Tyler Dunne story on McDermott - 3 parts, 25 interviews, one damning conclusion

[YoloinOhio]

19 minutes ago, wettlaufer said:

 

There were numerous comments made on the record.

 

Why is it hard to believe? Are you familiar with his body of work?

 

I also work in an industry in which I can't come out publicly and smack talk former bosses. It would hurt me in the end. The NFL is a small community and people know if they put their name to negative comments about a former boss, they reduce their future employment and income potential.

 

I don't understand why that's so hard to understand. Chad Hall isn't gonna put his name to the weirdest anecdote in that story (about WRs buying him a truck). And he didn't. His comment was "no comment." So whos' beefing on the Chad Hall story? You don't know, number one. Number two, it's not a beef. It's an accurate recounting of McD being a weirdo.

 

He didn't clearly do anything but report on what 25 separate people, who had firsthand experience working with McD, had to say about the guy. Sorry you don't like it, but that's no reason to accuse others of not doing their job and being unethical.

It was definitely Isaiah McKenzie 

[Since1981]

nearly every coach of substance looks at the Bills and feels they could produce better results. Losing games by 1 score margins all year is on HC McD.  
 

it’s time to move on

[mannc]

3 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

 

Thank you for posting, but Peter King is a blowhard idiot.  No one cares how offended you are, Pete. And the idea that the stadium money should be in jeopardy for a dumb coach’s dumb comment is just straight-up asinine.  

[wettlaufer]

2 minutes ago, mannc said:

Thank you for posting, but Peter King is a blowhard idiot.  No one cares how offended you are, Pete. And the idea that the stadium money should be in jeopardy for a dumb coach’s dumb comment is just straight-up asinine.  

No it's not. If the appropriation were being debated on the floor in Albany today, it would absolutely go down in flames.

[mannc]

Just now, wettlaufer said:

No it's not. If the appropriation were being debated on the floor in Albany today, it would absolutely go down in flames.

I don’t believe that for a second.

[JustHewIt]

11 minutes ago, wettlaufer said:

That's likely true of 95% of the people who are having this teenager reaction to the story, including McDermott, who once again evaded responsibility for everything in the piece except for the dumb 9/11 story. That was the LEAST damning of everything in the story, but has attracted the most commentary. It was one of many weird anecdotes in the story and not really that important vs the other more important points, namely that McD freezes in big games and is a very shaky leader at many points. 13 seconds is the prime example. Is anyone screeching about that anecdote?

So, just to be clear on this point, people are upset because he didn't come out and line by line substantiate every negative thing that a slew of anonymous people said by a reporter that isn't credentialed to cover the team?  Why do people think that we're all entitled to hear about every word and thing that happens behind closed doors, or every private thought that the team shares with each other, and if we don't hear about it then it didn't happen?  

We didn't even hear about the 9/11 thing for four years, but by all accounts he took accountability then behind closed doors.  Why are we so quick to assume that he doesn't do the same with other things and we just don't hear about it?  There's absolutely nothing good that can come of engaging with the press on this stuff, especially in the world of social media where this sort of outrage happens daily.  All it can do is cause distractions, misinterpretations, and drama. 

It's three days before our biggest game of the season, and somehow because McD didn't come out and address a playoff game failure from two years ago, or he doesn't come to every press conference like a sad sack to talk about how much of a spineless loser he is, that means that he's a clueless tyrant behind closed doors and everyone hates him. 

[Since1981]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

3 minutes ago, wettlaufer said:

No it's not. If the appropriation were being debated on the floor in Albany today, it would absolutely go down in flames.

I don’t believe that for a second.

An off color quote about teamwork and 9/11 would not hang an entire NFL football franchise stadium.

 

I don’t think McD is the right HC anymore in 2023 but his weird statement is just a human mistake—move on

[wettlaufer]

3 minutes ago, mannc said:

I don’t believe that for a second.

Well, maybe study demographics, New York State parliamentary procedure, political science, and psychology. There would be a howling mob from Utica on east that would absolutely be against the funding.

 

Look, I don't think the anecdote is as important as people have made it. It was horrifically stupid and people, especially from the NYC metro area, are pissed. However, there a dozen key points in the article, made in total by 25 people with firsthand knowledge of the situation, that were just as important to what matters here: McD is not a gameday coach. He freezes. He's rigid personally, and he's not a natural leader.

1 minute ago, Since1981 said:

An off color quote about teamwork and 9/11 would not hang an entire NFL football franchise stadium.

 

I don’t think McD is the right HC anymore in 2023 but his weird statement is just a human mistake—move on

I was never hung up on the comment. It was stupid. McD has to address the team all the time -- people make mistakes. But don't fool yourself -- King made a good point. It would be much tougher to get funding today in a legislative process that depends on the goodwill of New York State votes representing the eastern half of the state / NYC. Stupid mistakes at important points can have big consequences. Whether that's squibbing it at 13 seconds or making dumb remarks. But whatever -- the piece details very amply that McD is not an effective leader of football players. Not at the Lombardi level.

[JaCrispy]

I turned on McD after 13 seconds, when he threw his special teams coach under the bus because of a mistake that McD, himself, made…

 

It was then, I knew this franchise was in trouble as long as he was HC (not to mention all of the ridiculous clapping)…It reminds me of when EJ Manuel celebrated like he won the Super Bowl simply for doing a hard count, and getting the defense to jump- so cringe…😉

[Royale with Cheese]

I feel that McDermott is going to be extremely aggressive for the rest of the season.

 

He probably knows he has a reputation of being conservative but it probably rolls off his back because he has had a lot of success.  

 

But with this coming out, its now in the spotlight and every move will be more scrutinized and magnified…especially late in games.

 

He doesn’t seem to know the in between.  Either way too conservative or all out blitz like in the Broncos game.

The thought of handing over play calling duties in the 4th to Bishop probably should be on the table.

[dave mcbride]

22 minutes ago, mannc said:

Thank you for posting, but Peter King is a blowhard idiot.  No one cares how offended you are, Pete. And the idea that the stadium money should be in jeopardy for a dumb coach’s dumb comment is just straight-up asinine.  

King’s melodramatic comments about how New Yorkers will be so deeply offended and hurt by the comments because of where 9/11 happened is SUCH corny BS. I lived in NYC then and still live there now, and I can’t imagine anyone feeling stung or angered by McD’s AQ motivational speech. King has a real weakness for hackneyed, middlebrow cultural analysis and sermonizing about it. Stick to football.

Edited December 9, 2023 by dave mcbride

[Since1981]

9/11 statement doesn’t matter much. 
McD was the right HC for earlier yrs
 

McD is just NOT the right guy for this team in 2023. Time has big context here. 
 

(in other words, don’t pile on when the guy is down. Focus on football and that is enough to know he’s not the right guy in 2023)

Edited December 9, 2023 by Since1981

[KellyToTasker]

16 minutes ago, wettlaufer said:

Well, maybe study demographics, New York State parliamentary procedure, political science, and psychology. There would be a howling mob from Utica on east that would absolutely be against the funding.

 

Look, I don't think the anecdote is as important as people have made it. It was horrifically stupid and people, especially from the NYC metro area, are pissed. However, there a dozen key points in the article, made in total by 25 people with firsthand knowledge of the situation, that were just as important to what matters here: McD is not a gameday coach. He freezes. He's rigid personally, and he's not a natural leader.

I was never hung up on the comment. It was stupid. McD has to address the team all the time -- people make mistakes. But don't fool yourself -- King made a good point. It would be much tougher to get funding today in a legislative process that depends on the goodwill of New York State votes representing the eastern half of the state / NYC. Stupid mistakes at important points can have big consequences. Whether that's squibbing it at 13 seconds or making dumb remarks. But whatever -- the piece details very amply that McD is not an effective leader of football players. Not at the Lombardi level.

The Bills are a large organization with high attrition because of the nature of the business.
 

Dunne found “25” people that felt burned by McDermott and wrote an article. I.e., he likely interviewed more than 25 but stuck to the negative “support the narrative” statements.

Let’s remove the “Bills” for a moment. Highly regarded, well ran organizations are still going to have their employees that gripe, leadership is screwed up, I hate it here….Down the line. 
 

It’s easy to find a disgruntled person if you look hard enough. Dunne made it a hit job. 
 

McDermott has his faults. The article was garbage. I hope it brings the team together and they save their season. 

[Solomon Grundy]

10 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I feel that McDermott is going to be extremely aggressive for the rest of the season.

 

He probably knows he has a reputation of being conservative but it probably rolls off his back because he has had a lot of success.  

 

But with this coming out, its now in the spotlight and every move will be more scrutinized and magnified…especially late in games.

 

He doesn’t seem to know the in between.  Either way too conservative or all out blitz like in the Broncos game.

The thought of handing over play calling duties in the 4th to Bishop probably should be on the table.

Now you're telling me we're going to have a Riverboat Ron and Steamboat Sean? 😎

Edited December 9, 2023 by Solomon Grundy

[wettlaufer]

4 minutes ago, KellyToTasker said:

The Bills are a large organization with high attrition because of the nature of the business.
 

Dunne found “25” people that felt burned by McDermott and wrote an article. I.e., he likely interviewed more than 25 but stuck to the negative “support the narrative” statements.

Let’s remove the “Bills” for a moment. Highly regarded, well ran organizations are still going to have their employees that gripe, leadership is screwed up, I hate it here….Down the line. 
 

It’s easy to find a disgruntled person if you look hard enough. Dunne made it a hit job. 
 

McDermott has his faults. The article was garbage. I hope it brings the team together and they save their season. 

 

No, he interviewed 25 people. As the article, which you likely didn't read, states.

 

Another indication you didn't read it -- not all the comments were critical.

 

Every NFL organization has turnover. Few, if any, have leaders who screw up so badly that so many former associates would come out and day what they did, even off the record.

 

Dunne didn't make it a hit job. McD's leadership style and continual fails late in games have (we JUST had a couple with "12 men" and failing to close the Eagles).

 

Yeah, I hope we go on a run and win the SB too. I can separate my hopes as a fan from a fair, objective analysis of a journalist's work. McD's whining this was a hit piece on his character is yet another evasion of hard truths that must be looked at by one's self but are not. That's NOT leadership when said leader demands that of his people all the time. You gotta walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Which is one reason it appears Digggs really doesn't dig Sean McDermott.

[Scott7975]

41 minutes ago, mannc said:

Thank you for posting, but Peter King is a blowhard idiot.  No one cares how offended you are, Pete. And the idea that the stadium money should be in jeopardy for a dumb coach’s dumb comment is just straight-up asinine.  

 

I will post anybody perspective I see.  Whether for or against.  I think it's all relevant.  I agree with him though.  I don't necessarily think the stadium deal is in danger but there probably will be disgruntled NYers that aren't happy and or make noise about it.  Especially ones that don't give af about the Bills.

[Rico]

11 minutes ago, KellyToTasker said:

The Bills are a large organization with high attrition because of the nature of the business.
 

Dunne found “25” people that felt burned by McDermott and wrote an article. I.e., he likely interviewed more than 25 but stuck to the negative “support the narrative” statements.

Let’s remove the “Bills” for a moment. Highly regarded, well ran organizations are still going to have their employees that gripe, leadership is screwed up, I hate it here….Down the line. 
 

It’s easy to find a disgruntled person if you look hard enough. Dunne made it a hit job. 
 

McDermott has his faults. The article was garbage. I hope it brings the team together and they save their season. 

More likely that this hack “interviewed” Doug Whaley and a handful of players.

[Johnnyp566]

Is McDermott perfect? No. Should he be replaced based on the teams performance this year? Maybe. Are a whole bunch of people sitting on their high horses because someone said something they shouldn’t have? Absolutely. Imagine if everything dumb thing you’ve said was dug up and used against you. 

[Scott7975]

1 hour ago, HardyBoy said:

We're a crappy fan base, sorry, but it's true. This is basically like cheering an injury. 

 

Nobody is cheering this.  Not one Bills fan wouldn't love for McD to be that guy that leads us to a super bowl trophy.

[Dr. Who]

32 minutes ago, JustHewIt said:

So, just to be clear on this point, people are upset because he didn't come out and line by line substantiate every negative thing that a slew of anonymous people said by a reporter that isn't credentialed to cover the team?  Why do people think that we're all entitled to hear about every word and thing that happens behind closed doors, or every private thought that the team shares with each other, and if we don't hear about it then it didn't happen?  

We didn't even hear about the 9/11 thing for four years, but by all accounts he took accountability then behind closed doors.  Why are we so quick to assume that he doesn't do the same with other things and we just don't hear about it?  There's absolutely nothing good that can come of engaging with the press on this stuff, especially in the world of social media where this sort of outrage happens daily.  All it can do is cause distractions, misinterpretations, and drama. 

It's three days before our biggest game of the season, and somehow because McD didn't come out and address a playoff game failure from two years ago, or he doesn't come to every press conference like a sad sack to talk about how much of a spineless loser he is, that means that he's a clueless tyrant behind closed doors and everyone hates him. 

The era of social media and virtual reality fosters invasive and voyeuristic tendencies. It also does not distinguish between the wise, who are always few, and the reactive and adolescent. Many folks never progress past that point.