article on the Athletic (Sub. required, sorry I tried to share as much as we are allowed to here). 

 

One of the the things I love the most about McD is that he’s always trying to learn and grow as a coach+leader. 

 

Ill be anxious to to see how McDermott and new Sabres coach Ralph Krueger get along. They both share a lot of similarities and I’ll be very surprised if they don’t use each other as resources. 

Hopefully both buffalo teams have their long term coaches! 

Edited May 29, 2019 by BillsFan4

[eball]

"I'll believe it when I see it.  McD still thinks you don't need offense to win in this league and is happy winning 17-13."

 

-- anonymous poster whose name rhymes with "got flaw"

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

9 minutes ago, eball said:

"I'll believe it when I see it.  McD still thinks you don't need offense to win in this league and is happy winning 17-13."

 

-- anonymous poster whose name rhymes with "got flaw"

 

Baby Steps ....  He'll get there.  

[mushypeaches]

I don't think it's wrong to be skeptical here.  I like that he's constantly pushing himself and the team to learn and grow (unlike most previous head coaches).  But until it really translates to game day aggressiveness and adjustments, I'm not overly excited. 

 

Personally, I'll judge him this year by our results against the Patriots.  Win one of those games, and I'll say that McDermott might be getting there.  But if it's SSDD, he's just Jauron 2.0 to me

[RiotAct]

Cool.  Hopefully he can apply the theory on gamedays!

[eball]

3 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

I don't think it's wrong to be skeptical here.  I like that he's constantly pushing himself and the team to learn and grow (unlike most previous head coaches).  But until it really translates to game day aggressiveness and adjustments, I'm not overly excited. 

 

Personally, I'll judge him this year by our results against the Patriots.  Win one of those games, and I'll say that McDermott might be getting there.  But if it's SSDD, he's just Jauron 2.0 to me

 

Is it "wrong" to be skeptical?  Of course not.

 

It's just not very much fun.  I like fun.  A bowl of mushy peaches doesn't sound like fun.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by eball

[mushypeaches]

Just now, eball said:

 

Is it "wrong" to be skeptical?  Of course not.

 

It's just not very much fun.  I like fun.

 

You know what's fun?  Winning

 

I don't hate McDermott, but the number of times I've turned off the TV at halftime over the past couple of years has been unfrigginbelievable.  Also, not really fun!

[eball]

2 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

 

You know what's fun?  Winning

 

I don't hate McDermott, but the number of times I've turned off the TV at halftime over the past couple of years has been unfrigginbelievable.  Also, not really fun!

 

Are there any Bills fans here who don't want to win?  What I'm talking about is a difference in perspective -- you can be a skeptic about everything you read and see and expect the worst, or you can look for positive signs and not remain in the past.  I'm not "worried" about being disappointed by the Buffalo Bills -- if I was, I'd have given them up a long time ago.

[BillsVet]

Over the years it's been clear that players (other than QBs perhaps) shouldn't be fully evaluated until their 3rd season in the league.  This principle extends to HCs and we're entering year 3 of McD.  He and Beane have almost completely overhauled this roster out of the RR/Whaley years.  They've spent significant cap dollars on both sides of the ball.  The HC has his coordinators who are both carryovers from last season.  The QB is in year 2 and the unquestioned starter heading into the season. 

 

We're going to find out A LOT about McD and whether or not he's capable of taking this team into the playoffs.  Expectations are high for the roster, but higher for the HC.  It's his show now.

 

 

[Big Turk]

8 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

 

You know what's fun?  Winning

 

I don't hate McDermott, but the number of times I've turned off the TV at halftime over the past couple of years has been unfrigginbelievable.  Also, not really fun!

 

The fact they made the playoffs and have as many wins as they have gotten with a roster that was stripped bare the first year and then had a ridiculously bad offense in year 2 is pretty amazing to me.

 

I am unsure how people look at the two rosters he had and think anyone else would have done better with them. I think he will be a coach of the year candidate within the next 2 years.

[Logic]

This article points to a pretty large and undeniable -- but often overlooked -- truth: A team takes on the personality and the work habits of it's leader. Look no further than the Rex Ryan Bills for proof of that. 

Sean McDermott is absolutely, positively the type of guy you want setting the example and building the culture. Honest, humble, intelligent, open, direct, a constant thirst for knowledge and improvement, the best work ethic of anyone in the room, emphasis on accountability, faith, family, love, learning and hard work. What more can you ask for? People will hem and haw about him forever, probably, because he's not great with challenge flags or because he, um...claps a lot, I guess? But when you look at what really matters in a leader and in a coach, McDermott's got it all.

Like I said in another post: It's a really exciting time to be a Bills fan. Oh, and one more thing: The Athletic is totally worth the subscription price. The freedom and access the writers for that website have allows them to write pieces that local beat writers simply cannot. Give it a shot.

[rayray808]

tough reality about sports is that you can have a head coach and players with all the leadership qualities and strong morals in the world but sadly, sometimes raw talent will beat you when it comes to playing on the field.

 

I think our team needs to find a good mix of both.

 

If you think of every Super Bowl winning team or even dynasty, they all had a mix of players with great qualities, and flat out idiots with just raw talent.

[Dr. Who]

2 minutes ago, Logic said:

This article points to a pretty large and undeniable -- but often overlooked -- truth: A team takes on the personality and the work habits of it's leader. Look no further than the Rex Ryan Bills for proof of that. 

Sean McDermott is absolutely, positively the type of guy you want setting the example and building the culture. Honest, humble, intelligent, open, direct, a constant thirst for knowledge and improvement, the best work ethic of anyone in the room, emphasis on accountability, faith, family, love, learning and hard work. What more can you ask for? People will hem and haw about him forever, probably, because he's not great with challenge flags or because he, um...claps a lot, I guess? But when you look at what really matters in a leader and in a coach, McDermott's got it all.

Yeah, it might not work, but I see a lot of reasons why it should work. Maybe some folks think this is just a standard puff piece. I don't think so. And you see similar emphasis on character, work ethic, and creative intelligence throughout the roster. Josh Allen is the perfect qb for McDermott.

[hondo in seattle]

This part of the game is fascinating to me: leadership, building culture, loyalty, buy-in and so on.    I've read dozens - if  not hundreds of books - on these subject and appreciate the importance.  I'm glad McD and the staff are digging in.  

 

But x's and o's are important too.  I hope McD is also studying the latest gridiron tactical developments at both the college and pro level.  

 

And then what about preparation:  walk-thru's, film-study and  etc?  There are a lot of theories about how to best prepare a team for a season or a game.  What work is being done there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Figster]

12 minutes ago, rayray808 said:

tough reality about sports is that you can have a head coach and players with all the leadership qualities and strong morals in the world but sadly, sometimes raw talent will beat you when it comes to playing on the field.

 

I think our team needs to find a good mix of both.

 

If you think of every Super Bowl winning team or even dynasty, they all had a mix of players with great qualities, and flat out idiots with just raw talent.

I don't think flat out idiots with just raw talent applies to the process very well. M D comes to mind.

 

Josh Allen is about as talented as they come and the smartest QB in a very good draft class.

 

Now thats what I'm talking about...

Edited May 29, 2019 by Figster

[Coach Tuesday]

He does seem willing to learn and adapt - it's the best thing about him, so far.  He was smart enough to jettison an OL coach who had been with him from the jump...

[mushypeaches]

Just now, hondo in seattle said:

This part of the game is fascinating to me: leadership, building culture, loyalty, buy-in and so on.    I've read dozens - if  not hundreds of books - on these subject and appreciate the importance.  I'm glad McD and the staff are digging in.  

 

But x's and o's are important too.  I hope McD is also studying the latest gridiron tactical developments at both the college and pro level.  

 

And then what about preparation:  walk-thru's, film-study and  etc?  There are a lot of theories about how to best prepare a team for a season or a game.  What work is being done there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well said Hondo, this is exactly the point I was trying to make.  I like the effort that McDermott is putting into all the points that you've cited.  But I'd really like it if he was more focused on some of these other intangible topics, like game theory, strategic aggressiveness, etc. 

 

We've been woefully unprepared (totally unrelated to talent) for way too many games in the first 2 years. 

We've had too many vanilla game plans, with not enough strategic adjustments.

I think McDermott (and staff) are way too REACTIVE, and not PROACTIVE enough with game plans and play calls

 

These are the traits I want in a coach - someone who will push the envelope and force the opponent to beat them, instead of hoping that you don't get beaten.  Big difference

 

[MJS]

34 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

I don't think it's wrong to be skeptical here.  I like that he's constantly pushing himself and the team to learn and grow (unlike most previous head coaches).  But until it really translates to game day aggressiveness and adjustments, I'm not overly excited. 

 

Personally, I'll judge him this year by our results against the Patriots.  Win one of those games, and I'll say that McDermott might be getting there.  But if it's SSDD, he's just Jauron 2.0 to me

So if they win 10 games and get into the playoffs, but lose to the Pats twice, you'll be disappointed?

 

The Patriots are the Patriots. They've been dominating the entire league for years and years. They are not an accurate measuring stick to compare any team to, including the Bills.

 

Now maybe their days of dominating are behind them. Who knows?

[mushypeaches]

2 minutes ago, MJS said:

So if they win 10 games and get into the playoffs, but lose to the Pats twice, you'll be disappointed?

 

The Patriots are the Patriots. They've been dominating the entire league for years and years. They are not an accurate measuring stick to compare any team to, including the Bills.

 

Now maybe their days of dominating are behind them. Who knows?

 

Yes - I will be disappointed.  I don't want a borderline wild-card team that can't dance with the champs. 

 

You want to be the man, you have to beat the man

[MJS]

Just now, mushypeaches said:

Yes - I will be disappointed.  I don't want a borderline wild-card team that can't dance with the champs. 

 

You want to be the man, you have to beat the man

Then there isn't a team in the league you'd be happy with except ... the Patriots.